Alu Wadi With Life Lessons

11th June 2024

A Marwadi girl married a South Indian guy in the year 2013. I was prepared to enter a new culture with drastically different food habits. There are so many things I have learned from my mother-in-law, one of them is Alu Chi Wadi. She taught it to me once and I made them perfectly, every single time.

As we fast the whole day on Chaturthi, in the evening we cook special meals for Naivedya (commonly known as Bhog) And some fritters are mandatory to complete the platter. We prefer Alu Chi Wadi because it can be streamed in advance and fried at the time of eating. That reduces efforts to a large extent and saves time too. In the 6th year of my marriage, 2019, on a particular Chaturthi, the Wadi did not turn out perfect. I felt embarrassed but did not have anything else to serve so ended up serving loose ribbons instead of an intact and perfect Alu Wadi. All at home had it without any fuss, it tasted just perfect.

After dinner, I was doing dishes and thinking why that might have happened. It never happened prior, they came out perfectly shaped every time I made them. Just when I was enveloped in my thoughts, I felt a pat on my back. "It tasted great, the whole meal was delicious. Don't worry, I will talk about it, I will help you with tricks to get them perfect the next time." The hope of a solution helped me shred my worries.

The next day, my mother-in-law returned from work, freshened up and we started chatting over a cup of coffee, like daily.
"See, the Wadi loosens up only if:
1) You do not layer them tightly.
2) Fry them in too-hot oil.
3) Or if you add more numbers of wadis in the pan (while deep frying) than the oil can suffice. Now tell me, what out of this did you do yesterday?"




I deep-dived into my thought pool, trying to remember. And to my surprise, I did not remember a single thing. Because mentally I was somewhere else. Seeing me dumbfounded, my mother-in-law questioned, "What happened?" Patting my palm to bring me back to my senses.

"Nothing. I am trying to remember. Please wait." I replied perplexed.

"If you have to remember then there is something wrong. You can share it with me." She politely said. I passed it with a smile.

"You may already know this, but food is first eaten with eyes, then with tongue and teeth. I do not expect the Michelin Star class of plating. But we should be able to make our traditional delicacies the way they are. The taste was just the way it should be. I wished they remained intact. The dishes you cook are a reflection of your mood/ thoughts. That's why I asked, what's wrong? You may choose not to share with me. But the only thing I would say is, while cooking, try to do it with utmost concentration. The family looks forward to having meals together, on such occasions, the food should not be a spoiler."

I understood what she was saying. But again, I was not there mentally, some other thoughts dominated my head. "A community I wrote for, I had a major fall-out with their admin. There is another internet acquaintance I consider a good friend who has not replied to messages, which does not happen usually. I know she is in touch with others. Also, my book is not doing well. All these thoughts had fogged my mind when I was making Alu Wadi. Maybe that is the reason why I could not make them right." I nodded my head in disappointment.

"This is the reason. But all these incidents are part and parcel of everyone's life. How much we let them impact is up to us. And trust me all the incidents/situations you have mentioned have a solution. It's just that you are too anxious and overwhelmed by the thoughts. Just breathe, and exhale all the stress. I know it is not easy. But it will be too difficult to live with these thoughts, right?" I did understand what she said, and I even tried to shred it off, but it does hurt, right? This post is a part of #BlogchatterFoodFest.