Friday 15 May 2015

Wafola : Cabbage Cake

When i sent this picture to my sister in law in US, she said "Looks like dhokla"!! Well, yes, it surely looks like one, but this is more denser. Moreover, though the name suggests it to be steamed (Waaf in Marathi means Steam), this one is baked. Hence i think it is known as a Cabbage cake.




The recipe was new to me, i had not really heard about this one! We make "Kobichya vadya" with almost similar ingredients but we steam it. The tempering and garnishing remains the same. Here, in the cookbook of "The essential Marathi cookbook", this cake is baked. The author, Ms. Kaumudi Marathe, says - "During the years of food rationing around the Second World War, when semolina and refined wheat flour were hard to come by, gram flour based snacks were a great alternative. Traditionally, wafola was cooked over an open charcoal fire but these days, a conventional oven works just fine".




Wafolas make a perfect tea-time snack or a good breakfast dish too! What more? It is baked!!! That makes it super healthy too :) The addition of tempering on top takes the dish to a completely new level of flavours!!





Ingredients:

Green cabbage : 1 n 1/4 cup grated
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece grated or made into a paste
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Green chillies - 2 (The recipe said sliced, but i prefer making a paste in a mortar and pestle)
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Besan (gram flour) - 1 cup
Soda bicarbonate - 1/4 tsp (optional)
1/8 cup yogurt + 1/4 cup warm water

To garnish:
Ghee - 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Grated fresh coconut - to garnish
Corriander leaves - to garnish
Lime juice - to taste


Recipe:

Mix together cabbage, green chilli paste, ginger paste, salt, turmeric, ajwain and sugar in a bowl.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and add asafoetida to it. Mix this in the cabbage mixture.

Slowly add the gram flour and keep mixing it well.

Add the soda bicarbonate in the yogurt mixture and add this to the cabbage mixture stirring well.

If the mixture is too thick, add water as required to make the consistency as thin as a cake batter.

Grease a 9 inch baking tray with 1/2 tbsp oil. Put the batter in the baking tin.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Bake the wafola for about 20 minutes. Now brush a little oil on top and bake again for another 10 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Now cut the cake into squares or as desired shape.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok for garnishing. Add mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the turmeric and chilli powder. Stir well and pour over the cut square cakes. Sprinkle coconut and corriander leaves on top.

Add lime juice if and as desired.

Tastes best when served with green chutney - Corriander chutney, mint chutney but i served it with Peru chi chutney (Guava chutney). I will upload the recipe in next post!



Serve the wafolas warm, and am sure they will be relished by everyone in the family :)

Happy Cooking! :)



22 comments:

  1. Well I adore cabbage, so I'd love to try this one! It looks very tasty.

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    1. It does taste great!!! Do try it out and let me know :)

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  2. I am surely loving the concept of this very pretty cabbage cake. It's a great idea , looks super yummy and it's very healthy and guilt free indulgence. It does resemble the Dhokla but the texture is more dense as you have said. Overall a wonderful and nouvellé delicious dish.

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    1. Thanks a ton Piyali for your encouraging words always :) Glad you liked it :)

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  3. Yes it does resemble dhokla.. what a healthy and delicious way to use cabbage in our diet..nice:)

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    1. Absolutely, and easy to make too...:) Thanks dear!

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  4. These cakes look very delicious, Gauri! Certainly a new recipe to me, I cook with chickpea a lot, but have never added cabbage in it! I have try it soon :)

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    1. Oh thats nice to know :) Am happy that you liked the post :)

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  5. Gauri Gauri Garui! You have tempted me enough to try this delsih recipe ASAP. Today I am leaving for a short trip, but will make this one, as soon as I come back. This is exotic, this is yum, and this is intriguing. Can't wait to try this absolutely yummy stuff! :) Happy Weekend!

    Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen

    Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen

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    1. Oh, am so glad you liked it dear :) Yes, i did read on your post about your short trip! Once you make this recipe let me know how it turned out for you :)

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  6. I've never heard neither made this cake. But nice. Love those savory flavors.

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    1. Yeah, i made it for the first time too! Thanks Nava :)

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  7. This is a new recipe to me.Sounds delicious!

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    1. Thanks Amila :) It does tastes delicious too :)

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  8. this is looking very nice and different recipe to me

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    1. Thanks Monu for your encouragement always :)

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  9. Wow, these are so adorable and simple enough to make as well! Great recipe Gauri:)

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    1. Yes Peri, absolutely simple! Makes a perfect snack :)

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  10. I never ever could have imagined to make a cake using cabbage...Now you have tempted me to try out this though I'm not a cabbage fan;-)...Definitely going to try it:)...Great share Gauri!!

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    1. Thanks Padma... glad youliked it! Do try it out, am sure you will love it :)

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Appreciate your comments, Thank you so much for for dropping by :)!!!