Sweet Bonda- soft spongy Urad Dal Vada soaked in sweetened coconut milk. It’s a heirloom recipe of a very culturally rich small community of a district in Tanjore/Thanjavur. Perfect Navratri Sweet.
The memories of this sweet bonda traces back to when I was about 14-15 yrs. Back road drives, our yearly trips with aunts, uncles and cousins.
That year we visited Tanjore, South India. Tanjore is known for many things: It’s paintings, the very popular temples that were build during the Chola empire, and their hospitality. How can I forget the food?! To this day, Thanjavur and it’s food has stuck with me. We stayed at my mom friend’s home. A traditional home with thatched roofs, inviting thinnai and beams that were intricately carved out of teak wood. There are not enough synonyms to describe how varied their food is and how very delicious it is.
Reaching Tanjore past midnight, we went straight to bed after a few minutes of obligatory talk.
I remember waking up to the sound of grinder working hard, smell of hot oil, slow whispers of the ladies working hard, and the smell of incense. Divine and delicious. I took a shower in the open bathroom at the back of the home. Let’s not even talk about the tiny lizard that crawled behind the bucket and made me jump up and scream:-), it was an experience!
We were ushered to the middle of the home, the veranda where they had lined up two rows with neatly folded blankets and banana leaves laid out in front of that. We were being treated to a feast, I figured that much. Three ladies came one by one serving a plethora of breakfast items. Started with crispy vada, masala dosa, idli, few different chutneys and sambhar. Food coma was approaching. After silently eating everything and enjoying every morsel, we were ready to get up to wash our hands. “Hold on”, exclaimed the uncle, the head of that home…we were told to stay seated for a final treat.
This aunt came with bowls of something sweet and something floating. She started narrating how this recipe came to be and how it’s popular to their family. I remember her story vaguely, but that sweet treat very vividly. I took a bite: crispy outside, soft spongy inside that oozed of sweetened coconut milk, wrapping everything with the perfume of cardamom, it was plain intoxicating. I COULD NOT STOP eating.
My love affair with this dessert, Sweet bonda that was served at breakfast started then. I make it often, I call it the ‘rasmalai’ of my life.I usually make it during Navratri to share with friends and it’s always a hit. I had to share one of the those treasures that i enjoy with all of you.
With the festivities going on, it’s a perfect time to make this sweet treat. Happy NAVRATRI to all who are celebrating!
How to make this SWEET BONDA/Navratri Sweet
The batter for the sweet bonda, urad daal vada is very important. It’s exactly similar to how we make Medu Vada. Washing the urad really well ensures a bitter free batter. For this, we don’t add any spices. The urad daal is soaked only for two hours and ground up with little salt. The soaking time should not exceed two hours. While grinding, make sure not to add too much liquid. The lesser liquid content there is, the crispier the vada is. Whipping the batter after it’s ground to a paste adds air in the batter and makes for a light fluffy vada.
Coconut SYRUP for Urad Daal Vada
Traditionally freshly grated coconut is used. In case you can’t get fresh coconut, you can use frozen. Add hot water to a cup of frozen coconut, let it soak for 15-20 minutes and then grind it to a paste. To get the milk from the coconut, once you grind the coconut to a fine paste, add 2 cups of boiling hot water and let it sit for 10 minutes. Strain it with a fine sieve. Keep the coconut milk medium thick. Add any amount of sugar you prefer. Mix and set aside while making the vadas.
Frying the Urad Daal Vada
After the urad daal batter has sat for few minutes, fry it in oil. Make small balls and fry on medium heat. Let it brown gently, stir the vadas in the oil, so it evenly browns. Don’t rush this frying process. Take your time to fry.
Take it out of the oil and dunk them in the coconut milk immediately. The coconut milk has to be slightly warm. Let it soak for about 2 hours before serving.
I’ve used an Indian Style Preethi blender.
You can also use a Food Processor- https://wikibuy.com/p/hamilton-beach-70740-8-cup-food-/2D66NHBW9S
If you make this Navratri Sweet/ Sweet Bonda/ Urad Daal Vada in Coconut milk, give the recipe a thumbs up, star it and tag me on social media#foodfashionparty. I’d love to see it.
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- 1 cup urad daal - whole or split (it's black daal washed and husk is removed)
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ tsp baking soda
- 5 whole green cardamom
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- OIl
- Wash the urad daal really well with cold running water. That will take out any bitterness the dal has. Wash and soak in cold water and set aside for about two hours.
- After two hours grind it in a blender or food processor. Add salt and blend. Do not add any water. Take your time in grinding this, scraping every 30 seconds. If you want add 2 tsp of water or 2 icecubes. Blend till smooth.
- Take it out. Add baking soda and whip the batter for a minute. This will incorporate air and make it fluffy and light.
- Set aside
- Take one cup of freshly grated coconut in a high powered blender. Add 5 cardamom whole, poppy seeds and blend with ½ cup of water until very smooth paste is formed. Take the blender down and immediately add 1-2 cups of boiling water to it. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before straining it. Add as much or little water as you like. I like my coconut milk on the thinner side.
- Add water to the strained coconut milk, mix and set asid.
- Keep a large pot of oil. Let it get to high temp. Using your hands, wet it little bit. Take 2 tablespoons of the batter and slowly make balls and drop it very very carefully in the oil. DO NOT DROP IT ABRUPTLY, the oil will splatter and chances of getting burns is high. Be cautious. Once you've dropped the batter to fry, Use a slotted spoon and keep moving the balls around for even browning and cooking. Cook it on medium flame. Let it get brown and remove it from the oil and drop it in the warm coconut milk. MAKE sure that the coconut milk is warm.
- Let it soak for at least 2 hours, if you can leave it over night, even better.
- Serve with some pistachios.
