Upavas Thalipeeth - Potato pancakes

Story: 
What happens when someone tells me I shouldn't do xyz?? I wonder why? and the more I wonder about it the more I want to do it. Same goes with the custom of Upvas or Fasting. Fasting by definition means you don't eat or drink anything usually for a day. Never works for me - on a fast day, all I can think about is food - correction - on any given day all I can think about is food ;-)

Anyway - I am clearly not alone - hence the invention of fast-food (upvas-friendly or upvas-approved) food. These amazingly delicious dishes are usually loaded with carbs, some even deep fried... how can you resist? This one in particular is my favorite - my Nani's recipe with a magic mix of ingredients - a sure hit with most guests.

Today is Mahashivratri - a day to eat the special meal my mom makes - it is fast-food heaven! especially for those who pretend to fast and eat twice as much (Ekadashi ani duppat khashi!)

Here are links to other fast-food favorites on my blog:

• Farali Sabudana Khichdi
• Ratalyacha sheera aka Ratalyacha kees (Sweet Potato Snack)

Source: My Nani (Aai's Aai)
Time: Prep starts 4-6 hrs before (soak sabudana) and total time 1.5 hours or so
Ingredients: for 6-8 pieces

• 1 medium size yam grated
• 1.5 cup of Upvas Bhajani (for US/Canada you can buy here)
• a cup of finely chopped cilantro
• 2 small green chilies finely chopped
• 1 cup sabudana/sago soaked in minimal water for 4-6 hours
• 2 small potatoes boiled, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 cup of cooked varicha tandul aka bhagar aka "Samo" (સામો) or "Moriyo" (મોરિયો)
• 1 cup of roasted-peanut powder
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (could use less if you don't want it spicy)
• 2 tsp sugar

Recipe:

Mix all the ingredients into a dough using minimal water. Here's an image of what the dough looks like:

Take a little bit of oil on your hand and spread it on a plastic sheet (I use a zip lock bag). Then take a ball of the dough - as big as a lemon and press evenly into a round-ish shape to make the thalipeeth. It shouldn't be as thick as a pancake, but not as thin as a dosa - somewhere in between. Make 2-3 holes on the thalipeeth to make it easy to cook and to add oil when it's on the griddle.

Cook it on a griddle or a tawa till it gets nice and crispy with a brown color on both sides. Enjoy with a sweet lemon pickle and yogurt!\