What is Wadi? Making Waiyaan

Wadi is a sun-dried spicy dumpling made of Urad. Wadiyaan is a plural of Wadi. These dumplings were routinely made in Punjabi household
The Wadi and Papad making reached its peak during fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das who promoted trade in the sacred city of Amritsar. The best quality Wadiyaan are still sold in Amritsar (Punjab). The basic process in making Wadi is as follows
1. Presoak skinless whole Urad in water for about 4 hours or longer. Whole beans ferment better than split Urad.
2. Grind skinless whole beans very coarse with minimum water. This is called Pthi. Stir in Asafoetida powder. Let it ferment overnight. The fermentation adds to flavor and makes the final Wadi light-weight.
3. Grate Petha (Ash gourd). Squeeze water out grated Petha, and discard water. Volume-wise grated Petha is about half the volume of fermented Pithi. Add grated Petha to Pithi.
4. Grind fresh spices herbs (ginger, green hot chili peppers, cilantro), and add to Pithi.
5. Add cracked spices (coarse) to Pithi: Cardamom seeds, Black peppercorn, Fennel seeds, Cumin seeds, Cloves, Crushed hot red chilies, Nutmeg and Cinnamon. Some of the black peppercorns may be left whole.
6. Beat Pithi well to mix all ingredients. Let it rest about an hour. Beat again. It is a hard paste. Put a blob in your hand to make a ball. Insert thumb to make a cavity. You need to form a 2" hollow spherical shaped dumpling.

7. Dry dumplings in hot-sun

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