To keep besan wadi soft, first match your technique to the kind you are making: pan-cooked thapi vadi thickens in a pot, while mould-set wadi cooks by steaming. Use the liquid ratio and doneness cue from that specific recipe. There is no established universal fix for rubbery wadi; the available recipes show different methods rather than controlled tests of what causes the texture.
Identify the kind of besan wadi
“Besan wadi” (also called besan vadi or patwadi) can refer to preparations with different ingredients and cooking methods. A pan-cooked thapi vadi starts as a smooth batter and is stirred on the stove until it thickens. A steamed wadi is poured or spread into a mould and cooked until the slab sets. Sweet besan wadi is a separate confection, not a savoury wadi method.
| Preparation | Before cooking | Cooking and doneness cue | Recipe-specific time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pan-cooked thapi vadi | Smooth besan batter | Stir into seasoned liquid until thick and sticky, like dough | About 5 minutes of mixing in NDTV Food’s recipe; use the texture cue as well |
| Steamed lauki vadi | Thick pouring paste with besan, grated bottle gourd, rice flour and seasonings | Steam in a greased mould until firm; cut while warm | 18–20 minutes in Chef Kunal Kapur’s recipe, using a 7-by-7-by-2-inch mould |
| Steamed besan-and-curd wadi | Besan and curd batter | Steam in a greased mould, then cool and cut | 10–12 minutes in a recipe attributed to Chef Ranveer Brar and reported by Hindustan Times; the publication says it did not independently verify the social-media claims |
The listed steaming times are examples from different recipes, not interchangeable guarantees. Ingredients, mould dimensions and method differ.
For pan-cooked thapi vadi: stir to the right endpoint
NDTV Food’s Thapi Vadi Recipe uses one cup of besan and two cups of water. The batter is made with one cup of water and rested for 10 minutes; the remaining water is boiled with seasonings. The heat is lowered before the batter is added.
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- Mix the besan with the first cup of water until smooth, then rest the batter for 10 minutes.
- Boil the remaining cup of water with the recipe’s seasonings.
- Lower the heat. Pour in the batter while stirring continuously to help keep it smooth.
- Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and sticky, with a dough-like consistency. The recipe gives around five minutes as a guide, but the texture is the more useful endpoint.
- Transfer the mixture to a greased thali, flatten it, cool briefly and cut.
That one-cup-besan-to-two-cups-water ratio belongs to this pan-cooked recipe only. Do not carry it over to a steamed batter or a sweet confection.
For steamed wadi: follow the mould recipe and check the set
Steamed recipes begin with a different mixture and finish when the slab firms up. In Chef Kunal Kapur’s lauki vadi recipe, besan is combined with grated bottle gourd, rice flour and seasonings to make a thick pouring paste. The paste goes into a greased 7-by-7-by-2-inch mould and steams for 18–20 minutes; the slab should firm before it is cut warm.
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A Hindustan Times report updated October 3, 2026 describes a separate besan-and-curd batter attributed to Chef Ranveer Brar, steamed in a greased mould for 10–12 minutes before cooling and cutting. The report notes that it did not independently verify the social-media recipe, so treat it as an illustration of variation, not a universal timing rule.
- Use the mould dimensions and steaming directions for your particular recipe.
- Check that the slab has firmed before unmoulding and cutting; do not assume one recipe’s time applies to another batter or mould.
- Use the recipe’s specified cooling and cutting instructions. The cited methods do not establish a single cooling rule for every wadi.
What to do if the texture turns rubbery
The cited recipes give methods and doneness cues; they do not include controlled tests showing why wadi becomes rubbery or proving a particular correction. Treat overcooking or a mismatch between the recipe’s liquid amount and its ingredients as troubleshooting possibilities, not confirmed causes.
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- If you made pan-cooked thapi vadi: next time, add the batter over lowered heat, stir continuously and stop when it reaches the recipe’s thick, sticky-dough stage rather than cooking well beyond that cue.
- If you made steamed wadi: use the exact recipe’s mixture, mould and timing, and check for a firm slab before cutting. Avoid substituting the timing from a different steamed recipe.
- If you changed the liquid or other ingredients: return to the chosen recipe before adjusting again. A ratio from a different style of wadi is not a reliable correction.
Keep sweet besan wadi separate from savoury vadi
A repository search result describes a sweet besan wadi made by roasting gram flour with fat, adding two-string sugar syrup and cooking until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. That confection has different ingredients and endpoints, so the savoury thapi vadi water ratio and steamed-slab checks do not apply. The repository page itself was not available to inspect, so this brief description should not be treated as a complete recipe.
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