I hate to be the one tell you that these delicious treats are really quite bad for you, but chances are you already knew this. Everyone knows that fried foods are no-no, yet India is the land of vadas, pakoras, namkeen and chaat.
There is just too much fat in these foods. If you eat them at a restaurant or roadside stall then the fat can be harmful since it is re-used oil.
What about packages goods like bakarwadi? Chitale is known for its quality products. I am hoping that the quality has not diminished after their rapid expansion in the past decade. Their products were only available in a few shops in Pune. There was always a queue for buying bakarwadi and if you arrived too late in the morning then the lot of bakarwadis would be finished, and you had to return in the evening for a fresh batch.
Now in addition to dozens of more stores in and around Pune, the company packages its products for export. You can buy them to send to your relatives in much better packaging, pick it up at the airport or order it online.
The ingredients are:
Wheat Flour, Gram Flour, Edible Vegetable Oil, Chili, Cumin, Corainder Powder, Sugar, Green Coriander Leaves, Tamarind Paste, Sesame, Coconut, Iodised Salt.
Wheat flour is maida and this what makes all fried foods crisp and tasty. The oil used is not specified so we really don’t know which oil they are using – nothing surprising in the ingredients. The good news is that there are no preservatives, fillers or chemicals.
What you should take notice is the amount calories. After doing the math here are the numbers – each bakarwadi has approximately 66 calories more than 4 grams of fat—but can you have just one?
You end up eating at least 3 or 4 of these little delights. They are empty calories and unknown fats which are you adding to your body.
Bottom Line: Try to avoid them. If you are tempted once in a while, eat only one or two – very slowly.