VAAZHAPOO USILI (BANANA BLOSSOM THORAN)

'Vaazhapoo' / 'Vaazhakoombu' or Banana Blossom is a delicacy. It is not a regular item available in the market. Rarely you might find it in a South Indian store.  If you have a friend with a garden - with a number of banana trees in particular - and ready to gift you a 'vaazhapoo' occasionally, you can enjoy this tasty dish. A friend obliged me recently - thanks to her, I am able to post this recipe!

'Vaazhapoo usili' is an elaborate dish but worth the effort for its fabulous taste. It has the added nourishment of lentils and tastes great with most koottans. Better to prepare this with a non-dal koottan like 'morkoottan' / 'pulungari' though it tastes great with sambar too.

Ingredients

1. Vaazhapoo - 1
2. Tuvar dal / chana dal – 4 tbsp
3. Whole red chilli – 2 - 3
4. Asafetida – a pinch
5. Oil –1 ½ - 2 tbsp
6. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
7. Urad dal – 1 tsp
8. Whole red chilli – 1” piece
9. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
12. Curry leaves – 8

Method

1. Soak chana dal in water for 20-30 minutes. 
2. Wash, drain off the water and grind a bit coarsely with red chilli and salt.
3. Remove 5-6 petals of the vaazhapoo and discard them. When the next layer turns yellowish purple, stop.
4. Wash the vaazhapoo and chop it finely. 
5. Make sure you remove the thick stamens which cannot be cut. (See photo 2 above).
6. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and 1 tsp of salt and mix well and leave aside for 20 minutes.
7. Add 1 tbsp of curd and water to the above and mix and set aside for another 10 - 15 minutes.
8. Wash well a couple of times.
9. Add water, turmeric powder and salt and pressure-cook it for 3-4 whistles.
10. On cooling, drain off the water through a colander.
11. Heat the oil in a pan. 
12. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilli and asafetida.
13. Then add the ground dal and stir. Cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.
14. Sprinkle a little water and cook covered for 5-8 minutes on low heat, stirring in between. 
15. Stir well and continue to cook on low heat, adding a little more oil if needed till the dal turns light brown and crispy.
16. Add curry leaves and stir.
17. Add the cooked vaazhapoo and mix well.
18. Add grated coconut and mix.
19. Turn off the heat.
20. Serve hot with rice and koottan.

Tips

1. If you want to cut down on oil, steam the ground dal in a pressure cooker for 10-15 minutes by making flat vadas and placing them on greased idli plates. On cooling, crumble them and add them to the tadka and continue.

2. Beans usili can be prepared in this manner too.

3. Also 'kothavarakka' usili.

CHAKKAPAZHA ADAI (JACK FRUIT PANCAKE)

Jack fruit is one of my favorite fruits. Not necessarily everyone's! Some love its flavor some abhor it for the same reason. I remember how greedy I used to be as a kid - not wanting to part with the huge chunks of the fruit which my grandmother would so generously distribute among the servants. I would remind her I would be eating the next day and the next ... and  she would simply laugh it off and say there was plenty for me!

Even now I can't control my urge to buy jack fruit in the summer months whenever I chance upon good ones with my regular fruit vendor. I make Jack fruit halwa (Chakkavaratti) to be stored in the fridge for up to a year - my children and grand children simply love it. Otherwise I make Chakka curry or Chakkapazha adai or simply gorge on them as such, dipping them in honey at times.

Now here's the recipe for Chakkapazha adai - it's very easy to make. It can be made as soon as the batter is made - no need of fermenting.

Makes 6 adais.

Ingredients

1. Ripe jackfruit (coarsely chopped) - 1 cup
2. Raw rice - 3/4 cup
3. Idli rawa - 3/4 cup
4. Jaggery powder- 1 cup
5. Salt - a pinch
6. Oil / ghee for the adai

Method

1. Put the chopped jackfruit in a mixer and grind to a smooth paste.
2. Wash and soak idli rawa and raw rice separately for 2 -3 hours.
3. Grind them together in a mixer.
4. When half done, add powdered jaggery and grind to get a fine batter.
5. Add the jackfruit paste to it and blend together in the mixer.
6. Add a pinch of salt and mix well.
7. Add water if necessary - remember the batter should be thick.
8. Heat a tawa, spread oil all over.
9. Make a thick dosa (adai) with the batter and drizzle a tsp of ghee all around it.
10. Keep covered and cook on medium flame for 2 minutes.
11. Flip it and drizzle ghee / oil and cook the other side.
12. Remove when cooked on both sides - with brown patches.
13. Serve hot.

Tips

It would be wiser to use a non-stick tawa to ensure that the adais don't stick to the pan and break while flipping.

NENDRAKKAI THOLI THORAN

Nendrakkai (Raw Kerala plantain) is a tasty vegetable - it can be used to make mezhukkuvaratti as well as molagooshiam. The most popular item it can be used to make is yummy chips. In Kerala these chips would never be purchased from shops when we were kids. It would be made at home in large quantities when we were kids. This would leave behind a huge pile of 'tholi' (thick peels) of the plantains. This itself is a tasty vegetable and can be used to prepare ‘thoran’. 
My mom used to fry nendrakka too - not a whole lot - just half a dozen at a time. "Neiyyappam thinnaa rendundu kaaryam" - meaning there are double benefits in consuming 'neiyyappam' - I can't exactly say why my father would buy 'nendrakkai' - for the chips or for the 'tholi thoran' – both items were dear to all of us! But I can tell you that I bought nendrakkai yesterday more for the latter than for the former. The chips were the bye-product or so it seemed as my primary dish was 'tholi thoran'. I also remember my father getting nendrakkai tholi from the fellows frying nendrakkai chips by the street corner in Chennai as well as Mumbai (read Chembur) but I have had no such luck in Pune!

So now on to the side dish Kerala plantain peel thoran.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Thick peels of 3 Kerala plantains

Vella payaru (lobhia / chowli) - 2 - 3 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Whole red chilli - 1-2

Curry leaves - 12

Oil - 2 tsp

Method

1. Wash the nendrakkai and make long lengthwise lines with a knife all around each of them.

2. Remove the thick peels from all the plantains.

3. Pile them and chop them finely.

4. Keep the chopped pieces in water to which a tbsp of buttermilk has been added for 15 minutes and wash it well.

5. Boil the vegetable with turmeric powder and salt till tender and drain off the water.

6. Pressure-cook the 'vellapayaru' with turmeric powder and salt.

7. Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds, urad dal and red chilli pieces.

8. When they splutter, add curry leaves followed by the cooked vegetable and vella payaru and stir well.

9. Add finely grated coconut and mix well.

10. Serve hot with rice and koottaan (sambar / morkoottaan). 

Tips
For the authentic taste, use coconut oil.

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

VAAZHATHANDU THORAN & PODUTHUVAL

'Vaazhathandu' (banana tree stem) has been a favorite with me - partly because it is a rare commodity out here in Pune. I have bought it from a few street vendors in the South Indian-infested Rastapeth on the rare occasions I had gone that side. In fact I keep dropping broad hints about my love for the rare 'thandu' (stem) to a few acquaintances who have banana trees in their backyard. But for reasons unfathomable, no piece has landed in my hands.

During my visit to Chennai, the first item that caught my eye in the market was the 'vaazhathandu' (there were less than half a dozen at any given vendor). I lost no time in conveying my craze for it and my sister-in-law bought it immediately. I volunteered to chop it - I have always loved to slice it and rotate my index finger close to the cut edge after each slice to collect the fibrous threads into a cumulative ring. I used to love it if I could get a nice thick ring at the end of slicing a foot-long vaazhathandu. I  have to say that this time I was rather disappointed as I ended up with a very thin fiber-ring. (But that means it was a tender stem). I even put the finely chopped pieces in water with a tbsp of buttermilk added to it and after five minutes dipped in a knitting needle and stirred it round and round in the vessel to collect any remaining fiber - and managed to get just a bit more! We made 'vaazhathandu thoran' -hmm... it tasted so divine - eaten after 2-3 decades! It shouldn't surprise you to hear that I packed a couple of 'vaazhathandu' on my return to Pune and made 'vaazhathandu thoran' for dinner 

and for lunch the next day, the side dish was 'vaazhathandu poduthuval' (we used to call it ka(l)chatti poduthuval as it would end up being made in a kacchatti which is a stone pot found in every home for making koottaan). 

My husband didn't utter a word of protest - he liked it obviously and was also aware of its health benefits. 

Vaazhathandu thoran

Serves 4

Ingredients

Vaazhathandu (stem of Banana plant) - 1 foot piece 

Grated coconut - 2-3 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Tuvar dal - 1 1/2 tbsp ( partially cooked and not mushy)

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Whole red chilli - 1-2 pieces

Curry leaves - 10-12

Oil - 1 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Remove the outer barks of the stem till you end up with just the tender center. Only this has to be sliced.

2. Cut thin slices, wrapping the emerging fibrous strands around your index finger after each slice.

3. Then pile up 4-5 slices and chop them finely and put them in a vessel of water with a tablespoon of sour buttermilk added to it.

4. After 5 minutes, dip a knitting needle in the vessel and turn it round and round in circles and collect any fiber remaining.

5. Wash and drain the vegetable.

6. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and urad dal and red chillies. When they splutter, add curry leaves followed by the chopped vegetable.

7. Add turmeric powder and salt and 2 tbsp of water and cook covered on low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring in between.

8. Sprinkle more water if needed and cook till dry.

9. Add the grated coconut and partially cooked tuvar dal and stir well.

10. Serve hot with rice-n-ghee or as a side dish for sambar / morkoottaan. 

Vaazhathandu poduthuval ( ka(l)chatti poduthuval)

This is a slight variation of the 'poduthuval' and is like a koottu - this is not dry but has some water content in it and is in a semi-liquid state. This tastes great if you eat this with hot rice and ghee.

The recipe is the same as above except that you add more water and don't let all the water evaporate.

Tips

Use coconut oil for the typical flavor and taste.

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

NENDRAPAZHA HALWA, PAZHANURUKKU, PAZHAMPORI

     

Nendrapazham (Kerala plantain) is a favorite with Keralites. It is welcome any time in every household and is relished by the young and the old equally. It is used to make simple snacks for tea-time. 
                                    

I remember there was a friend of mine who would bring steamed nendrapazham for her lunch (when we were in College, mind you) and I demanded the same from my grandma. But my otherwise adorable granny would not hear of such a frivolous idea! Nendrapazham for a snack was fine - not for lunch! What I want to convey is nendrapazham has been a favorite with my home, then and now!

Keralites prefer eating them steamed! I remember my mother toasting nendrapazham in a 'kori' - a heavy-bottomed iron tava specially set aside for this purpose - oh this 'pazham chuttadu' would be so yummy - we'd patiently peel off the black toasted skin and enjoy the pazham with a topping of ghee and sugar. Those days we hardly cared for 'pazham puzhugiadu' and considered it a poor cousin of the former. But if mom had to cater to a larger crowd / during feasts, she'd steam the pazham pieces with a piece of jaggery and a pinch of salt. That is also called 'pazha nurukku'. My husband would narrate that as a boy, he'd grab a ripe nendrapazham from the nendrakolai (bunch) hanging in the corridor near their bathroom and put it in a 'kozhal' (iron cylinder), close it and shove it in the firewood stove used for heating water - before going for bath. When he'd be out of the bathroom, the toasted pazham would be ready!

I don't toast nendrapazham these days as it is a hassle to clean the tava. I steam them and I have come to relish them too.

My favorite item is the nendrapazha halwa (not exactly a halwa but an evening snack) - a delicacy my mom used to make and we simply loved it. My sons would lap it up too. But when it comes to my grand kids, the parents suggest the 'less sugar, less ghee' item of steamed nendrapazham! Let me begin with this tasty dish.

Nendrapazha Halwa

I make this once in a while as a special item for an evening snack to be consumed the same day or the next. 

                                                     

Ingredients

Nenrapazham ( Kerala Plantain) - 3

Sugar - 4-5 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

Peel the plantains, slit each into half and slice them in thin semicircles.

Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed / non-stick pan.

Add the plantain pieces and fry on medium heat for about five minutes.

Cook covered on low heat for 2 - 3 minutes or till tender.

Add sugar and continue to fry on low heat till it turns a bit brown and crunchy.

Remove from fire and add cardamom powder and mix well.

Serve hot.

                                          

Tips

Jaggery can be used instead of sugar.

If the plantains are just ripe, the dish will have the pieces in shape.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Nendra Pazha Halwa (Pazha varatti)


In case you have a bunch of over-ripe nendrapazham, you can utilize them to make it into halwa to be stored in the fridge for weeks (somewhat like chakka varatti) and also make yummy nendrapazha halwa cut in pieces. Remember they will cook very fast You can cut each into three pieces and steam them for 5-7 minutes and mash them.

Ingredients

Over-ripe Plantains - 3
Powdered Jaggery - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

Cut each plantain into 3 pieces
Steam them for 5-6 minutes till cooked.
Mash well. 
Add 1 cup of powdered jaggery and cook on medium heat
Keep stirring. 
Add 2 tbsps of ghee and continue cooking till it leaves the sides of the vessel and rolls into a ball - to make into halwa form. This can be stored in the fridge for a month. This can be used to make 'nendrapazha pradhaman' on the lines of 'chakka pradhaman'. My sister-in-law had served us ice cream with this warmed halwa and it was really yummy. 

                                            

Nedrapazha Halwa Squares

If you continue to cook, adding a little more ghee, you can pour the thick ball on to a greased plate and flatten it with a greased ladle. After 5 minutes, draw lines with a greased knife to form squares. Press an almond slice on top of each square (optional). After 10 minutes, carefully cut out the halwa squares.

    

Pazham Puzhungiadu / Pazhanurukku

                           

Now let's us get back to the simplest of nendrapazha recipe - 'pazhanurukku' - it is still served as an item during feasts, especially during Onam / Vishu. This is a very easy-to-make and healthy snack for kids as well as adults. This is what I make with nendrazham these days. But some would shy away from this because of its texture and prefer to eat the plantain raw.

                                        

                                        
                                       
Ingredients 

2-3 Nendrapazham (Kerala Plantains)

Method

Cut each plantain into 3 / 4 pieces.

Heat 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker.

Keep the plantain pieces in a steel colander / idli stand and steam them in the pressure cooker without the weight - for 10 minutes (as with idlis).

Remove the skin and enjoy eating!

If you don't count calories, add a dash of ghee and sugar after slitting open each piece - yummy!

They also taste good with a piece of pappadam / banana chips.
Those of you in some parts of the US can get 'plantains' in the US  / Chinese grocery stores. You can steam them in the microwave for 11/2 - 2 minutes to make 'pazhanurukku' - avid nendrapazha lovers will miss the little sourness in the US variety, that's all.

                            

Microwaved nendrapazham

Pazhampori

Another recipe with Kerala plantain is 'Pazhampori' (Nendrapazha bajji) available in small cafeterias all over in Kerala. I have posted this dish along with a variety of pakodas in the post 'Bajjis & Pakodas' in my blog cosmokitchen.blogspot.com. This is made by dipping thin slices of ripe Kerala plantains in 'bajji' batter and frying them in oil. 

                                           

Ingredients

Nendrapazham - 2

For batter

Gram flour (besan) – 1 cup

Rice flour – 1-2 tbsp

Baking powder – a pinch

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder (optional) – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Salt to taste

Hot oil – 1 ½ tsp
Oil for frying

Method

1. In a bowl, mix gram flour, rice flour, baking powder, red chilli powder, asafetida, coriander powder and salt.

2. Add ½ - ¾ cup of water and whisk well for at least 5 minutes to make a fairly thick batter and set aside for 5 minutes. (No big deal about the consistency of the batter - if the batter is thick, then you can enjoy a thickly coated bajji. If the batter is runny, the bajjis will have a thinner covering!)

3. Just before making bajjis, add a tsp of hot oil and mix well – this will add to its crispness.
4. Use 2 big ripe Kerala plantains. 
5. Peel and cut the banana in 2 parts. 
6. Make slices (5-6) of each half. 
7. Dip each slice till fully coated with batter and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Tips

I mix 1 cup of gram flour, 2 tbsp of dosa batter, red chilli powder, asafetida and salt. Then I add ½ - ¾ cup of water and make a thick batter, blending it well with my hand and set it aside for 10 minutes. There is no need of adding hot oil. My bajjis are fluffy and soft and almost oil-free!
Instead of besan, maida can be used. Just add a pinch of salt and a tsp of sugar to maida and make the batter.

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

NENDRAPAZHA HALWA, PAZHANURUKKU, PAZHAMPORI

     

Nendrapazham (Kerala plantain) is a favorite with Keralites. It is welcome any time in every household and is relished by the young and the old equally. It is used to make simple snacks for tea-time. 
                                    

I remember there was a friend of mine who would bring steamed nendrapazham for her lunch (when we were in College, mind you) and I demanded the same from my grandma. But my otherwise adorable granny would not hear of such a frivolous idea! Nendrapazham for a snack was fine - not for lunch! What I want to convey is nendrapazham has been a favorite with my home, then and now!

Keralites prefer eating them steamed! I remember my mother toasting nendrapazham in a 'kori' - a heavy-bottomed iron tava specially set aside for this purpose - oh this 'pazham chuttadu' would be so yummy - we'd patiently peel off the black toasted skin and enjoy the pazham with a topping of ghee and sugar. Those days we hardly cared for 'pazham puzhugiadu' and considered it a poor cousin of the former. But if mom had to cater to a larger crowd / during feasts, she'd steam the pazham pieces with a piece of jaggery and a pinch of salt. That is also called 'pazha nurukku'. My husband would narrate that as a boy, he'd grab a ripe nendrapazham from the nendrakolai (bunch) hanging in the corridor near their bathroom and put it in a 'kozhal' (iron cylinder), close it and shove it in the firewood stove used for heating water - before going for bath. When he'd be out of the bathroom, the toasted pazham would be ready!

I don't toast nendrapazham these days as it is a hassle to clean the tava. I steam them and I have come to relish them too.

My favorite item is the nendrapazha halwa (not exactly a halwa but an evening snack) - a delicacy my mom used to make and we simply loved it. My sons would lap it up too. But when it comes to my grand kids, the parents suggest the 'less sugar, less ghee' item of steamed nendrapazham! Let me begin with this tasty dish.

Nendrapazha Halwa

I make this once in a while as a special item for an evening snack to be consumed the same day or the next. 

                                                     

Ingredients

Nenrapazham ( Kerala Plantain) - 3

Sugar - 4-5 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

Peel the plantains, slit each into half and slice them in thin semicircles.

Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed / non-stick pan.

Add the plantain pieces and fry on medium heat for about five minutes.

Cook covered on low heat for 2 - 3 minutes or till tender.

Add sugar and continue to fry on low heat till it turns a bit brown and crunchy.

Remove from fire and add cardamom powder and mix well.

Serve hot.

                                          

Tips

Jaggery can be used instead of sugar.

If the plantains are just ripe, the dish will have the pieces in shape.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Nendra Pazha Halwa (Pazha varatti)


In case you have a bunch of over-ripe nendrapazham, you can utilize them to make it into halwa to be stored in the fridge for weeks (somewhat like chakka varatti) and also make yummy nendrapazha halwa cut in pieces. Remember they will cook very fast You can cut each into three pieces and steam them for 5-7 minutes and mash them.

Ingredients

Over-ripe Plantains - 3
Powdered Jaggery - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

Cut each plantain into 3 pieces
Steam them for 5-6 minutes till cooked.
Mash well. 
Add 1 cup of powdered jaggery and cook on medium heat
Keep stirring. 
Add 2 tbsps of ghee and continue cooking till it leaves the sides of the vessel and rolls into a ball - to make into halwa form. This can be stored in the fridge for a month. This can be used to make 'nendrapazha pradhaman' on the lines of 'chakka pradhaman'. My sister-in-law had served us ice cream with this warmed halwa and it was really yummy. 

                                            

Nedrapazha Halwa Squares

If you continue to cook, adding a little more ghee, you can pour the thick ball on to a greased plate and flatten it with a greased ladle. After 5 minutes, draw lines with a greased knife to form squares. Press an almond slice on top of each square (optional). After 10 minutes, carefully cut out the halwa squares.

    

Pazham Puzhungiadu / Pazhanurukku

                           

Now let's us get back to the simplest of nendrapazha recipe - 'pazhanurukku' - it is still served as an item during feasts, especially during Onam / Vishu. This is a very easy-to-make and healthy snack for kids as well as adults. This is what I make with nendrazham these days. But some would shy away from this because of its texture and prefer to eat the plantain raw.

                                        

                                        
                                       
Ingredients 

2-3 Nendrapazham (Kerala Plantains)

Method

Cut each plantain into 3 / 4 pieces.

Heat 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker.

Keep the plantain pieces in a steel colander / idli stand and steam them in the pressure cooker without the weight - for 10 minutes (as with idlis).

Remove the skin and enjoy eating!

If you don't count calories, add a dash of ghee and sugar after slitting open each piece - yummy!

They also taste good with a piece of pappadam / banana chips.
Those of you in some parts of the US can get 'plantains' in the US  / Chinese grocery stores. You can steam them in the microwave for 11/2 - 2 minutes to make 'pazhanurukku' - avid nendrapazha lovers will miss the little sourness in the US variety, that's all.

                            

Microwaved nendrapazham

Pazhampori

Another recipe with Kerala plantain is 'Pazhampori' (Nendrapazha bajji) available in small cafeterias all over in Kerala. I have posted this dish along with a variety of pakodas in the post 'Bajjis & Pakodas' in my blog cosmokitchen.blogspot.com. This is made by dipping thin slices of ripe Kerala plantains in 'bajji' batter and frying them in oil. 

                                           

Ingredients

Nendrapazham - 2

For batter

Gram flour (besan) – 1 cup

Rice flour – 1-2 tbsp

Baking powder – a pinch

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder (optional) – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Salt to taste

Hot oil – 1 ½ tsp
Oil for frying

Method

1. In a bowl, mix gram flour, rice flour, baking powder, red chilli powder, asafetida, coriander powder and salt.

2. Add ½ - ¾ cup of water and whisk well for at least 5 minutes to make a fairly thick batter and set aside for 5 minutes. (No big deal about the consistency of the batter - if the batter is thick, then you can enjoy a thickly coated bajji. If the batter is runny, the bajjis will have a thinner covering!)

3. Just before making bajjis, add a tsp of hot oil and mix well – this will add to its crispness.
4. Use 2 big ripe Kerala plantains. 
5. Peel and cut the banana in 2 parts. 
6. Make slices (5-6) of each half. 
7. Dip each slice till fully coated with batter and fry in oil till both sides are golden brown and drain off.

Tips

I mix 1 cup of gram flour, 2 tbsp of dosa batter, red chilli powder, asafetida and salt. Then I add ½ - ¾ cup of water and make a thick batter, blending it well with my hand and set it aside for 10 minutes. There is no need of adding hot oil. My bajjis are fluffy and soft and almost oil-free!
Instead of besan, maida can be used. Just add a pinch of salt and a tsp of sugar to maida and make the batter.

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.