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.