Raw Banana Fry | Vazhakkai Fry | Vazhakya Tawa Fry | Vazhakkai varuval | Easy Vazhakka Roast

This is yet another shallow fry recipe that features quite often in my menu. As the husband man (and now at times the little man too) has a relatively low tolerance (it's the mind that speaks not the tummy ;)) towards veggies, I resort to more of frying the veggies and make them look like close cousins to non-vegetarian dishes ;) For me to feel less guilty, I mostly use 2 or at the max 3 tbsp oil and shallow fry them. It tastes yum and makes the boys eat (not love, no way I can make them I guess) the veggies as well. So this is a simple and crispy fry that pairs well with rice an curd or Sambar or Rasam or even with a Puli Kuzhambu :) Do try and let me know how you wooed your loved ones :)

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

I Used:

Raw Banana	-	2 medium sized ones (1.5 cups after cutting)
Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Garam Masala Rice Flour (optional) Oil Mustard Curry leaves	- - - - -	½ tsp 1-2 tbsp 2-3 tbsp ¼ tsp 2 sprigs
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Gently scrape the skin of the plantains with a knife or a scraper. Do not remove the whole skin. Lightly scrape, maybe just the black spots alone you can scrape away. Rinse them in water. Trim the edges and cut them into thin round slices

2. Take the cut plantain slices in a steel bowl. Add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt to it and mix well. Allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes

3. Heat oil for shallow frying in a frying pan

4. Once the oil is hot, splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. This is optional

5. Then reduce the flame to minimum. Arrange the plantain pieces in the frying pan and shallow fry them 

6. Once one side slightly turns colour, flip over and roast the other side as well. 

7. Once done, remove them onto a plate and fry the remaining plantain pieces also like this in batches and serve with rice and gravy

Notes:

• If you may like, add a ¼ tsp of ginger garlic paste also while marinating the plantain pieces

• If you like your plantain fry more crispier, add 1-2 tbsp of rice flour to the marination

Cheers,
Chitz

Kaya Cherupayar Puzhukku | Ethakka Cherupayar Curry | Kerala Style Green Gram Raw Plantain Mash

My hubby's aunt makes the best puzhukku that I have ever had.. Even if no non vegetarian dishes are there and there is only this puzhukku and some chammanthi and some pappadam, the kanji (rice gruel) sells like hot cakes in the household ;) Actually I started having this puzhukku after marriage only. My mother does not make them. It was the hubby who first made them for me :D But it was the aunt who actually made me fall in love with this dish. You can make it with any veggies, basically tubes like yam, colocassia etc in addition or instead of raw plantain. It tastes just awesome with kanji (rice gruel) and even good with chapathi. You can make it watery or with very less water as per your taste. It's so easy to make and rich in proteins and fibre and makes a wholesome meal with your kanji :)

Recipe Source: Ma

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves : 3-4 persons

I Used:

Cherupayar/Green Gram	-	½ cup
Kaya/Raw plantain	-	1 no - medium sized - chopped into small cubes
Green Chilly	-	2 nos - slit
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed
Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp
Curry leaves	-	2 sprigs

The Way:

1. For making this dish you can use either soaked or un-soaked green mung dal. If you soak for 2 to 3 hours, the cooking time will be little less. I soaked my dal overnight

2. Take the green gram in a pressure cooker.Add chopped raw plantain, slit green chillies, turmeric powder and salt

3. Add about 2 cups of water. If un-soaked dal is used, you may add an extra cup of water as it has to be cooked for 4-5 whistles more

4. Pressure cook them till done. I kept in high flame for 2 whistles and another 4-5 whistles in low flame

5. Once done, allow the pressure to release on it's own. Then open the lid and using a spatula or masher, mash the green gram and plantain very nicely

6. Then add water, as per your preference. If you need a more watery consistency add more water. allow it to come to a boil. And when done, switch off the flame. If you do not want it watery, then skip this step

7. Drizzle the coconut oil on top of the puzhukku and add the curry leaves and give a nice stir

Serve with kanji or chapathi as per your wish :)

Cheers,

Chitz

Kerala Style Aviyal Recipe | How to make Kerala Avial | Onam Sadhya Recipe Aviyal

Aviyal.. The word literally translates to concotion or a mixture of different things! That's what this dish is also all about. It is a beautiful collection of different veggies cooked together along with curd and coconut. And it is a potpourri of all different kinds of taste like salt, sour, sweet and bitter.. Curd gives the sourness and a little bit of bitter gourd gives the bitterness. 

According to Wikipedia, the origin of Aviyal is 

'It is supposed to have been invented by Bhima (one of the Pandava brothers) during their exile. According to the legend, when Ballav (Bhima's name during this time) assumed his duties as the cook in the kitchen of Virata, he did not know how to cook. One of the first things he did was to chop up many different vegetables, boil them together and top the dish with grated coconut. There are mythological variations. Bheema is said to have prepared Avial, when there were unexpected guests for King Virata and he needed to serve meals for them. There was no sufficient vegetables to cook any single recipe for side dish, so Bheema used what ever available vegetables to make a new dish, which came to be known as Avial'

Different parts of Kerala cook this dish in a slightly different manner from one another. Some use cumin seeds while some don't. Some cook the veggies in curd whereas some add curd in the end. My version of this recipe is from my MIL who makes them in Malabar (to be exact, Nilambur) style. I am specifically saying that coz the Calicut version (which is just a 1.5 hour drive from Nilambur) has an entirely different taste ! And my fussy eater (when it comes to veggies) hubby doesn't seem to like any other version other than this ;) But I must confess, that this is one of the best aviyals that I have had as well. I have lived in many places in Kerala like Trivandrum, Kollam, Kottayam, Kochi, so I can very well vouch for this version ! And this is one dish that I actually look forward to whenever I visit Kerala :) 

The key and the time consuming part of making this dish is cutting the veggies. All the veggies should be cut to equal lengths. And make it as thin as you can so that it cooks faster and blends in well ! During Onam, it seems that it was Deeps' duty to cut these veggies to perfection. And this is done on the night before Thiruvonam. Veggies are cut and kept ready for cooking the next day so that it is easier to finish off that big list of dishes for the Sadhya.. So let's move on to see how this lipsmacking traditional Kerala style aviyal is made !

Serves: 5-6 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Ash Gourd/Kumbalanga	-	Around 200 gm
Drumstick/Murungakya	-	2 medum sized
Elephant Yam/Chena	-	Around 100 gm
Kaya/Raw Banana	-	1 medum sized
Carrot	-	1 medum sized
Bitter Gourd/Pavakka	-	A quarter of a medium sized one
Long Beans/Payar	-	Around 10 nos
Curd	-	½ - ¾ cup
Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp
Curry Leaves	-	A sprig

To Grind:

Coconut	-        ¾	cup
Green Chilly	-	2 nos
Curry leaves	-	2 sprigs

The Way:

1. Cut all veggies into thin slices lengthwise of approximately 2 inches of length. All the veggies should be cut to the same length. The thinner the better. It will get cooked faster

2. Now take all the cut veggies in a wide pan or uruli if using one. Add salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder and little water (approximately 1/4 cup) give a gentle stir

3. Allow it to come to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, reduce the flame and cover the pan and cook till the veggies are almost done. The yam and long beans take the longest time to cook. So the test is to check if they are cooked

4. Meanwhile grind together grated coconut, green chillies and curry leaves in a blender. Do not add water. It should not become smooth. 3-4 pulses should be enough

5. Now add whisked curd. Whisk the curd once using a whisk or give a quick pulse in mixie. If the curd has lumps it will be difficult to get it blended with the veggies

6. Cook uncovered till there is on water content. Now add the ground coconut and give a quick gentle stir. Leave for about a minute or two

7. Now add the coconut oil and curry leaves and give a gentle stir. Aviyal is ready to be served

Notes:

• The curd should be really sour. That gives the needed tanginess for the aviyal

• Do not add more curd as the aviyal will turn watery and the veggies will get over cooked then and turn into a mash. Key is to use really sour curd so that less quantity would be sufficient

• Add very little bitter gourd else the dish will turn out very bitter

• Add little water to cook as you do not want the veggies to be over cooked and become mushy

Cheers,
Chitz

Vazhakka Payar Upperi | Kaya Achinga Mezhukkupuratti | Long Beans & Raw Plantain Stir Fry

 I am always in love with this veggie Achinga Payaru. It's called by different names in different parts of the world like Thattai Payar or Long beans or String beans. Make a simple stir fry out of it & it would just taste awesome with steamed rice & a kootan/gravy. Or have it as a side for the night kanji/rice porridge, that would also taste divine ! I learned this combination stir fry from my Mil. It's very easy to make & healthy & tasty too.. So let's see how it's done !

Recipe Source: Mil

Serves: 2~3 persons

I Took: 25 minutes

I Used:

Long Beans/Achinga Payar	-	1 cup - cut into long pieces
Raw Plantain/Vazhakka	-	1 cup - diced
Green Chilly	-	2 no
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Oil	-	2 tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard. Add slited green chilly & saute
2. Add the diced raw plantain & saute for a minute or two
3. Add the cut long beans & curry leaves & salt, mix well. Cook covered over medium fire till the vegetables are done. Give an occasional stir to make sure they do not get burned

Pair up with steamed rice & a gravy of your choice or rice porridge.

Cheers,

Chitz