Sharing a very easy to make absolutely delicious Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe. It’s spicy and crispy that goes perfectly well as a side dish to rice and sambar or rasam. This is a recipe I instantly created while making Chamdumpala pulusu (arby curry). I just saved up some of the spice paste to marinate the raw banana pieces. I was surprised with the outcome and it was such a super hit at home. I usually prepare the raw banana in different styles and I love it in any form!!
Vazhakkai or aratikaya or plantain or raw banana is widely used in South Indian cooking. Often a staple in many south indian households, there are quite a few preparations of this. Transform these green raw bananas into golden bajjis or an enticing side dish like poriyal, varuval, podimas, all of which will definitely find its place in a South Indian thali.
Each and every part of a banana plant – leaves, flower, stem, fruit are utilised. They are either turned into something delicious or into some decorative useful items. While browsing through the net, I also came to know that even Sarees are woven using banana fibres. Such is the tremendous use of the banana tree and its parts.
Raw banana also has a lot of health benefits. It is high in dietary fibre and a good source of potassium and vitamins like A and C. Potassium helps to reduce risk of blood pressure and is also beneficial for kidneys. It is high in carbohydrates and hence an energy booster. They are considered as “potatoes of the Caribbean” since they resemble in flavour and texture.
What a great advantage to have an influence of various cuisines right from childhood!! You can do some fusion to bring out new tastes and recipes. This Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe is one of those kinds. When composing a dish, you have to put together all the tastes your family wants to eat. So it’s always a good to try to be objective, put yourselves in their shoes and see their perspective of the dish. Keeping all this in mind, it’s not an easy task to satisfy each and everyone in the family. If this is the case in a small family like mine, I just can’t imagine how people manage in big joint families.
But now why am I rambling so much!!…I would have loved to include one extra ingredient in this Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe…FENNEL….,but unfortunately my H is not a fan of it. I do add it in dishes which is a must but I try and avoid as far as possible.
Off to Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe!!
Step-by-Step process for Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe:
The process involves 3 main steps-
- Preparing the onion tomato paste and the marinade
- Marinating raw banana pieces in the paste
- Shallow frying over low heat
1. Preparing the paste & the marinade for Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe:
I actually saved some paste while preparing Arbi Curry (Chamadumpala Pulusu) and then used it to prepare this.
In case you want to prepare the paste from scratch, follow the below steps:
- Heat one teaspoon oil in a pan over medium heat, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.(include fennel if you wish to).
- Once the mustard seeds splutter, add chopped shallots (6 to 8 chinna vengagayam or small onions), peeled garlic (4 to 5 flakes), 2 slit green chillies and fry till they are translucent.
- To this add chopped tomato pieces (1 small tomato) and sauté till they are soft.
- To this add a teaspoon of sambar powder or vatha kuzhambu powder and fry for a minute.
- At this point you can also add some coriander and curry leaves and turn off the heat.
- Once the mixture cools down, transfer to a blender and grind to a coarse paste.
- In a separate bowl add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and mix to a paste with a tablespoon of water.
- To this add the prepared onion tomato paste and mix all the ingredients to combine well.
- The marinade is ready now.
2. Marinating raw banana pieces for Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe:
- Select firm raw bananas. Trim the ends of the Raw bananas and peel the skin .
- Slice it to thick slices (as shown below in the pic) and add to a bowl with water. Fill a bowl with enough water so it can accommodate the sliced bananas.
NOTE:
- If you don’t immerse the cut raw banana pieces immediately in water, it will start to blacken very soon.
- Even better is to add a tablespoon of yoghurt to the water, mix well and then add them to this water.
- While working with raw bananas apply a thin coat of oil to your palms. This will avoid the juice to stick to the hands which is difficult to remove and also avoids staining your clothes.
- Drain the water and take the cut raw banana pieces in a mixing bowl.
- To this add the paste prepared above and toss it gently so that each and every slice gets coated very well with the marinade. The moisture from the slices will make the marinade more wet and help in the coating .
- Set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Shallow frying marinated raw banana pieces:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a wide flat bottomed nonstick pan.
- Temper with mustard seeds and arrange all the marinated raw banana pieces in a single layer as far as possible to get perfectly roasted banana pieces.
- You will have to cook this on medium to medium high heat and let it brown evenly on one side and then flip to the other side to cook it nice and golden brown. Gently toss the pieces so that they retain their shape.
NOTE:
- Preferably nonstick pan or even a well seasoned cast iron pan will work wonders giving it a great texture and taste.
- Initially cover the pan with a lid and cook for a couple of minutes (3 to 4 minutes) to fasten the process. Then cook It uncovered to retain the crunch.
- In about 15 minutes or so you will have almost cooked and crisp fried slices of raw banana . Check and adjust for salt if required.
- A tip to make them even more crispy!! Sprinkle a tablespoon of rice flour, add some curry leaves and fry till the turn golden brown with a crisp exterior. It totally takes about 15 to 20 minutes for this quantity.
I’m sure you will love this Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe with my twist….do try it!!
Serve Vazhakkai varuval or Raw banana fry hot with rice and sambar or rasam. But today I’m serving with chamadumpala pulusu, an Andhra style puli kuzhambu.
A Quick Summary:
Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe | Raw Banana South Indian Recipe | Vazhakkai Fry (Roast) | Plantain Fry Indian Recipe
Ingredients
- For the paste:
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- A pinch of Fenugreek seeds
- 6 to 8 Shallots chinna vengayam, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 green chillies slit lengthwise
- 6 to 8 garlic pods peeled
- 1 Small Tomato roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon Sambar powder
- Chopped coriander
- Few curry leaves
- Dry ingredients for the paste:
- Red chilli powder
- Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- Other Ingredients:
- 3 Raw bananas peeled, sliced to 1/4 inch thick circular slices and add into a bowl with water
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Rice flour
- Few curry leaves
Instructions
- For the paste:
- Heat one teaspoon oil over medium heat, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
- Add chopped shallots, 2 slit green chillies, peeled garlic and fry till they are translucent.
- To this add chopped tomato pieces and sauté till they are soft.
- Add sambar powder and fry for a minute.
- Add some coriander and curry leaves and turn off the heat.
- Once the mixture cools down, transfer to a blender and grind to a coarse paste.
- Mix this with “dry ingredients for the paste”.
- Marinating:
- Drain the water. To the cut raw banana pieces add the marinade and mix.
- Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Frying:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a wide flat bottomed skillet.
- Temper with mustard seeds and arrange marinated pieces in a single layer.
- Cook over medium high heat until golden brown on both sides.
- Adjust salt, sprinkle rice flour, add curry leaves and fry till they turn golden brown with a crisp exterior.
- Serve with rice and sambar or rasam.
My Notes:
- Add cut raw banana pieces immediately in water, otherwise it will blacken very soon.
- While working with raw bananas apply a thin coat of oil to your palms. This will avoid the juice to stick to the hands which is difficult to remove and also avoids staining your clothes.
- Preferably use a nonstick pan but even a well seasoned cast iron pan will work wonders giving it a great texture and taste.
- Want to add a twist? Add a dash of tamarind paste , some saunf or fennel seeds to the paste and a whole new burst of flavours happen.
- You can also grill this. But make thicker slices, poke some holes with a fork to facilitate the marination and let it sit for an hour and then proceed to grill.
Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
