I am back after a very short unplanned break :).Despite the fact that I was spending more time than ever in this space for the last three days,I could not blog anything because I was working at backoffice :P.Well I was planning some changes here which did not happen as I planned,so I am letting those changes take a back seat for this moment.Anyways I am happy that I had taken a proper a backup of my posts,I am able to continue here.Coming to today's recipe,how many of you are familiar with this vazhakai podi,I ask this because,I have seen people raising eyebrows when this recipe is mentioned.This is a very authentic recipe from Tambram cuisine.Vazhakai is plantain in Tamil,in this recipe it is boiled and mixed with a freshly ground spice powder,makes a real tasty one to mix with rice/serve as side dish.Very simple to make when you need to serve a crowd with not much veggies in hand or in short of time to make a crunchy munchy roast with plantain (I would anytime prefer that though).You can adjust the spice level as per your taste,serve with sesame oil for authentic taste and flavor.Here is the recipe for you all to try,lemme know what you think.
Vazhakai podi recipe
Star ingredients:Plantain (vazhakai/raw banana)
Time:20 minutes
Serves:6
Ingredients
1 large firm raw banana/plantain/vazhakai
2 tablespoons urad dal
2 tablespoons channa dal
4 dried red chillies
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
Salt
Sesame oil
Method:
1.Cut the plantain into 3-4 pieces.Boil until soft(I pressure cooked)
2.While the plantain is cooking,heat 2 tablespoons oil in a kadai.
3.Fry urad,channa dal,asafoetida and dried red chilies.
4.Once cooled grind to a coarse powder along with salt.
5.Peel the boiled plantain and mash it well with hands or a potato masher.
6.Mix the mashed plantain well with the ground powder.Serve with sesame oil and rice or as side dish with kuzhambu.
Notes:
1.If you are preparing in large quantity,it would be easier to grate the boiled plantain instead of mashing it.
2.Adjust the spice level as per your
taste.
3.While mashing let few small pieces of plantain here and there.They add a great chewy texture to the podi