Vazhakkai Vathakkal ~ Roasted Raw Bananas

I had got 2 raw bananas from the Indian Street this weekend and after much thought , my childhood and office days back in India tempted me to check out of a South Indian side dish - roasted Raw banana.......and after much research I found this one which matches my taste buds ...........


Vazhakkai Vathakkal ~ Roasted Raw Bananas
Recipe source - Bharathy of Spicy Chilly

Ingredients

Vazhakkai/Raw banana- 2
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste
Sambhar powder(better option) or red chilly powder - 1tsp

To temper-

Oil- 1-2 tbsps
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- a sprig


Method

Peel the green skin of the raw bananas and immerse in a pan of water.[this is to prevent the brown coloration of the peeled veggie]
Slice them into thin rounds (not too thin: say, slightly less than half cm each).
Simultaneously boil a wide pan of water( 2 cups more or less, to immerse the slices comfortably) along with salt and turmeric powder.
Throw in the slices as soon as you are done, boil for a few seconds and drain the slices from the hot water using a colander.
Be careful not to over cook the pieces and see to it they are firm and half cooked. Be careful with the boiling water while you drain too :)

Heat oil in a wide non stick kadai.
Splutter mustard seeds, brown the urad dal, throw in the curry leaves and finally the pre cooked slices.Add the chilly/sambhar powder.Toss the slices.
Check salt and toss once a minute.
Let them get fried for 10-15 minutes in low flame until roasted and browned on both sides.
Remove from fire and serve hot with rice and curry.

Babycorn Pepper - Salt

This week......is Chinese special........I am trying to re create Indo Chinese recipes, that I am missing out here when I want to have them

10 - 12 baby corn, boiled
1/2 tsp cornflour
2tsp refined flour / plain flour
1.5 tsp black pepper corns freshly crushed - you can also use pink and white instead
2Tbsp Spring Onion greens - chopped
2 Stalk Spring onion bulbs - sliced vertically
Salt to taste
2 green chillies - finely chopped
1tsp ginger - finely chopped
1tsp garlic  - finely chopped ( i avoided this, but it does increases the flavor)
1Tbsp celery - chopped
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1tsp Vinegar
1tsp Soya sauce
1/2 Tbsp + for deep frying - Oil

Cut the boiled baby corns vertically ( 2 -3 cuts for a babycorn) into smaller pieces - bit size pieces
In a bowl add the baby corn and season with with salt and white pepper, add cornstarch / cornflour along with plain flour to dust and mix it well
Heat oil in a pan and add the coated baby corn and fry until crisp
In the meanwhile heat oil in a wok and add garlic, ginger , green chillies and celery ( you can add more apart from the specified quantity in case you like celery)
Give it a stir and add the onion bulbs, you can also add sliced onions
Saute well
Also keep a check on the babycorn, and stir it so that its evenly cooked and crisp - crunchy
Add soya sauce to the wok along with salt and the crispy babycorn , directly from the oil at this stage
Give it a mix and add vinegar, crushed peppercorns and garnish with spring onion greens
Serve it immediately since the baby corns needs to be crunchy and crisp......tat s when you will enjoy it the most