Vazhakka Pulissery Recipe

This is probably not an authentic Kerala Pulissery recipe for a couple of reasons. In the traditional pulissery recipes, I don't see the addition of coriander seeds. Also, the vegetable or fruit of choice is usually ripe mangoes, ethappazham, or raw mangoes for a sweet and sour pulissery. In this pulissery recipe, Seetha aunty, a relative of ours in Singapore, has used vazhakka (raw bananas) and winter melon (poosanikkai).

We go over to her place now and then for dinner and this pulissery was one made as an accompaniment to adai. It was a gorgeous combination and I loved it so much that she packed up the remaining pulissery and I brought it home with me!



Vazhakka Pulissery Recipe
Serves: 2 to 4

Ingredients:

1 cup cubed vazhakka / raw banana
(You can use ripe mango or green mango according to your preference of wanting sour pulissery or sweet and sour pulissery.)
1/2 cup cubed winter melon / pooshanikkai
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 green chillies
1 cup thick curd / yogurt
1 tsp coriander seeds / malli / dhania
1/4 tsp mustard seeds  / kaduku
1/4 tsp fengureek seed / menthayam / uluva
A few curry leaves
2 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp grated jaggery(optional)

How to Make:

1. Cook the banana and the winter melon in a pan with little water, salt and turmeric.

2. Meanwhile, grind the coconut, green chillies and coriander seeds with 2 tablespoons of curd to a fine paste.
Add this to the cooked vegetables and let it come to boil. Cook on low fire for 3-5 mins.

3. Add the rest of the curd beaten with a spoon. Turn off when the mixture is just reaching boiling point.

4. For tempering, heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, fengureek seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add to the gravy. Adding jaggery enhances the taste so do add it if you have some in hand.

Huge thanks to Seetha aunty for the lovely dinner and for this fantastic pulissery recipe.

Vazhakka Bajji / Fried Raw Banana Snack

I love vazhakka in any form. Be it stir-fried, as a thoran, in kaalan, even podimas or better still, as a steaming bajji dipped in tomato ketchup on a rainy day. Bliss! TH loves them too so this time his parents visited, we made vazhakka bajji. We just used 2 raw bananas and still there was more than enough for the four of us and we weren't hungry at all for dinner.


This is a great party snack for kids and adults alike. Who can resist the golden, crispy goodness of bajjis?!.

What I Used:

Vazhakka / Raw bananas - 2
Besan / Kadala mavu / Chickpea flour - 2 cups
Whole jeera / jeerakam / cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida / kaayam - 2 pinches
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - enough to make a thick batter
Oil - to deep fry

How I Made It:

1. Cut the banana midway and then slice them length-wise. The idea is to get thin (really thin!) slices of them about 4 inches long.

2. Mix the chilli, salt, hing, jeera and besan well in a bowl and make a thick batter with just enough water. Make sure the consistency is a bit thicker than pancake / dosa batter, but not too thick that it doesn't leave your hand when you raise it above the bowl.

3. Heat oil until nice and warm. Dip the banana slices in the batter and make sure its coated on all sides. Drop gently into the hot oil and wait for 2 mins before turning them over.

4. When the bajjis turn golden brown, transfer to a tissue-lined container and serve immediately with some steaming tea.

Goes well with tomato sauce / ketchup and the monsoon rains. Enjoy!

Vazhakka Podimas

This is a typical tamil dish which I was quite oblivious about until I got married. My mom-in-law is an awesome cook and she has a bunch of these really simple recipes that use so little masala and ingredients but taste so great. Vazhakka podimas is one of them and its one of TH's favourite. Only catch is, we need to go all the way to Little India or Serangoon in Singapore to get Vazhakka (Plantain).



To know the difference between raw bananas and plantain, please read this quite funny post by the Jugalbandits.

Like I mentioned, this is another one of my quick-fix dishes and tastes great with hot rice and rasam.


What I Used:

Plantain - 2, steamed and grated
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp (optional)
Chana dal - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 2 tsp
Chopped green chillies - 2
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

1. Steam the plantain (with skin) till done. I just put it on the steamer plate that came with my rice cooker and it was done along with the rice. If you don't have a steamer, you can poke the plantains with a fork and microwave it on high for about 3-4 minutes. Let it cool completely.

2. Skin and grate the plantain coarsely.

3. Heat the oil and temper with mustard seeds and the chana dal. Roast the chana deal for about 10-15 seconds till it turns a light brown. Don't let it burn.

4. Add the jeera powder, turmeric, chillies and hing and fry for another 15 seconds.

5. Next, add the coconut and grated plantains and stir in salt. Mix well on sim and add some curry leaves or coriander leaves if you like.

6. Remove from fire and mix in the lime juice. I normally do this just before serving, when the dish is still warm and not too hot.

This dish is really tasty and the plantains become quite soft once cooked. We both love it! Potatoes can be cooked in the exact same manner too.

Ethakka Thoran/Vazhakkai Poriyal/Raw Banana Kerala Style

Normall we use pandikka/vazhakkai for thoran and mezhukkupuratti. This time I went home, there were some left over ethakka after making chips so amma suggested we make thoran with that. Not only did it come out well, but I am also quite proud of the pic below :D




What I Used:

Raw bananas - 3
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Shallots - 6 nos
Jeera powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - one pinch
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - one strand
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

Boil the banana till soft in a little water and salt. Grind coconut, jeera powder, 2 shallots and turmeric. Heat oil and add mustard seeds and urad dal. Then add the remaining shallots in small pieces, curry leaves, the ground coconut paste and fry a little. Finally add the boiled banana, mix well and stir till the paste has blended. Serve warm with rice.

This is my entry to JFI - Banana, for September, hosted by Ahaar.