May 27, 2008

Vazhaipoo vadai / Plantain flower fritters


My friend Shalini shared her recipe for Vazhaipoo vadai. Separating the stamen out of each floret is a time consuming process. But, the taste of the crunchy vazhaipoo vadai is worth the time. Click here to learn more about Plantain flower. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:


Plantain flower - 1 medium

Channa dal - 1 cup ( soak in water for 2 hrs)

Turmeric powder - half cup

Water - 2 cups

Onion - 1 medium - chopped finely

Coriander leaves - half bunch - chopped finely

Salt as required

Oil for deep frying

Grind the following coarsely for the masala:

Cinnamon - half inch stick

Cloves - 5

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Peeled garlic - 2 to 3 pods

Green chillis - 3 to 4

Getting the plantain flower ready:

Take a bowl full of water mixed with turmeric powder.

Take out the outer purple layer of the plantain. You will see a bunch of white flowers.

Take one bunch out.

Take each floret and remove the stamen, which has a black tip and also peel off the small skin that is attached to the floret. Please refer the picture below.


Chop the florets and mix it in the turmeric water so that it does not change color.

Repeat this procedure until you have atleast three fourth cup of chopped plantain florets.

Method:

Drain the water from the channa dal and grind it without adding water.

Mix in the ground masala, chopped onion, salt and chopped coriander leaves.

Drain the water from the chopped plantain florets and mix it with the batter.

Since no water is used while grinding the consistency will be thick.

Take a tablespoon of the batter and shape it into a ball. Flatten it by pressing a little.

Deep fry both sides until golden brown.

Vazhaipoo vadai is ready and can be served with any kind of chutney.

Serve the crisp vadais immediately. It's a great starter and an authentic delicacy from Tamil Nadu. There are many versions of preparing the vadais. Few people mix asafoetida powder, cumin seeds or even substitute red chillis for green. When the masala is ground using the old fashioned mortar and pestle, vadai's taste is enhanced.


The first picture is my entry to Click - Beans and Lentils photo event hosted by Jugalbandhi.

14 comments:

J said...

Nice way to include plantain flowers in our diet.

indosungod said...

Vadais crispy and tasty , i dread the cleaning process though. Cool pictorial on what to remove - picture worth a thousand words :)

FH said...

This is a new dish to me, looks delicious Mythee!:)

Sia said...

lovely looking vadas myth. my mil made patra/patrode using plaintain flowers and they were absolutely delicious. unfortunately i dont get them in my part of the world :(

Anonymous said...

They are the crispiest vadai illa? Amma adds pottukadalai too :)

Finla said...

Back at home we had curried with the flower but never fritter, it looks delicious

ranji said...

these vadas look very crispy..adition of banan flowers makes it tastier too...lovely entry..

Uma said...

yummy vadas, looks so inviting. I have some banana flowers with me. thanks for this idea.

FewMinute Wonders said...

Reminds me of the movie Kandukondain Kandukondain where they prepare this vadai.Will bookmark this recipe. thanks for sharing.

KayKat said...

Mmm ... haven't made these in a long time. I love sitting around and peeling the flowers -think that's my favourite part of making these :)

Vani said...

I haven't had plantain flowers so far! They look so pretty! The vadas look delicious & crsipy!

bee said...

thank you for a lovely click.

Kalai said...

Beautiful vadais, Myth! I adore vazhaipoo. We usually make poriyal with it. I'm wondering is there any dal that can be substituted for chana dal as far as you know? Just curious. Congrats on the award, too! :)

Mallika said...

I love your step by step instructions. I've never cooked with plantain flower so must look for it in the shops!