Vazhaipoo Vadai/Banana Blosssom Fritters

The heavy rains and the chill weather in chennai makes me crave for something crispy and hot.and this recipe which I learnt from my mother is definitely a super hit in my family.yes it is the vazhapoo vadai or banana blossom fritters which I am talking about.even those who don't like vazhaipoo will love this vadai.it is an ideal evening snack with tea or coffee and tastes good with plain hot rice and rasam .

Preparation time :40 mins

Serves:4

Ingredients:

Chopped Vazhaipoo or banana blossom -1 cup

Chopped onion-1 no

Asafetida or Hing-1 tsp

Salt-to taste

Fresh coriander leaves-a small bunch

Mint leaves-6(optional)

Roasted gram dal flour or pottu kadalai maavu -1/4 cup

To be grind to a coarse paste:

Toor dal or pigeon pea -1 cup

Gram dal or kadalai paruppu -3 tbsp

Red chilies-4 or 5

Garlic-4 pods

Ginger-1/2 inch

Fennel seeds-1 tsp

Curry leaves- a small bunch 

Procedure :

1.Soak both the along with red chillies for 30-40 mins.

2.Once it is soaked well and keep the ingredients ready.Drain the water completely from the dals and grind it along with the ingredients given for grinding to a coarse paste.Do not add water .If required sprinkle a few drops.

3.To the ground paste add chopped vazhaipoo,onion,salt,hing,mint and coriander leaves.

4.Then add the pottu kadalai Mavu or roasted gram dal flour to this mixture and mix well.Take a small portion of this mixture and round it to a small ball and press lightly to make vadais.

5. Heat oil in a wok and keep the flame to medium.When the oil is hot ,drop the vadai one by one carefully and fry them till they are golden brown on both sides and drain it in a tissue.

6.Delicious,golden brown and crispy vazhaipoo vadais are ready to be served.

Tips:

*Do not add water when grinding the dals .If the mixture is too watery then add more gram dal flour to get a firm mixture that can be rolled in to vadais.You can even refrigerate the mixture of its a bit watery .

*To clean and chop banana flower refer:

https://snapguide.com/guides/clean-a-banana-blossom-flower/.

*Increase or decrease the amount of chillies based on your spice level.

Paneer Pulao (Cottage Cheese Pulao)

My son is a great fan of paneer no matter what the dish.so paneer is on our family menu at least once a week but believe me I don't know why I haven't posted a single paneer recipe on my blog yet.I guess I mostly make paneer for dinner and either I get too tired to click a picture or the lighting is not sufficient.So this time when I made Paneer Pulao for lunch and the first thing I decided is to make a post of it on my blog .Here goes everyone's favourite Paneer Pulao and I served it along with small onion and capsicum raita (which I will post soon).to add colour to the pulao I added green peas.You can add other veggies too.

Preparation time:20 mins

Serves :3

Ingredients:

Paneer or Indian cottage cheese cubes-200 gms

Basmati rice or (jeeraga samba rice which I used here)-1 1/2 cup

Green peas-1/2 cup

Thinly sliced onion-1 no

Chopped fresh mint leaves-1/4 cup

Chopped fresh coriander leaves-1/4 cup

Garam masala-1 tsp

Salt -to taste

Sugar-1 tsp

Milk-1/2 cup

Oil-2 tbsp

Ghee-1 tbsp

To be grind to a fine paste:

Small onion or pearl onions-6 to 7 no

Garlic -5 pods

Ginger-1 1/2 inch

Green chillies-2( depending on your spice level)

To temper:

Star anise-2

Bay leaves-2

Cinnamon-2 one inch sticks

Green cardamom -2

Cloves-2

Procedure:

1.Grind the ingredients given for grinding to a fine paste.

2.Heat a cooker,add 1 tbsp of oil and ghee .Then add the sugar and once it caramelizes add  the ingredients given for tempering .Now ass the sliced onions and saute well.

3.Once the onions turn golden brown add the ground pate ,followed by chopped mint and coriander leaves.

4.After it is sauteed well ,add the green peas and soaked basmati rice and mix well.

5.Then add the water and milk followed by garam masala. Mix well and close the cooker lid and cook for 2 whistles.In a separate wok add a tbsp of oil and shallow fry the paneer till they are golden brown.Place this roasted paneer inside warm water to retain its softness.

6.Add this paneer to the cooked rice and mix well when it is hot so that the flavour blends well with the paneer.

7.The most yummy and flavorful paneer pulao is ready in a jiffy.Serve hot with any raita of your choice.

Tips:

*I used Jeerasamba rice so the grains are small.You can use basmati rice to get a long grain texture but flavour wise both are good.

*Mixing the paneer after the rice is ready helps it to keep soft .If you cook the paneer along with rice,sometimes it turns rubbery.

Ragi Laddu/Finger Millet Ladoo

Diwali is here and all I wanted to make this Diwali is something healthy as well as yummy .There was a pack of sprouted ragi flour in my freezer for quite sometime (I keep my flours in freezer so that it keeps fresh without any insects) and I usually make ragi dosa or ragi cookies with it.I wanted to ragi Laddus for this Diwali as these finger millets are packed with all the nutrients and also they are sprouted to add which is more nutritious and ideal for growing kids .I was curious about the taste but believe me it was more delicious than maa Laddu and my son seeing the colour thought it as chocolate Laddu and enjoyed it a lot.So Happy Diwali guys ! Enjoy your Diwali with these delicious Ragi lLddus.

Preparation time :30 mins

Makes:25 medium sized laddus 

Ingredients:

Sprouted ragi flour/ragi flour-2 cups

Sugar-1 cup

Ghee-1/4 cup or as needed to shape the laddus 

Cardamom powder-2 tsp

Assorted  chopped nuts(almond,pistachio,cashew)-3 tbsp

Procedure:

1.Dry roast ragi flour on slow flame till a nice aroma comes for around 15 mins.

2.Powder the sugar to a fine powder.Add this sugar to the roasted ragi flour and add the cardamom powder too.

3.Heat ghee and roast the nuts till they are golden brown. Add the flour and sugar mixture to the ghee and roasted nuts and mix well. Switch of the flame.

4.After mixing them well take a small amount of the mixture and press well between the palm to make laddus. 

5.Delicious and healthy ragi laddus are ready to be relished.

Tips:

*If the flour is not roasted properly then the laddus will not taste good.

*Use sufficient ghee to make balls out of the flour.

*I used sprouted ragi flour.You can also use normal ragi flour.

*You can reduce the sugar to 3/4th cup if not sweet toothed.

*These laddus tastes absolutely delicious.





Senai Kadi(Elephant Yam dal)

Senai Kadi or Elephant Yam Dal or Senai Kootu is one of my favourite dish .Everytime my mom makes it ,I will be eagerly waiting to have it with hot rice and paruppu and a spoon of ghee.Generally we make a shallow fry with senai kizhanghu or elephant yam  which is usually loaded with calories as we use a lot of oil to shallow fry it.But this is a very healthy and tasty alternative to use this root vegetable .My mom used to say that is a dish which she learnt from my paternal grandmother who hails from Thirunelveli.

Preparation time :30 minutes

Serves:3

Ingredients:

Elephant yam or senai (chopped)- 200 gms

Moong dal or pasi paruppu -5 tbsp

Finely chopped green chillies-2 nos

Finely chopped ginger-1/2 inch

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Hing or asafetida-1/2 tsp

Tamarind - 1 small gooseberry size 

Salt- to taste

Oil-1 tbsp

Coriander leaves-to garnish

To be grind to a fine paste:

Shredded coconut-5 tbsp

To temper:

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Urad Dal-1 tsp

Red chillies-2

Curry leaves-few

Procedure:

1.Soak the tamarind in half cup of water for 20 mins and extract the pulp.Pressure cook the diced yam along with chopped green chillies and ginger ,moong dal,turmeric powder and hing.

2.Grind the coconut to a fine thick paste .

3.Heat the tamarind pulp till the raw smell goes off.Add the ground coconut paste to the cooked yam and dal mixture .

4.Now add the tamarind extract to it and temper it with the ingredients given for tempering .

5.Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with plain rice and rasam.