Navigation

Vazhaipoo vadai

Vazhaipoo vadai

Published on June 25, 2020 | In | By
0 Comments
    • Yield
    • 24
    • Difficulty Level

Cleaning banana flowers is actually therapeutic and once cleaned and soaked in buttermilk, will stay for a day in the refrigerator. This is a very simple ,easy recipe and makes the best use of this amazing ingredient!

There I was minding my own business doing some research for a blog post for a customer when I got a call from the farm saying they had extra banana flowers to spare. “Please send it over” I said and continued with my work.

A short while later, to my surprise,it came to my knowledge that this was the very ingredient I needed to complete the blog post along with a photo shoot. The Universe knew something …a plan that was going to come together very soon.

Thereafter my brother called saying he would drop by the next evening for a quick photography tutorial which I had been asking for….still did not relate it to the banana flower and so the day went on.

The blog post got completed and it was time to do the pictures the next day. Making the recipe and the rest of it went into late afternoon. All done and wrapped up ,it was clean up time. Here it comes…

On the counter was about a cupful of florets remaining from the blog post recipe feature. And what pops up in the head….Vazhaipoo vadai of course ! And here I thought I was serving my brother some dark chocolate brownies!!! Whatever was I thinking !

Thankfully we had some of the lentils soaking (coincidence?) and the quantity was just right for the cupful of banana florets we had.

I’m telling you , the vazhaipoo vadai was feeling neglected for not being written about ;)… Self flattery I know …lol…..can la ! (as the Singaporeans/Malays would say)

 

Anyway, the vadai was made before the elusive brother could do his disappearing act… (he loves ullundhu vadai) .  Bites into these and says “What vadai is this ?” I know better than to mention an edible flower to him (face in palm) but honesty & all that made me go …”um vazhaipoo”.  The mouth stopped chewing for a few seconds, a quizzical and unbelievable lift of the brow later ,”only you will make me eat flowers !!!” Whew !… And then ate a couple more.

I’m thinking the next time he eats a vazhaipoo vadai , he will think of me !  So that’s what this was about…another special memory. Camera tutorial + vazhaipoo vadai and some free sisterly advice thrown in for good measure 😉

Honestly what will they do without me in their lives ?

No no…no need to answer that.

Just make the vadai and tell me what memories you created.

 

Recipe Rating

  • (0 /5)
  • 0 ratings

, , , , ,

Recipe
    Text size

Ingredients

  • Banana flower (Vazhaipoo)-1
  • Chana Dal-1 C washed and soaked for 2 hours
  • Red chilli powder- to taste (2 tsps)
  • Turmeric powder-1 tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for frying
  • Ginger- a small piece finely chopped (optional)
  • Thin buttermilk -3 C

Instructions

  1. Peel away the outer purple sheaths of the banana flower. The small florets will be clustered against the base of the large purple petal. Save the outer covers until frying the vadai (fritters)
  2. Hold the cluster of pale florets and pries it off the outer purple cover .Let it soak in the buttermilk to prevent discolouration.
  3. Drain the soaked lentils and put it in a mixer jar along with salt , red chilli powder, turmeric powder and ginger.Grind it to a coarse paste and set aside. (Some lentils can be whole and some smooth.This gives a nice texture difference when fried.)
  4. The flower has small stamens. There is one large stamen with a black tip in the centre. Pull it forward and remove it. It comes away easily. Repeat this for all the florets. You can smear your palms with coconut oil to prevent stickiness or temporary discolouring. Repeat this until all the florest have been cleaned. Put it back into the buttermilk until done. Once done, chop up finely .
  5. Add the chopped florets to the lentil mixture and mix well. Make small, flat discs and set aside on the purple petals so it can be turned over onto the palm easier than on the plate. Less washing up too.
  6. Heat oil in a deep pan.
  7. Gently slide one disc into the hot oil and cook on both sides until golden,
  8. Serve hot as a side during meal times or as a tea time snack.

Rate this recipe

  • 0 People Rated This Recipe

  • Average Rating

  • (0 / 5)
No comments yet.

Post a Comment