Raw Banana Pulissery

One day when my husband brought home raw bananas, suddenly I remembered that in childhood I have had raw banana pulissery. It is easy to prepare and tasty with boiled rice.

Ingredients

1 raw banana

2 ½ cups curd

½ cup water

½  tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

To season:

1 tbsp coconut oil

¼ tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp finely cut onion

1 tsp ginger, garlic cut fine

1 green chilli cut into three

A few curry leaves

Instruction

-          Peel the raw banana, cut into cubes, Put them in boiling water with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt for five minutes. Drain and keep aside

-          Beat the curd nicely, add water, turmeric powder, salt and mix well.

-          Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, cut onion, ginger and garlic, curry leaves and cut green chilli. When they brown, remove the vessel from fire.

-          Let it cool for a couple of seconds and slowly add the prepared curd. Keep stirring and keep on low flame.

-          When frothing appears along the sides, add the boiled raw banana pieces. Keep stirring and remove from fire after a minute. Don’t let it boil, or the curd will curdle.

-          Serve with boiled rice. 

Boiled rice served with raw banana pulissery and boiled seasoned green gram.

Pongal

 

In Tiruvannamalai when we used to go for meditation retreats, we often frequented a nearby restaurant for breakfast. Along with idli vada sambar chutney, there was awesome Pongal. My husband was very friendly with the owner, who gracefully shared the recipe for the Pongal. It is made frequently at home as we all love it.

Ingredients

1 cup rice

¾ cup split, skinned green gram(mung dal)

5 cups water

Salt to taste

To season

2 tbsps ghee

1 tbsp Cashew nuts

½ tsp pepper corns

1 tbsp ginger cut into thin strips

Instruction

-          Wash and clean the rice and soak for ten minutes

-          Roast the mung dal, then wash and drain

-          In a thick bottomed vessel, take five cups water, soaked rice, washed dal, salt, and keep on high flame.

-          When it boils, reduce the flame to minimum, cover the vessel partly and let it cook for ten minutes.

-          Heat ghee, add cashew nuts, pepper corns and the ginger strips. 

       When the ginger turns brown, pour it over the Pongal and close.

-          Open, mix well and serve with pickle, papad and curd.

Banana Fritters

 

This is a very delicious snack which I used to have during every visit in Kerala because this Kerala banana was not available in Belgaum. A couple of years back a Reliance store opened nearby and to my utmost delight, they supply them. Now I can make them at home!

In Malayalam it is "Ethakkai appam" or "Pazham pori". 

Ingredients:

1 Kerala banana (for 8 fritters)

1 cup rice flour (you can use refined flour too, but rice flour makes it more crispy and is gluten free)

1 tbsp sugar

A pinch of salt

A pinch of turmeric powder (to give that tempting color)

1/3 tsp cardamom powder

¾ cup water

Oil for frying

Instruction

-          Take the rice flour, sugar, salt, turmeric powder and keep adding water little by little and mix well.

-          The consistency of the batter should be such that when you dip your finger into the batter and take it out, the batter should coat the finger in a somewhat thick (not too thick) layer

-          Add the cardamom powder and mix.

-          Peel the banana and cut horizontally into two. Each half is now longitudinally sliced into four.

-          Heat the oil, when it starts smoking, reduce the flame to medium.

-          Take a banana slice, dip into the batter, coat uniformly, and gently slide into the hot oil. Add a couple of more coated slices.

-          Turn them over and cook the other side too.

-          Drain and serve hot with tea or coffee.