Tamil Nadu Recipes

VAZHAIPOO (BANANA FLOWER) VADAI (VADA)

Posted on 31. Oct, 2012 by Uma in Snacks

In a tropical place like South India, we get in plenty Banana flowers and fruits.
So it is common here to make dishes out of Banana flowers.
This Banana flower Vadai can be eaten as a snack item or as a side dish along with rice meals.

COOKING TIME:  2 hours

SERVINGS: 2

INGREDIENTS:

1. Banana flower: 1 cup (finely chopped flower)
2. Bengal Gram Dhal (Channa Dhal): 0.5 Cup or 100 Grams
3. Green Chilies: 2
4. Onion: 1
5. Curry leaves and Coriander leaves: 1 sprig each
6. Aniseed: 0.25 Teaspoon
7. Salt:  0.5 Teaspoon
8. Turmeric Powder: 0.5 Teaspoon
9. Oil: 200 ml

METHOD:

Soak Bengal gram Dhal in sufficient water for 1 1/2 hours and grind in a blender along with salt and aniseed to a coarse batter consistency.

Take the Banana flower bunch and remove the outer layer and then the flowers individually first.

Then remove the stamen and the membrane which are not edible  from each flower.

Chop them finely and keep them in water with turmeric powder till they are added to the batter.

This will help the flower to retain its color.

Chop onion, G.chili and curry, coriander leaves finely.

Mix the Dhal batter with the chopped flower, onion, G.chili, Curry, Coriander leaves and make small lime sized balls.

You must squeeze and remove all the water completely from the chopped flowers before mixing with the batter.

Flatten them and shape them like “vadais.”  Heat oil in a skillet and drop the vadais gently in to the hot oil 3 or 4 numbers at a time and deep fry.

You have to turn it carefully so that both sides are well cooked to a golden brown color.

Drain excess oil and serve hot.

TIPS:

1. you will get approximately 10 pieces of vadais for this quantity of ingredients.

2.  In case the batter has too much water to make the vadai to the right shape, you can add 2 teaspoons of puffed Bengal gram dhal powder (Pottu kadalai mavu)

3.  We can make “keerai vadai” replacing the Banana flowers with chopped greens.

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