Banana Chips, a delicious snack made from raw plantain. In India, we use the special variety of raw banana known as "nethram palam" to make the chips. But here in Canada, i can't source them, so i went with the available plantain that i got from Walmart. 

Few times, i have tasted the banana chips that are available in Walmart/ any local grocery store here, guess they are made with this plantain, though it won't taste like Nethram chips, it's good on its own, so instead of buying the ready to eat chips, i have tried my hands on making some at home.

Now coming to the recipe, it's so easy to make them, all you need is raw plantain, some oil to fry, salt and some good slicer. The key to get tasty chips is how thinly you slice the banana. If you have slicer/bajji kattai, then it would be very easy to make them. 

Currently I don't have slicer with me, the problem of moving frequently, you often forget to pack the key utensils or you don't have enough space in your luggage to carry with you. But i learned to cook with the kitchen utensils that i have packed in 2 suitcases that i carried with me here., this is me who have recently moved to two different countries in the past 6 months talking, check me with one year later, i will pile up kitchen utensils again 😜 

Ok, enough with my stories, back to slicer, if you don't have one, use a sharp knife to cut as thin as possible like I did here. Obviously you end up  with some thick slices unless you're a pro in knife skills. Once fried, thick slices tend to get soggy when sitting over the counter for a  long time , so suggest to eat them first😊, now let's check out the recipe.

Related : How to make Spring Roll 

Vazhakkai Chips | Banana Chips | Plantain Chips

Preparation Time : 5 minsr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2-3 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Vazhakkai Chips, Banana Chips, Plantain Chips Banana Chips, a delicious snack made from raw plantain.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Plantain/Raw Banana/Vazhakkai -1
Oil - for frying
Salt & pepper - to taste

Procedure

First take the banana, peel and them make a thin slices.

The slices should be thin to get that crispy texture. Heat the oil for frying(if you like coconut flavor or kerala chips, then use coconut oil for frying) and add the sliced banana in batch.

Keep the heat on medium low and cook till "Shh" sounds and the bubble stops completely. Drain from the oil and place it on tissue paper.

Then immediately transfer into the bowl and add salt & pepper. Toss them well so that the seasoning coats them well.

Tada, yummy home made Plantain/Banana Chips are ready.

Related : How to make Masala Vada 

Notes:

• Make sure the banana slices are thin, otherwise the chips became soggy easily.
• For great flavor, you can use coconut oil for frying. I have used flavorless oil only here. But in the past, made this chips with coconut oil and the flavor was amazing.
• Add the seasoning when the chips are warm itself, so that it coats on them well.
• Instead of pepper powder, you can use red chili powder also for more heat.
• The flame should be medium low for even cooking, otherwise the corners get burnt easily and left the inside chewy.
  

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Kootu Curry | Kerala Kootu Curry | Accompaniment for rice

Kootu Curry, a delicious south indian accompaniment for rice made from mix of country vegetables. This way of making side dish for rice is quite popular in south tamilnadu and kerala, it tastes so good with lunch meal and also it's one of the commonly prepared  sadya delicacy in kerala during onam festival. Here in this kootu recipe i have used  the vegetables like yam, raw banana and  pumpkin,but i had seen recipes of this kootu online without pumpkin too, so i guess you can make this kootu with or without pumpkin too. Today's recipe is more of kerala way of making this kootu which is quite different from what we used to make at our home.  Now let's check out how to make this kootu curry.

Kerala Kootu Curry | Kootu Curry

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kootu Curry , Kerala Kootu Curry, Mix Veg Curry,Sadya recipe, Kerala recipe Kootu Curry, a delicious south indian accompaniment for rice made from mix of country vegetables.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Yam - 1/2 cup(chopped)
Raw Banana - 1/2 cup(chopped)
Pumpkin - 1/3 cup(chopped)
Black channa dal - 1/3 cup(cooked)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
To Grind
Coconut -1/3 cup
Green chili - 2
Garlic - 2 pods
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
To Temper
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Red chili -1 

Procedure

First chop yam,raw banana & pumpkin into small cubes. Pressure cook the chana for 3 whistle and keep it ready. Heat a pan with a cup of water and add the yam first.Cover cook the yam till it's half done, then add the pumpkin and raw banana, if needed add more water to cook.Cover the pan with lid and let it cook, in the mean time, grind the ingredients listed under "To Grind" into smooth paste.Once the veggies are almost done, add the coconut paste, cooked channa, turmeric powder and salt. Mix it well and let it cook until all blends well, it may take 5-7 mins, finally temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper " and add into the curry.That's it, Tasty and healthy Kootu Curry is ready to serve. It tastes good with sambar, kara kuzhambu or even with rasam.

Notes:

• Both raw banana and pumpkin cook easily than the yam, so i have cooked the yam till it's half done and then added the rest.
• Adjust the green chili as per your taste, the given quantity is for mild spice.
• Coconut oil gives great flavor to the curry, so highly recommend to use it.
• If you want more coconut flavor, roast a tbsp of coconut till it becomes reddish in color and add it into this kootu.
  

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Bajji | Vazhakkai Bajji | Raw Plantain Bajji | Diwali Recipe

Vazhakkai Bajji, a delicious deep fried snack made from the raw plantain / raw banana. It's one of the common snack that you can see across the tea stalls in South India. It's super easy to make and taste awesome with tea or as it is ! 

A week before deepavali itself, in our home, we started to prepare all those sweets and savories which we can keep it for more than 10 days to snack on. In addition to that, on the day of deepavali morning, we usually make uzhuntha vadai,paruppu vadai,susiyam, bajji and rava maida appam along with breakfast which we also offer these as prasadam for the deepavali pooja. 

Although i make bajji very often at home, i keep on forgetting to post it here. So last weekend, when i had prepared this vazhakkai bajji for our evening tea, i took few photos to post here. Is there any combination better than bajji & hot tea on rainy evening?Never, right. 

Bajji tastes absolutely fantastic with coconut chutney and tea/cofee. Here i have shared few tips that i have learned on how to make crispy bajji !!!

I remembered on one incident while editing this post today(Oct 2022). When we were in Houston, one of my friend visited me casually on the week end. Her husband was planned to pick her up on the evening while back home from the office. 

So in the evening, ST returned home with two of his collegues(who are my friend's husband and they all worked together) . As ST informed me earlier, i made bajji along with the tea to offer them.  All of them liked the bajji so much and raved about how good they are !  

The next day, the other friend(one who was not there the previous evening and only her husband was there) called me and asked me the recipe for the bajji and even told that her husband was talking all about the bajjis and  how good they are ! 

I was so happy to hear that and shared her the recipe.  The proportion of the rice flour and the besan is the key to get the crispy bajji and also well balanced seasoning makes all the difference !

Now let's check out on how to make delicious vazhakkai bajji.

Vazhakkai Bajji

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 3 to 4 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Vazhakkai/Raw Plantain - 1 
Besan - 3/4 cup
Rice flour - 3 tbsp
Baking soda - 1/8 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1/2 tsp
Water - as needed
Oil - for deep frying 

Procedure

In a bowl, add besan,rice flour,red chili powder, turmeric powder,baking soda & salt, mix it well, then add ghee and give a good mix, pour water little by little and make a thick paste.

The batter should be neither too thick not too thin. Set it aside. Peel the skin of the raw plantain and cut into desired length as per your liking.

Cut into thin slices and put it in water until use. Heat the oil for frying.

Take a slice of raw plantain from the water,gently tap it on tissue paper to remove the dripping water,then dip it in the besan batter well and gently drop it in hot oil.

Cook on both sides on medium flame until they are crispy. Remove from the flame and place it on tissue paper.

Tada, Quick and tasty Vazhakkai Bajji is ready. Serve it with coconut chutney.

Notes:

• Keep the sliced raw plantain in the water helps to avoid the color changing.
• Don't pour all water at once in the besan, add little by little and mix it. This helps to avoid forming lumps in the batter.
• You can use either slicer or knife to slice the raw plantain
• Cook the bajji in medium flame to ensure that the inside also cooked well.
  

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Vazhakkai Varuval | Raw Plantain Fry | Accompaniment

Vazhakkai Varuval, a simple stir fry made from raw plantain. Usually i make vazhakkai puttu along with sambar or kara kuzhambu for our lunch and it's our favorite side dish made from raw plantain. 

Next to that, i prefer to make this simple varuval with raw plantain, it goes well with almost any south indian kulambu varieties.

 

There is nothing fancy here, slice the plantain, marinate with basic indian spices and tava fry it. That's it, delicious vazhakkai varuval will be ready in few minutes apart from the marination time. So let's check out how to make this yummy varuval.

Vazhakkai Varuval

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Vazhakkai Varuval, Raw Plantain Stir fry, Vazhakkai Fry Vazhakkai Varuval, a simple stir fry made from raw plantain.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Raw Banana - 1 
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala  - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1/2 tsp + 1tsp

Procedure

Cut the edges of the raw banana and peel the skin of it and cut into thin slices.

Immediately put the sliced banana into water,it helps to prevent the color change. Drain the water from raw banana and place it on another bowl and add all the spices(turmeric,chili,coriander, garam masala powder) & salt.

Add 1/2 tsp of oil into it and mix it well such that all the pieces are coated well with the spices. Cover it and let it aside for 30 mins.

Heat the pan with the remaining oil and place each piece of raw banana separately on the pan and cook till the bottom side becomes brown, flip each pieces and cook on other side too.

Tada, Tasty and crispy Vazhakkai Varuval is ready.

Related : How to make Vazhakkai Podimas 

Related : More Curries & Veggies

Notes:

• Slice it thin helps to cook fast.
• Keep the flame in medium so that bottom doesn't get burnt.
• Some times instead of garam masala, i use cumin powder , that too tastes good. 
  

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Kerala Style Aviyal | Aviyal Recipe

Aviyal , a traditional curry made from mix vegetables, coconut paste & yogurt and finally seasoned with coconut oil & curry leaves . It's one of the  popular dishes in South Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The preparation of this dish is slightly varies from region to region and we used to prepare this dish in our family on all auspicious day. 

And i still remember that few of my friends had visited Tirunelveli to attend one of our colleague marriage and they were surprised by the taste of aviyal served in the marriage feast and also wondered about the amount of coconut used in just one dish.

Yes, in South Tamilnadu, lot of grated coconut is used and mostly we don't use curd in the aviyal. But today i'm gonna share the recipe of kerala style aviyal that i have been eyeing for a while, prepared it last week and relish with some rice and sambar. 

The flavor of this aviyal is quite similar to what we used to prepare in our home, but the consistency is like kootu and pairs well with rice.

Related : How to make Moru/Buttermilk Curry  

What are the vegetables used in Aviyal ? 

As i said earlier, the recipe for aviyal varies from region to region and even home to home also :-). There is no hard and fast rule here about what vegetables to use in aviyal. 

But traditionally, the aviyal is made with the local country vegetables available in and around South India. So the most common vegetables are drumstick, brinjal, raw banana, senai kizhangu(yam), potato & carrot. 

In addition to that, pumpkin(both yellow and white), peas, board beans and other local roots vegetables like pidi kizhangu, siru kizhangu can also be added.

Basically you can make the aviyal with  just a few vegetables to a dozen vegetables ! 

    

Kerala Aviyal

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 2 to 3 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kerala Style Aviyal, Aviyal, Aviyal Recipe, Tirunelveli Aviyal, Aviyal , a traditional curry made from mix vegetables,coconut paste & yogurt and finally seasoned with coconut oil & curry leaves .It's quite popular dish in south tamilnadu and kerala.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Carrot - 1 no
Beans/Cluster beans - 6 to 7
Potato - 1 ( medium size)
Banana(raw) - 1/2
Brinjal - 1
Drumstick - 5(1&1/2 inch piece and slit into half vertically )
Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
Curd - 1/4  cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt
To grind
Coconut (grated) -  1 cup
Green chili - 3
Garlic -1 pod
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
To Temper
Coconut Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard  & urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Procedure

First soak the chana dal for 30 mins.Cut all the vegetables into thick stripes . Put all the ingredients listed under "To grind" into mixie/blender jar and grind into smooth paste,keep it aside until use.

In a kadai,heat the water (approx 1 cup) and add the channa dal & the vegetables (potato,beans,cluster beans,carrot).

Once the added vegetables are half-cooked, add brinjal,banana & drumstick. Once the veggies are completely cooked, add the coconut paste.

Mix it well, then add the salt and turmeric powder.

Give a good mix ,let it be in flame for 3-4 mins and switch off the flame.Then add the well beaten curd and few curry leaves. Mix it well.

Temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add into the aviyal. 

Tasty Kerala Style Aviyal is ready.

Related : How to make Mathanga Pulissery 

Related : More Curries and Vegetables Recipes 

Notes:

• Add more/less of chilies as per your liking.
• Always use fresh curd for better taste.
• Add curd into the aviyal once switch off the flame to avoid the curdling.
• Coconut oil gives best flavor to the aviyal,so highly recommend to use it.  
• Use more country vegetables for better taste.You can use broad beans, yam too.
• As brinjal,banana & drumstick are easily cooked compare to other veggies that i have used in this recipe, so added this veggies later.
  

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Nethili Karuvadu Kuzhambu | Dry Anchovies Curry with Veggies

Neithili Karuvadu Kuzhambu, a spicy and tangy curry with dry anchovies and lot of country vegetables. Here in the curry, i have used brinjal, drumstick,raw mango and drumstick along with dry anchovies. All these veggies give great flavor to the curry,even without any one of the veggies,i never prepared this curry so far.
While making any dishes with dry fishes, always under do the salt, as dry fishes have lot of salt in it,over doing the salt totally spoil the dish. And the other thing is wash the dry fishes well as it has lot of dirt and sand in it especially when you buy from local fish market . The imported dry fish that come in package hardly have any sand,but still it's better to soak for 15 mins in hot water and wash it thrice before using it. 

Nethili Karuvadu Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Dry Anchovies/Nethili Karuvadu - 20 to 25
Tamarind - a goose berry size
Raw Banana - 1/2 
Green Mango - 1/2
Drumstick - 1
Brinjal -1
Green chili - 1
Tomato(small) - 1
Pearl onion -5
Curry leaves - few
Seasame Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard  -1/2 tsp
To Grind 
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Garlic - 2 pods
Pearl onion -1
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

Procedure

First soak the tamarind in water for 30 mins.In the meantime, take the karuvadu and soak it in warm water for 15 mins,then remove the head with your finger and wash it in water for atleast thrice and keep aside until use.Then chop the veggies(brinjal,mango,banana,chili) into thick strips, drumstick into 11/2 inch pieces,tomato into small pieces and keep it ready.Heat a kadai with oil, add mustard, let it splutter then add the pearl onions & curry leaves, saute for 1 min, then add the other veggies expect tomato.Saute the veggies in the oil for 2 mins, then add the tomatoes & karuvadu one by one, give a good mix with the veggies.Extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add it into the veggies and then add turmeric powder.Add chili powder & salt and bring to boil.Cover the kadai with lid and cook till the karuvadu and the other veggies are well cooked.In the mean time, grind all the ingredients listed under "To Grind" into smooth paste.Once the karuvadu & veggies are cooked , add the coconut paste and water(if needed) and bring into boil. Cook till oil separates on the top. That's it Tasty & Finger licking Nethili Karuvadu Kuzhambu is ready.

Notes:

• Brinjal, drumstick,raw banana & mango give great taste and flavor to the curry, i highly recommend to add all of these.
• Sesame oil gives great flavor to the curry.
• Nethili and other veggies almost take(10-12 mins) same time to cook.
• Under do the salt as karuvadu already have salt in it.Do the taste test and if needed, add at the end.
• If the raw mango has more sourness, then reduce the quantity of either mango or tamarind.
  

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