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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Vazhaikkai Puttu | Vazhaikkai Podimas | Raw Banana Stir Fry

Vazhakkai Puttu also known as Vazhakkai podimas is the one of authentic dishes made with raw banana and it's famous in Tirunelveli District of Tamilnadu. 

It's a  simple stir fry of raw banana with onions & grated coconut. But the flavor and the taste is simply amazing. It's one of my favorite accompaniments for lunch and I prefer this over Vazhaikkai varuval any day!. 

Most people outside Tirunelveli District are not much aware of this dish and in some places it's known as  "Vazhakai Podimas". But in and around of Tirunelveli, if any veggies are grated or thinly sliced and make stir fry with it, then it's known as "Puttu" instead of "Poriyal"

It's one of the recipes that looks so simple and easy but it can easily go wrong and in the end you will be left with mushy banana. When I tried this for the first time, it was a total disaster. After a lot of attempts, now i say that i can make perfect Vazhaikkai puttu, So there are few places that you need to be very careful for making fluffy,tasty and non-sticky vazhakkai puttu/podimas. 

Here are few things to be taken care for delicious vazhakkai puttu

1. Not all types of raw banana work for this recipe. In Tamil we call "Naatu Vazhakkai" that's the best for this recipe because it yields a large quantity when it's cooked and grated or you can try it with a banana that has thick and firm flesh. 
2. The whole raw banana should be immersed in water while boiling for even cooking.
3. While boiling the raw banana, rotate it a couple of times for even cooking.
4. Cook the raw banana till it's fork tender. Don't overcook otherwise it's difficult to grate the cooked raw banana.
5. Grated raw bananas should look like grated coconut ! That's the sign of a perfectly cooked raw banana.
6. Let the raw banana cool completely before grating.
7. Keep the flame in lowest possible after adding the grated raw banana in the tempering to avoid sticking at the bottom.

Hope i have shared all the teeny tiny details to make the perfect Vahzhakkai puttu/Podimas. Now let's check out how to make these delicious podimas.

Vazhakkai Puttu

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Vazhakkai Podimas,Vazhakkai Puttu, Raw banana Podimas, Raw banana Puttu Vazhakkai Puttu also known as Vazhakkai podimas is the one of authentic dishes made with raw banana and it's famous in Tirunelveli District of Tamilnadu.

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

Ingredients

Raw Banana - 1 

Onion - 1 small

Green chili -1

Salt - to taste

Mustard & Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Grated coconut - 11/2 tbsp

Procedure

Bring 2 cup of water to boil, cut the banana into two and add into the boiling water and keep the flame in low . Cook it for 8-10 mins. At that time, the skin color of banana gets changed and also it's tender when it's pressed

Remove the banana from water and allow to cool completely.Peel the skin and the grate it with grater.

Now add enough salt to the grated banana and mix it well with your hand. Cut the onions into thin slices and split the green chili.

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan, add the mustard & urad dal,once mustard splutters, add the onions,chili & curry leaves along with pinch of salt.

Saute it well until the onions becomes translucent and then add the grated banana ,give a quick stir.

Close the pan with lid and keep the flame in low,let it be for 2 mins. Then open the lid and add the grated coconut , stir well and switch off the flame.

Tasty Vazhaikai Puttu is ready. Serve it as accompaniment for lunch. 

Related: How to make Potato Podimas 

Notes:

• Suppose your banana is  undercooked, dont worry, after adding the grated banana in the pan, sprinkle a little water and close it with lid and cook it for few more extra minutes.
• Don't stir frequently, it will make the banana mushy.  
• Sometime i use large hole in grater and sometimes i use small holes. The step wise pic and the end pics are taken on different days. So there is a difference in the size of the grated banana.

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