Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf | Meen Pollichathu | Fish Fry in Banana Leaf | Vazhai Ilai Meen

Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf | Meen Pollichathu | Fish Fry in Banana Leaf | Vazhai Ilai Meen is a healthy option for fish lovers, that too who prefer fried fish rather than curry fish. This is more like steaming fish in banana leaf. Though Karimmen (Pearl Spot fish) Pollichathu is our family’s favourite, I didn’t  plan for preparing any special dish last week when I bought koduva | barramundi fish. When I was marinating  the fish with spices, I got an idea of preparing this fish fry in banana leaf as I got some left-over  banana leaves which I bought for Panguni Uththiram, the previous day. I followed the simple recipe, yet it turned out to be so yummy. This is mainly due to the flavours of banana leaf which really enhanced the taste & aroma of the dish. The fish potlis looked so cute on the serving plate and tasted real yum. We enjoyed it as a starter with onion rings & tomatoes and got vanished like flash in the pan.

Ingredients:

• Fish – 5 pieces
• Banana leaves – as required
• Oil – 2 tbsp for frying
• Onion, cilantro, tomato – for garnishing

For marination:

• Red chilli  powder – 1 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
• Pepper powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Lemon juice – 1 tsp
• Thick tamarind paste – 1 tsp
• Oil- 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Clean & wash the fish pieces using water with turmeric and curd.
2. Add the ingredients kept for marinating and mix everything well to form a paste. Add few drops of water, if needed, to make a thick paste.
3. Apply this masala paste on the fish pieces and marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.
4. In the mean time, wash the banana leaves and dry them.  Check the leaves by folding them to ensure that they are flexible enough to wrap the fish, without tearing. If they are thick and tend to tear while folding, switch on the flame and show the banana leaves over the flame for few seconds, just to make it tender. Don’t overdo this to change the colour of the leaves. Normally tender leaves won’t get torn while folding.
5. Cut the leaves into big squares to wrap the fish pieces.
6. Place the single fish piece with some marinade, in the centre of each banana leaf and fold on all the sides to form a potli or packet. Tie it with twain or thread. Repeat for other fish pieces and prepare the potlis | packets.
7. In a non stick pan, add 2 tbsp of oil and heat.
8. When the oil is hot, arrange the fish potlis on the pan and keep it closed.  Cook  the fish in simmer for about 5 minutes. Then carefully flip the fish to other side and cook covered for 5 minutes. Repeat again with both sides twice or thrice & cook covered until done. This will take 20 to 25 minutes in simmer.

Tasty fish potlis are ready to relish. Enjoy the bite with any of your favourite side | dip or with hot, steamed rice & fish curry...

Note:

• Care should be taken while flipping the fish potlis.
• You can add any spice | masala of your choice and proceed with the same cooking process but marination part is very much essential.

Tags: Fish Fry in banana leaf recipe, steamed fish fry recipe, Fish pollichathu, Koduva meen in Banana leaf, How to cook fish in banana leaves?,  Fish fry in banana leaf, Fish cooked in banana leaf, Fish banana potlis, Fish potlis for starter , Vazhai Ilai meen recipe, simple fish fry in banana leaf, koduva meen fry, Healthy fish fry recipes, Diet fish recipes, Seafood recipes, fish recipes, Simple koduva fish fry recipe, How to steam cook fish in banana leaf? Grilled fish in banana leaf, steamed barramundi in banana leaf

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Palaakkai kola urundai | Palaamoos kola urundai | Raw jackfruit kofta ball | Baby jackfruit kola

Palaakkai kola urundai | Palaamoos kola urundai | Raw jackfruit kofta ball | Baby jackfruit kola is a deep fried ball prepared with the mashed baby jackfruit pieces, fried gram powder & other spices.  These balls are crispy in their outer cover with a soft, spongy inner and have a nice meaty texture.  No one will find out it is made out of baby jackfruit and will not say “no” to these  yummy koftas. So I’m sure this recipe would be a keeper recipe for those who have a chance of getting these baby jackfruits. They can try this out without any second thought.

As I told you in my previous Jackfruit Recipes, i.e. Palakkai Biryani & Palakkai Kurma, we have this jackfruit tree in our home town. Only yesterday, my sister brought me this year’s batch. Though so many dishes can be made out of this palaakkai, my son is not a big fan of eating curries like kootu, poriyal, pirattal, etc. I was thinking too hard to come up with a recipe which would make him eat. Finally, I came out with a recipe of making these balls.

Let us move on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Palakkai pieces – 2 cups
• Garlic (grated)– 1 tbsp
• Ginger (grated) – 1 tbsp
• Green chillies (finely chopped) – 2 Nos
• Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder – ¼  tsp
• Cilantro | Coriander (finely chopped)– 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil to fry

To Grind:

• Red chillies – 2 Nos
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
• Porikadalai | Fried gram – ¾ cup

Method:

1. Peel the skin by applying oil on both hands as well as the knife and  cut it into bite-sized pieces. Transfer the pieces to a bowl of water as we do for raw banana. This prevents the jackfruit pieces  from darkening. Discard that water.
2. Pressure cook the jackfruit pieces by adding salt, turmeric powder and enough fresh water for about 2-3 whistles.
3. Allow the pressure to release, open the cooker and drain out the pieces. Discard the water and keep it aside.
4. Grind porikadalai | pottu kadalai along with red chillies & fennel seeds and keep aside.
5. In a mixing bowl, add the pressure cooked jackfruit pieces and mash them coarse like keema, using masher or with your hands.
6. To this palaakkaai keema, add the ground porikadalai mixture and all other items mentioned above i.e. finely chopped green chillies, coriander leaves,  grated garlic & ginger,  garam masala powder, turmeric powder & salt. Mix everything very well to form a smooth dough. No need to add water.
7. Make small balls out of this dough and keep aside.
8. In a deep bottomed kadai, add oil and heat the oil.
9. Fry the balls in simmer until done.

Your crispy, spongy Palakkai kola urundai is ready to eat! Pala musu kola urundai can be taken as a snack or starter along with any soup or as an accompaniment with rice.

Note:

There is a risk of getting the balls broken in oil. So follow the tips given below to get the perfectly shaped Palakkai kofta balls.

• There will be no need to add water while making kofta dough. If you cannot make a ball, then drizzle few drops of water and proceed.
• Don’t mash the pressure cooked jackfruit pieces too fine or grind it in a blender. Mashing them coarse will retain the texture of kofta.
• First try with a single ball and if you find the ball gets broken, add some more  porikadalai powder and try again.
• The balls should be fried in simmer otherwise these balls will become black in colour.
• Don’t turn over the ball immediately after adding in the oil, wait for some time and continue with flipping.

Tags: Palaakkai balls recipe, Palakkai kola urundai, Chettinad kola urundai recipes, Palakkai kofta balls recipe, Palakkai keema balls, fried Palakkai balls, Palakkai kaima urundai, Baby jackfruit kola urundai recipe, Palaa Moosu kola urundai recipe, Palaa Pinju kola urundai recipe, kofta recipes, Starter recipes, Koftha balls recipes, Kola using baby jackfruit, Kola urundai with raw jackfruit, Palakkai recipes, Raw jackfruit recipes, Baby jackfruit recipes, Recipes using palaa moos, Palaakkaai recipes

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Dry Gobi Manchurian | Cauliflower Manchurian | Restaurant Style Gobi Manjurian

Dry Gobi Manchurian | Cauliflower Manchurian | Restaurant Style Gobi Manjurian is a very popular Indo-Chinese starter | appetizer. It is also an ideal accompaniment for any fried rice as well as noodles. I wanted to prepare something different from our usual South Indian menu for this Sunday. As usual my son opted for Egg fried rice with Gobi Manchurian. I too agreed since I didn’t post the recipe so far in my blog, though I’m making it quite often.

Now going to the recipe,  preparation of Gobi manjurian involves  two steps process. First  by deep frying the batter coated cauliflower florets, second by sautéing the deep fried florets with some sauces & spices. Very simple recipe but there are some tips to follow to keep the batter intact while frying. Other than that there is no secret in preparing Restaurant Style Gobi Manchurian at home.

Here we go for the recipe!

Ingredients:

For Deep Frying:

• Cauliflower florets (Cleaned & chopped) – 1 cup
• All purpose flour (Maida) – ¼ cup
• Corn flour –  3 tbsp
• Rice flour –  2 tbsp
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
• Pepper powder – ¼ tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

For Sautéing :

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Ginger (finely chopped) – 1 tbsp
• Garlic (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Spring onion – 3 sprigs
• Capsicum (finely chopped) –  3 tbsp
• Red chilli sauce – 1 tbsp
• Soy sauce – ½ tsp
• Tomato sauce – 1 tbsp
• Pepper powder – 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Clean the cauliflower and cut into small florets. Soak these florets in hot water with salt and turmeric for about 5 minutes.
2. Take out the florets and wash in regular water and allow the water from the florets to drain completely.
3. Take a large bowl, mix all flours with ginger garlic paste, pepper powder along with required salt.
4. To the mixture, add the water needed and mix well to form a creamy thick batter, as we do for idli batter, without any lumps. To this, add cauliflower florets and mix well so that all the florets get coated with the flour mix thoroughly. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes.
5. Heat a deep bottomed kadai, pour required oil for deep frying. When oil is heated, take out the batter coated florets and spread one by one in the oil.
6. Cook in medium-high flame, after some time when you find the bottom layer got cooked, turn to other side and cook until done on all sides. Drain from the oil when they turn golden brown in colour.
7. Continue the process for rest of the batch and allow the oil to drain from the florets on a tissue paper | paper towel.
8. In a broad non-stick pan, heat oil and add finely chopped ginger and garlic till they become crunchy and turn into golden colour.
9. To this add, finely chopped white part of the spring onion and sauté for a while. To this add finely chopped capsicum and sauté on high flame until they become bright green in colour.
10. To this add all sauces, salt, pepper powder & sauté well. Add 2 tbsp of water and mix everything well.
11. To this add the fried cauliflower florets and toss everything well. Finally add the chopped green part of the spring onion. Mix well & switch off.

Your hot, crunchy Gobi Manchurian is ready to serve. It can be served hot with any fried rice | pulao | noodles or as a starter with any soup.

Note:

• Care should be taken while adding water to the flour mixture.  The consistency should be such that the flour mixture should not get dripped from the cauliflower, it should just coat, that’s all.
• Don’t increase the quantity of soy sauce anymore because that will make the manchurian darker.
• Do sauté immediately after frying the florets.
• Care should be taken while adding salt since salt has already been added in the batter for florets and there will be some salt content in the sauces as well.

Tags: Gobi manchurian recipe, Restaurant style gobi manjurian recipe, Chinese Cauliflower fry, Cauliflower florets chinese fry, Spicy Gobi Chinese fry recipe, Cauliflower manchurian, Gobi manjurian dry, deep fried gobi. Deep fried gobi fritters, fried cauliflower fritters simmered in Chinese sauces, How to prepare restaurant style Gobi Manchurian at home?

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Goat Brain Fry | Moolai Masala | Aattu Moolai Varuval

Goat Brain Fry | Moolai Masala | Aattu Moolai Varuval is a simple dish but a tasty one.  The preparation is almost like what  we do for “egg scramble”. My grandma used to make moolai poriyal  by adding eggs with brain which would taste like egg burji.  Today I don’t want to add volumes to my dish and hence I decided to make a simple masala. This can be served as  a starter as well as a side for sambar, rasam or curd.

Ingredients:

• Goat Brain – 1 No.
• Shallots (finely chopped) – 5 Nos.
• Ginger garlic paste – ¼ tsp
• Tomato (finely chopped) – ½ No.
• Red chilli powder – ¼ tsp
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Pepper powder – ½ tsp
• Salt to tatse

For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
• Curry leaves – few.

Method:

1. Wash the brain in running water and cut into bite size cubes and keep aside.
2. In a non stick pan, add oil and season with the items given “For Seasoning”.
3. Add shallots, fry till onions turn golden brown in colour.
4. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off.
5. Then add tomato and fry till it becomes mushy.
6. Now add all masala powders & salt except pepper powder and sauté for a minute.
7. Then add ¼ cup of water and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Now add brain pieces and combine with the masala gently without breaking the pieces.
9. Cook covered in simmer for about 5 minutes turning the pieces once in between.
10. Finally add pepper powder, mix everything well and switch off.

Tasty Goat Brain Fry is ready in minutes! We had this yummy fry with Markandam Soup |Nenju Elumbu Soup…

Note:

• Brain will get cooked in few minutes. You can confirm this by checking the red lines on the brain become invisible.

Tags: Aattu Moolai Masala Recipe, How to prepare masala with goat brain, How to cook brain, Goat brain fry recipe, moolai masala, moolai varuval recipe, brain fry recipe, Chettinad moolai masala recipe, Aattu moolai varuval recipe

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Sweet Potato Cutlet | Sweet Potato Patty | Sarkaraivalli Kizhangu Cutlet

Sweet Potato Cutlet | Sweet Potato Patty | Sarkaraivalli Kizhangu Cutlet is a healthy snack prepared with sweet potatoes in combination with some spice powders. The sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, beta carotene, etc. So it is a healthy vegetable which can be included in our regular diet.

My husband  and I like to have these boiled potatoes for morning breakfast but my son never likes them that way. So I used to play around with sweet potatoes, coming out with new dishes to make him eat by hiding it in the dishes which he likes the most. I’ll post the other recipes in due course. I’ve already posted the recipe for  Sweet Potato Gulab Jamun  and I’ve got good feedback from my friends too!

My son’s vacation started only 3 days before and he wanted to have some finger food for the evening snack. I don’t like to order anything from outside since summer has peaked up in Chennai. So I wanted to make something on my own but I didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Suddenly I got an idea of making these yummy cutlets for him.  Once the potatoes are ready, it took only about 15 minutes for the end product. The sweetness of this veggie when combined with little spice and tangy with a dip of tomato sauce…mmm… it tastes heavenly J! We enjoyed a lot..

Ingredients:

• Sweet potatoes (medium) – 2 Nos.
• Green chilli (finely chopped) – 1 No.
• Onion (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Cilantro | Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Corn flour – 2 to 3 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil for shallow frying

Method:

1. Wash and pressure cook the sweet potatoes. Allow them to cool.
2. Peel off the skin and mash to a smooth paste without forming any lumps.
3. Then add all the ingredients except oil and mix everything well.
4. Take a portion of the mix and flatten it to get the desired shape.
5. Continue doing the same for the entire mix.
6. Heat oil in a non stick pan and shallow fry the cutlets on both sides until golden brown.

Your lip smacking Sweet Potato Cutlets are ready to serve! We had these cutlets with tomato sauce.

Note:

• Don’t overcook the sweet potatoes.
• You can add all purpose flour | maida or bread crumbs in place of corn flour.

Tags: Sweet Potato Cutlets, Shakarkandi patties recipe, Sweet Potato Recipes, Healthy Snack Recipes, Appetizer/ Starter Recipe, sakkarivalli kizhangu cutlet recipe, how to prepare cutlets using sweet potato?, Indian appetizer, Starter/Sanck recipe, Healthy cutlet recipe

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Chicken 65 (Dry)

Chicken 65 is a “quick to make” starter with many interesting stories behind its origin. The 65 at the end of the name has many explanations. Some claim that this chicken dish is named after 1965 – the year it first appeared on Buhari’s menu. This trivia even features in some of the famous quiz programmes!

Today, I thought of making this dish for lunch as it had been a long time since I made this at home. I did not make this dish for a long time as we happened to go out for dinners frequently and whenever  we went out, we used to consume a lot of fried foods. So I have avoided even frying appalam | vadam at home. Otherwise, I feel it is always better to prepare the fried items at home once in a while  because the home-made dishes will be healthier since we use our regular masalas and not adding any harmful ingredients like food colour, ajinomotto, etc. So,  I made this for 2 reasons, one for  blog post and other,  my son. He is a fan of Gobi 65 as well as Chicken 65 and hence he thanked the blog!

Here  we go for the recipe of making Chicken 65  starter at home.

Ingredients:

• Boneless chicken  – 1/2  Kg.
• All purpose flour (Maida) – 4 tbsp
• Corn flour – 3 tbsp
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Pepper powder – ½ tsp
• Garam masala powder or chicken masala powder – ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Thick curd – 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method:

1. Wash chicken in running water and cube it into desired size. Squeeze out the water completely from the chicken pieces and keep it aside.
2. Take a large bowl,  mix all the above ingredients given above except oil. To this add chicken pieces and mix everything well. Mix until all the chicken pieces get  coated with the marinade. Allow to stand for about 30 minutes.
3. Heat a deep bottomed kadai, pour required oil for deep frying. When oil is heated, take out the marinated chicken pieces  and spread one by one in the oil.
4. Cook in medium flame, after some time when you find the bottom layer got cooked, turn to other side and cook until done on all sides.
5. Continue the process for rest of the batch.

Your hot, spicy, juicy  Chicken 65 is ready to serve.  It can be served as a starter or as a side dish for rice, pulao or rotis.

Note:

• I didn’t add any food colour in this recipe but in restaurants, they do. I got the colour as shown in the pic, so I feel that there is no need to add any colour.
• I feel the chicken breast suits the best for the recipe. You can also use chicken with bone.
• Don’t add water before adding the chicken pieces to the marinade because chicken will also leave out some water. Decide whether to sprinkle some water after mixing everything.

Tags: Chicken 65 recipe, Restaurant style chicken 65 recipe, Chicken fry, chicken breast pieces fry, Spicy chicken fry recipe, Quick starter recipe, chicken 65 dry, deep fried chicken 65. Deep fried chicken fritters, fried chicken fritters, starter recipe with chicken, quick starter recipe with chicken

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Gobi 65 /Cauliflower 65(Dry)/ Cauliflower Fritters

Gobi 65 or Cauliflower 65 is really a treat for vegetarians and non-vegetarians also go in for this dish in place of chicken 65. This dish is the one which I always want to stay away from because once I start eating a single piece with sauce and onions, I could not resist eating again and again. My son is a great fan and when  we decide to go to Saravana Bhavan, he will say “ok” only after getting assurance that we order Gobi 65 as a starter along with Sweet Corn Soup (his favourite combo!),  Or whenever he wants to have a bite, he will opt for Saravana Bhavan. These facts drove me to learn this recipe and when I prepared this for the first time, cauliflower came out from the  masala and both were separated. But even then my son, managed to eat. He loves Gobi 65 that much. So I have sincerely put an effort to make it perfect and now my son says. “Ma,you are making the best Gobi 65 in this world!”

As a cook, there are many other reasons to love this dish. The recipe is very simple and loved almost by everyone. When we prepare food for some get together, this can be included one among the menu because this can be served either as a starter with hot soups or as a side dish for some pulaos, biryanis or even rotis. We need not scratch our head if kids are coming because it’s a kids friendly dish too. Not only for gatherings, we can prepare this as a tea time snack instead of regular Bajji/ Bonda.

Here  we go for the recipe of making Restaurant Style Gobi 65  starter recipe.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower florets (Cleaned & chopped) – 2 cups
• All purpose flour (Maida) – 2 tbsp
• Corn flour – 3 tbsp
• Rice flour – 2 tbsp
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Lemon juice – 1 tsp
• Thick curd – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method:

1. Clean the cauliflower and cut into small florets. Soak these florets in hot water with salt and turmeric for about 5 minutes.
2. Take out the florets and wash in regular water and allow the water from the florets to drain completely.
3. Take a large bowl,  mix all flours with ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric., lemon juice, curd along with required salt.
4. To the mixture, add cauliflower florets and mix well so that all the florets get coated with the flour mix thoroughly. At this stage, you can sprinkle few drops of water only if needed and mix evenly. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes.
5. Heat a deep bottomed kadai, pour required oil for deep frying. When oil is heated, take out the masala coated florets and spread one by one in the oil.
6. Cook in medium flame, after some time when you find the bottom layer got cooked, turn to other side and cook until done on all sides.
7. Continue the process for rest of the batch.

Your hot, crispy  Gobi 65 is ready to serve.  It tastes great when  it is served hot… hot  with tomato sauce and fresh onions!!

Note:

• Care should be taken while adding extra water to the flour mixture.  The consistency should be such that the flour mixture should not get dripped from the cauliflower, it should just coat, that’s all.
• I didn’t add any food colour in this recipe but in restaurants, they do. I got the colour as shown in the pic, so I feel that there is no need to add any colour.

Tags: Gobi 65 recipe, Restaurant style gobi 65 recipe, Cauliflower fry, Cauliflower florets fry, Spicy Gobi fry recipe, Cauliflower 65, Gobi 65 dry, deep fried gobi. Deep fried gobi fritters, fried cauliflower fritters

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Mutton Kola Urundai/ Minced Meat Ball (மட்டன் கோலா உருண்டை)

Mutton kola urundai or Mutton kaima ball or Mutton keema ball or Minced  Meat ball or Mutton Kofta is a special Chettinad dish usually prepared for special occasions especially for treating grooms immediately after marriage. My grandma used to prepare these balls with ease, like any other dishes, kootu, poriyal, etc. She used to make these balls  in 100s since it is a favourite one for everybody in my family.  Though she made in large quantities, the dish will disappear within a few hours because these balls can be eaten like a snack and can also be taken as an accompaniment for rice.  We will never get bored of this dish and must have someone to ration the quantity. 

I think, this description is enough for you to try out this recipe and enjoy with your family! Let us move on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Mutton kaima ( Minced meat) – 150 gm
• Cinnamon- ½ “ piece
• Clove – 1 No.
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
• Khus khus (Poppy seeds) – 1 tsp
• Shallots – 7 Nos
• Garlic – 5 pods
• Ginger – 1” piece
• Green chillies – 3 Nos
• Red chillies – 3 Nos
• Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Porikadalai powder (Fried gram powder) – 150 ml
• Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
• Salt to taste
• Oil to fry

Method:

1. Wash the mutton kaima thoroughly and squeeze out the water and keep it aside.
2. In a kadai, add a tablespoon of oil and season with cinnamon, clove and fennel seeds.
3. Add onion, ginger and garlic and sauté for a while.
4. Add green, red chillies and khus khus and sauté till nice aroma comes.
5. Add curry leave sand coconut and sauté for 2 minutes.
6. Now, add mutton kaima and sauté , close the kadai with a lid and cook the kaima. No need to add water because the kaima itself will release enough water to cook the kaima. Sauté till  water from the kaima dries out. Allow the contents to get cooled.
7. Transfer the contents to a mixie jar and grind without adding any water.
8. In a large bowl, add turmeric, salt, porikadalai powder with the ground mixture and mix everything evenly.
9. Make small balls out of this dough and keep it aside.
10. In a deep bottomed kadai, add oil and heat the oil.
11. Fry the balls in simmer until done.

Your crispy, hot mutton kola urundai is ready to eat!

As I mentioned already, it can be taken as a snack or starter along with any soup or as an accompaniment with rice and any sambar, my choice is always for ElumbuSambar!

Note:

       There is a risk of getting the balls broken in oil. So follow the tips given below to get the perfectly shaped mutton keema balls.

• First try with a single ball and if you find the ball gets broken, add some more  porikadalai powder and try again. If you are not confident enough, you can add one egg and mix with the batter.
• The balls should be fried in simmer otherwise these balls will become black in colour.
• Don’t turn over the ball immediately after adding in the oil, wait for some time and continue with flipping.
• As soon as the balls are added in the oil, the oil will become frothy.  So don’t panic, it will subside automatically after the balls are cooked.

To view  Mutton Kola Urundai recipe in Tamil, visit http://ranisarusuvai.blogspot.in/2013/12/blog-post_18.html

Tags: Minced meat balls recipe, Mutton kola urundai, Chettinad kola urundai, Mutton kaima balls recipe, mutton keema balls, fried mutton balls, mutton kaima urundai, Fried mutton koftas

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Vaazhaipoo Vadai (Plantain flower vada)/ Plantain Flower Fritters

This is a very famous and delicious chettinad recipe. The tough and time consuming task in this recipe is cleaning the plantain flower. We can schedule the recipe for 2 days, i.e first day,  cleaning the plantain flower and the second day, preparing dough and then vada. All the effort we put in, will yield a good, tasty , crispy vada and will be loved by everyone.

Plantain flower is very good for ladies for uterus related problems. Children will not eat this if we make poriyal, thuvattal, kootu, etc., due to its sour (thuvarpu in Tamil) taste but it will be irresitible when it is tranformed into vada. There are many fans (family, friends&colleagues) for my vazhaippoo vadai and  I am dedicating this recipe especially to them.

Ingredients:

•   Plantain flower (small) -1 no
•   KadalaiParuppu – 200 gm
•   Red chillies – 6 nos
•   Fennel seeds – 1 Tbsp
•  Garlic – 2 to 3 pods
• Green chillies (finely chopped) – 2 nos
• Asafetida  -  1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Shallots – 8 to 10 nos or big onion – 1 no.
• Rice flour – 2 Tbsp
• Coriander and curry leaves ( finely chopped)- 3 Tbsp
• Salt as required
• Oil as required.

Method:

Soak the kadalaiparuppu and red chillies for minimum one hour. Now add the soaked dhal along with red chillies and garlic and grind it coarsely without adding water as we do  for “Aamavadai” . Then,  clean the plantain flower ( I’ll blog the step by step procedure for cleaning the plantain flower) , thoroughly  wash the florets in water and chop it finely and put in the water diluted with curd (add 2 to 3 Tbsps of curd in a cup of water) so that the plantain flower will not turn into black color. Nicely squeeze out the water from the chopped florets and add this to the ground dhal. With this, add fennel seeds, finely chopped green chillies, onion, coriander& curry leaves, asafetida, turmeric powder, rice flour and salt and thoroughly mix everything ( don’t add water , the moisture in the onion and plantain florets will be enough to mix). In the mean time, heat oil in  a flat bottomed kadai. Make small balls out of the vada mixture. Flatten these balls , thinner than “AamaiVadai”and fry in slow fire, flip the vadai on both sides till vadais turn into golden brown colour.

Mouth watering VazhaippooVadai is ready to eat.

This can be taken as evening snack along with tea especially during rainy season (adai mazhai kaalam) or can be a great accompaniment for any variety rice, sambar rice, curd rice or for rasanjaadham!!

Note :

1. The colour and crispiness of the vadai will be decided by the oil temperature. So we need to fry these  vadais in medium flame.
2. Care should be taken while grinding kadalai paruppu, it should be coarsely ground without adding water.
3. You can keep the cleaned plantain florets (without washing) in an air tight container in the fridge for about 2 to 3 days. Whenever, you need the florets  you can wash and chop as per your recipe.

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