Vazhaikai Podi - Raw Banana Tossed In Lentil And Spice Powder

VAZHAIKAI PODI

Preparing vazhaikai podi is as easy as eating a ripe banana! Raw banana cooks very fast and once you keep the 'podi' ( powder ) handy, a delicious vazhaikai podi can be dished out in no time. There are various recipes using different ingredients for preparing the podi, but I love my mother's podi the best.

  

INGREDIENTS

Raw bananas - 2 ( medium size )

Tur dal - 4 tbsps

Red chillies - 6

Asafoetida - one small piece

Salt - 1 1/2 tsps

sesame oil - 2 tsps

Mustard seeds -1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

METHOD

1. Wash and cut the raw bananas across into 2 inch thick pieces.

2. Add enough water just to cover the cut vegetable and cook till tender.

    

3. Drain and cool the cooked bananas.

4. Heat a drop of oil in a pan and add asafoetida.

5. Add tur dal and red chillies and roast till it emanates a pleasant aroma.

      

6. Cool and coarsely powder the roasted ingredients.

7. Remove the peel and crumble the cooked banana.

8. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

9. When the mustard seeds splutter add the curry leaves and decrease the flame.

     

10. Add the crumbled banana, the dal powder and salt and mix well,and switch off flame.

    

Enjoy the hot and spicy vazhaikai podi with rice and a dollop of ghee, just as you would enjoy chutney and rice.

    

Or relish it with rasam rice or curd rice.

This post goes to "Healing Foods - Banana" event at Krithi's Kitchen!