Vazhakkai Varuval | Raw Plantain Fry Recipe | Gluten Free and Vegan

Hi Supermoms,

I want to share a secret with all of you. 

There are a few dishes which I personally feel that I cannot cook as tasty as my grandmother and mother . In my early married years, I used to think that making Mor kuzhambu is tough and would never venture to make it.  When I shared this with my mother, she laughed and shared that Mor Kuzhambu is actually one of the easiest recipes 😀.

She patiently taught me how to cook a great tasting kuzhambu including the perfect texture of kuzhambu without the curd getting split . Similar story for Thengai Thogayal/ Coconut Chutney for rice. It is my brother's most favourite dish and  my mother would make ( and still makes) very frequently. I used to reserve Thengai Thogayal recipe for my mother and ask her to make it whenever she stays with us. Later, I mastered that one too . 

Now, plantain is a tricky vegetable to cook . If the plantain is farm fresh , it takes just few minutes to cook and can get mashed very easily. If the plantain is a few days old , then they can become harder and might need little water to cook. 

My mother makes 'World's Best Vazhaikkai Kari' and there can be no competition to that. She tells me that she follows my grandmother's tip to cook raw banana/plantain. She would boil water and add the chopped plantain for a few minutes and then cook them. The taste of plantain is simply amazing . I am yet to get that perfect taste and texture and my efforts to achieve that still continues. The day I get success, I will surely share her recipe with all of you.

Today, I am going to share my Vazhaikkai Varuval recipe. It  has got so many praises and my husband simply loves the taste. First step is to peel the plantain and thinly slice them into roundels . Keep them soaked in water till you mix them with the chick pea flour . 

You can either deep fry them in ground nut oil or you can bake them. 

Vazhakkai Varuval | Raw Plantain Fry Recipe :

Preparation time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time : 20 minutes ( for deep fry) 45 minutes ( baking)

Serves : 4 

1 cup = 250 ml cup 

Ingredients :

4 medium size Indian plantain /raw banana ( peeled and sliced into roundels)

1/2 cup chick pea flour/besan

1/4 cup rice flour 

1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder ( I use Kashmiri red chilli)

1 teaspoon coriander powder/dhania powder

1/4 teaspoon saunth/dry ginger powder /sukku

1/4 teaspoon jeera powder

pinch of asafoetida 

1 sprig curry leaves ( roughly torn)

1-2 garlic cloves ( grated) ( optional)

salt to taste

oil to fry ( I use ground nut oil)

Method:

1. In a wide bowl, add besan, rice flour and all the spice powders in the ingredients list.

2. Add salt, grated garlic, curry leaves and mix well.

3. Drain the water from the plantain and add it to this mixture.

4. Mix and coat the plantain well.

5. Heat oil and fry them in batches.

6. Alternatively, you can add 3 teaspoons of hot oil into the plantain mixture , mix and then layer them in a baking sheet. Bake them in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes. Flip , drizzle oil and continue baking till they turn crisp. 

Chef tip : For the fries to remain crisp, you can spread them in a baking tray and bake/heat them in a pre heated oven for 10 minutes at 140 degrees, before serving. It is nice to serve crispy vazhaikkai varuval . 

Your delicious Raw Banana/Plantain Fry is now ready . I served it for lunch along with Strawberry Sadam. Tasted so crisp and yummy. 

Happy Cooking !

With love,

Masterchefmom