Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Vazhaikkai puttu

Vazhaikkai - unripe banana; puttu - anything steam cooked and loose as sand .Vazhaikkai puttu is a spicy scrambled plantain fry served as side dish with rice.

Brinjal, drumstick, mango, unripe banana, small juicy tomato, pumpkin, yam etc are called native vegetables (naattu kaai) in Tamilnadu , while green beans, cauliflower, cabbage, beetroot, carrot etc are called English kaai:)  I love those naattu kaai very much and will spend a lot of time in that vegetable section in the Indian store till hubby's turn comes in the billing counter:)
Coming to the unripe banana, the Indian variety holds good for side dishes like this. The other variety normally available here is the ethankkai (long banana), which is great for making chips.   If you have not tasted this puttu so far, then make it for dinner and serve with piping hot rice and vatral kulambu / sambar and appalam, I am sure you will fall in love with this like me.  This puttu comes in my menu at least once a month  and here is the recipe for you all.

Nattu vazhaikkai (Indian plantain).  Aren't they cute!



Ingredients:
unripe Indian banana - 2
onion (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
dry red chilly - 2
curry leaf - 1 sprig
coconut oil - 1 tbsp
shredded coconut - 1/4 cup
cumin - 1/4 tsp
turmeric - a pinch (optional)
salt - to taste

Method:
Wash the green plantains / bananas. Steam cook them using an Idly cooker or in a normal cooker without adding the pressure valve for 10 minutes. Check it by piercing a fork and it should pass through without difficulty but firm in shape.

Take out and let them cool. Remove the skin and grate the unripe banana in a carrot shredder. Mix salt and cumin to it. Keep aside.

In a wok, heat the coconut oil and add mustard seeds followed by the black gram lentil. As soon as the mustard crackles add the dry red chillies, curry leaves , onion and stir till the onion wilts. Immediately add the shredded plantain and mix well. Check for salt.  Fry till it becomes loose. Then mix the freshly shredded coconut and switch off.

Vazhaikkai puttu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with rice and sambar or vatral kulambu or kara kulambu or rasam.

Note:
Some people ad d turmeric to the puttu , while others make it white. Both tastes good.

17 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

Puttu with raw plantains are always my fav..delicious..

JishasKitchen said...

ITS SOMETHING NEW TO ME...DEFINITELY GONNA TRY NEXT TIME.

Swathi said...

Vicki. Vazhaikkai puttu looks delicious. I like to make them.

Thenammai Lakshmanan said...

yes we do.. this thing Viji..and we name it as puttu podimas..

thx for sharing Viji

Ms.Chitchat said...

Thanks for reminding me of this recipe. This is similar to vazhakkai podimas I used to prepare sans onions. A sure try this week :):)

புவனேஸ்வரி ராமநாதன் said...

Superb. Will try this one soon.

Santosh Bangar said...

i likeur style of cooking raw banana it looks tasty

Sushma Mallya said...

Nice and simple dish...

Hari Chandana P said...

yummy and delicious recipe.. looks gr8 !!

Chitra said...

Will surely try this. iam looking for a change .thnx viki :)

Suja Manoj said...

This is new to me..nice dish..will surely give this a try.

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

I tasted puttu in our recemt trip to Kerala and am drooling over your recipe here.

sathya said...

Puttu looks delicious, love anything with raw plantains.

Unknown said...

First time on your blog Viki - Love the Vazhakai preparation - If you are in NJ it's as good as being in India for all food purposes :-) Will visit again :-)

Soumya said...

very healthy and delicious puttu...loved it...

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Viki
I like raw banana dishes, including a Bong dish made out of the peels.
WIll try soon.
have a nice weekend

Kitchen Boffin said...

i havn't tasted this before.. sounds yummy..

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