Pazham Pori - Banana Fritters

Pazham pori

Next my recipe is pazham pori (banana fritters) and my sons favourite item. In our childhood days we ate snacks like Ada, kozhukkatta, ottada etc. Pazham pori or banana fritters rarely used to be made @ homes those days. It used to me more of a delicacy available @ hotels... Its a traditional evening snack item of kerala. 

Pazham (malayalam for banana) pori is made using the traditional Banana of Kerala which is the Nendran Pazham. 

As indicated in one of my earlier blog posts on Nendram Pazham Payasam (Click here to read that recipe), there are huge benefits of nendram banana.

Nendran Pazham or Kerala Banana is widely used in Kerala and is one of the staple fruits of the state along with other fruits such as Jackfruit, pineapple etc.

Though we all are aware of the benefits of banana in general, very few of those outside Kerala know the benefits of this "King of Bananas"...

This banana is of great nutritious value and it has a rich combination of energy value, tissue building elements, proteins, vitamins and minerals. It is a good source of calories, many other nutrients and enzymes. People of Kerala traditionally use this banana as a balanced and supplementary diet. Hence, it is a wonderful nutritious diet for easy digestion, which prevents diarrhoea and worm trouble. They are also packed with vital nutrients known for preventing tummy ulcers, its potassium content may help prevent the formation of kidney stones and protect against high blood pressure and stroke, the vitamins in bananas (particularly vitamins A, C, and E) can help protect your eyesight... Boiled and mashed banana is excellent for kids even from 4 months onwards...

Ingredients

Ripe nendran banana -1 no
All purpose wheat flour (maida) - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 tpn
Salt - 1 pinch
Water - 100 ml
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch

Process

Peel the banana and slice them length wise into half  and then slice each half way into 3 or more to get the thin slices. Keep it aside.

Take another vessel and mix the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt. Pour water and blend it thoroughly to form a semi thick batter. Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the batter for the yellow colour since the flour is white.

Now take the chopped banana slices and dip into the batter. The banana slice must be completely coated with the batter.

Take a deep frying pan and heat enough oil to fry. 

When the oil gets heated dip the banana pieces and fry them until they became golden brown colour.

Remove from oil and drain the excess oil with tissue papers.

Pazham pori is ready...

#bananarecipes, #keralarecipes, #pazhampori, #kidsrecipes, #vegetarianrecipes, #snacks

Dum Aloo - Baby potatoes fried and mixed with Onion-tomatoes spicy gravy

Dum Aloo

Dum aloo is prepared by using baby potatoes. Dum Aloo is orginated from Kashmir.

This dish is well known in northern India, but very popular in Kashmir and Punjab.

Ingredients for Dum Aloo

Baby Potatoes - 15 nos
Onion - 2 nos, medium
Tomato - 2 nos
Bay leaf - 1 no
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Cloves - 4 nos
Ginger - 1 small piece
Garlic cloves - 4 nos
Green chilly - 1 no
Cumin seeds -1/2 tpn
Cashewnuts - 12 nos
Red chilli powder - 1 tpn
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tpn
Coriander powder - 1/2 tpn
Kasuri methi - 1/2 tbsn
Cream - 2 tbsn
Salt as required

Process for making Dum Aloo

Wash and clean the potatoes and boil the potatoes in  a pressure cooker (put some salt as it helps the salt to get into the potatoes as well) with enough water. Cook for one whistle and switch off the flame. 
Once pressure is released open the lid. Then take the potatoes and put it into normal water. 

Once potatoes are cooled to touch, peel them. 

Heat one teaspoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the potatoes in it. Saute them untill they are light brown colour. Remove it to a plate and  keep aside.

I have not deep fried the potatoes due to the heavy unhealthy fat content. If you want to deep fry the potatoes, you can prick the cooked and peeled potatoes at some places before deep frying.

Chop onions, Tomatoes, ginger, green chilly and keep aside

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan and add cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves. Saute it for a couple of minutes till we get the smell of it. 

Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic cloves and green chillies. Add some salt as it helps onion to get sauteed easily.

Cook them till the onions get translucent and soft.

Add the tomatoes ,cook till they are little soft.

Allow it to cool for some time. 

Add it to the mixie along with the cashew nuts.Make a smooth paste out of it.

Take a frying pan and pour little oil. When it heats up, put the cummin seeds and let them sizzle. 

Mix then in the prepared puree, cook till all the moisture evaporates and it becomes thick.
Add the spices powder like the red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Mix it well. 

Add water and let it come to boil.

Add the baby potatoes and simmer for 5 minutes..

Add cream and kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) and mix well. 

Garnish with Coriander if required.

#dumaloo, #punjabirecipes, #vegetarianrecipes, #indianrecipes, #kidsrecipes

Idly

Idly using mixie (mixer)

My next recipe is how to make Idly (and Dosa too) batter in a mixie (mixer). This would be useful for those who do not have a grinder @ home. Most of us love idly - which is the staple food in most of South India; north Indians also love it. I have also tourists from abroad eating Idly with much enthusiasm :) Hope they too like this humble but very healthy and tasty breakfast dish.

So lets see how to make Idly batter in a mixie. The mixie that I am using is the good old Sumeet Mixie.

Usually I use grinder for preparing Idly/dosa batter. But, when urgent and when there is no time to use a grinder I use my mixie to make the batter. 

I like idly-sambar-chutney combination and my mothers special  ully chammanthi (shallots stir fried with red chilly powder). My mother makes this ully chammathi with the small onions (shallots) but i am so lazy to clean it and make this dish. Anyways lets come to the point.

Since Idly is a steamed dish, the batter quality is very important to make it soft and fluffy.

When I make idly in grinder I donot not add any thing - only the idly rice and urad dal. It  comes out well. 

But when I make the batter in mixie I add some cooked rice into it to make the idlis soft. 

However, the taste is greatly enhanced when the batter is made in grinder. 

Here  how i make in my mixie.

Ingredients for Idly batter

Boiled Rice (not raw rice) - 4 cups

Urad dal - 1 cup

Cooked rice - 1 cup

salt as required

Process for Idly batter

Clean and soak both rice and urad dal for 6-7 hrs separately. Drain the soak water completely and take the dal mixture in the mixie . Add 1/2 cup of water and grind for 3-4 minutes. Urad dal will grind easily. Open the lid and look it whether it has become a smooth paste. Other wise mix it for a minute or so. 

Then remove the batter in and keep it in a  big vessel.

Urud Dal Batter

If the mixie jar has got heated up, please allow it to rest for 5 min, else would have to take it soon to the repair shop :)

(I have had such bad experiences...)

Next, drain the water from the soaked rice and  put it into the jar. Add the cooked rice into the jar and pour 1/2 cup water and grind for 3-4 minutes. 

Now open the lid and check whether the rice is coarse or grainy. If its not very smooth, grind it till it becomes smooth. Add 1/4 cup of water if the batter is too hard. 
Add water only if required...Idly batter MUST NOT BE FREE FLOWING. It must be thick and viscous.

Rice Batter - before and after grinding

Remove the batter and mix it with the urad dal batter that you had prepared earlier and kept aside. Mix it well with your hands for easy fermentation. In the cold climates the batter will not ferment soon. Using your hands for mixing urad dal and rice batter aids in faster fermentation. 

Keep it for fermentation overnight.

final fermented batter ready for use

The next morning the batter will be fermented and raised. Add around 1.5 tablespoons of salt (you can add less or more as per your taste). Mix it thoroughly (the urud batter has a tendency to raise up and settle at the top and rice batter will settle at the bottom. Hence its important to mix the batter vigorously using a ladle. 
Now, apply oil using your hand on the idly plate. This is to ensure that the idly doesnot stick to the plate after steaming.
Once the batter is mixed thoroughly, take a ladle-full of batter and pour it into the idly plate as shown. Idly will bulge after steaming, so take the batter in small quantities to make small sized idlies. 

Steam it for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for around 5 min. Donot wait for the idlies to cool down. 

Take the idly plates one by one and sprinkle some water in all the idlies. Then take it out, one by one and it will come out very easily.

Hot Idlies are ready!! Can be served with Sambar, Chutney, Idli podi (spicy powder for idli prepared with lentils and spices)

#idlyrecipes, #breakfastrecipes, #ricerecipes, #indianrecipes, #kidsrecipes, #keralarecipes, #tamilrecipes, #vegrecipes