Aratikaaya Koora / Andhra Style Plantain Curry

(This was originally published on 3/18/2008.)

'Aratikaya' is plantain and 'koora' is curry in Telugu, a south Indian language. This aratikaya koora or plantain curry is a traditional version, common in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a simple and easy preparation, with a balance of sweet, sour and spicy flavors. The souring agent used here can be lime / lemon juice or tamarind puree and the sweetener added is usually jaggery. The flavors should be subtle and well balanced for the curry to taste delicious. The preparation is meant to be dry and usually served with  hot rice and ghee. 

 

Ingredients needed: 

2 cups peeled and cubed plantain

A pinch of turmeric powder

1.5 tbsp. oil 

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp split chickpeas / chana dal

1 tsp. skinned black gram / urad dal

A sprig of curry leaves

A pinch of ground asafoetida

1/4 cup fresh / frozen shredded coconut

Salt to taste

Chili powder to taste (I added about 3/4 tsp.) 

1 tbsp. jaggery or to taste

Lemon / lime juice to taste (I added about 1.5 tsp juice.)

Directions:

1. Peel the skin of plantains, quarter lengthwise and chop into small cubes. Add plantain and turmeric to a bowl and add enough water to cover them.

2. Pressure cook the plantain cubes for 3 whistles. Alternatively, put the cubes in a pot and add enough water so that the cubes are well immersed in water. Cook till the cubes are done. When done, you must be able to mash the cubes with the back of a spoon. Drain the water saving a tbsp. or two if needed in case.

* Thaw the coconut in microwave if using frozen coconut.

3. Heat oil in a pan / kadai and add mustard seeds, split chickpeas and black gram. When the lentils start to turn slightly reddish, add curry leaves and asafoetida and stir.

4. Next add the cooked and drained plantain cubes, coconut, chili powder, jaggery and salt. (Now is the time to add tamarind pulp if it is being used instead of lemon). Mash the plantain lightly and and mix well to combine. Taste and adjust the quantities of seasonings if needed. Add a few tbsp. of water saved from cooking plantain / water if the curry appears dry.

* Cook for a couple of minutes and turn off the stove.

* Add lemon juice / lime juice at the end and stir well.

* Serve it warm with steamed rice and ghee.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon under the theme 'Regional Side dishes'. Check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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Kele Ki Tharuva / Kele Ki Tharua

Tharua / tharuva are crisply fried, vegetable slices that are served as a side dish / snack from Bihar and Jharkhand regions. I came across them on a YouTube video featuring a Bihari meal, from Mithila region to be particular. The home-cook showed tharuva made with both plantains and bitter gourds. The vegetables are peeled, sliced lengthwise and then sprinkled with a mixture of rice flour and spices and then are shallow fried. Mustard oil which is the local cooking medium is used but tharua can be fried using any neutral tasting cooking oil. Making tharuva is quite simple and straight forward and they remain crisp for a longer time. They can be therefore made a couple of hours before serving unlike bhajiya which turn soggy if sitting longer. 

The cook had used small sized green plantains which are widely available in India and chopped them once lengthwise. If chopped in that fashion, one is basically ending up with two thick and long slices from each plantain. I have made this plantain tharua three times so far, each time cutting plantains in different sizes. The first time, I kept the size of the pieces similar to the one I saw on the video and it took longer to cook them. My mother had coincidentally called when I was frying them. She mentioned seeing a similar dish on a cook show and suggested to chop the plantains into small, thin strips, which I followed this time. I have also tried chopping them into thin dices which I enjoyed the most though they may not be the traditional style. Whatever method you chose, try to keep the pieces in similar size and thickness so that they get fried at the same time, uniformly. Peel and remove the seeds if using bitter gourds for tharua.

Ingredients:
2 big sized plantains
3 or 4 tbsp. rice flour
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. chili powder or to taste
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
Oil to fry 

Directions:
* Chop the ends and peel the plantains. Cut each plantain lengthwise into two pieces. Chop each piece lengthwise into three portions. Depending upon the length of each piece, cut them into two or three crosswise.

* Combine rice flour, coriander powder, chili powder, salt and turmeric powder in  a wide plate. Roll the chopped plantain pieces in the mixture and sprinkle a tbsp. or two of water over the pieces to bind. (There may be some leftover rice flour mixture if the plantains are smaller in size.)

* Heat about 1/8 inch oil on medium flame in a wide skillet. There is no need to bring the oil to a smoking point. Drop gently plantain pieces into the hot oil. Add as many as the skillet can fit without overcrowding. Fry them for about a minute and lower the heat. Continue frying, turning them over occasionally until they turn golden brown. 

* Serve them as part of a Bihari thali or as a side dish or as a snack.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon and check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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Aratikaya Allam Pachimirchi Koora

My 'Blogging Marathon' theme of the week is to pick one ingredient and cook three dishes with it. I chose to go with 'plantain' as my star ingredient and there are going to be three recipes based on it. Plantains are a good source of dietary fiber and potassium like bananas and is a staple food across tropical regions of the world. Especially in south India where I grew up, plantains are used to prepare curries and chips. 

The curry preparations of course vary region wise and today's version is a traditional one from Andhra. Cooked aratikaya / plantain is sauteed with a paste of ginger and green chili (allam - pachimirchi) and finished off with a drizzle of lemon juice. Plantains in the recipe can be substituted with peeled and cooked potatoes. This is a very tasty curry and enjoyed with some hot steamed rice and a spoon of ghee.

Here are some other plantain based curries.
Aava Pettina Aratikaya Koora
Plantain Fry
Plantain - Moongdal Curry
Vazhakkai Podimas

Ingredients:
2 plantains, peeled and cubed (About 3 cups)
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
2 spicy green chilies or to taste
1 inch piece of ginger
2 tsp. oil
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. split chickpeas / chana dal
1 tsp. split, skinned black gram / urad dal
10 curry leaves
Salt to taste
1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:
* Pressure cook plantain cubes adding about 1/4 cup of water and turmeric, for 3 whistles and drain.
* Grind together chilies and ginger to a fine paste or grate them finely.
* Heat a pan and add mustard seeds, split chickpeas, black gram. When the dals turn reddish, add curry leaves and the chili - ginger paste. Fry the paste for a minute and add the cooked plantain, and salt. Gently mash the plantain, mix and cook the mixture for about a minute.
* Turn off the stove and add lemon juice to taste. Mix well and serve with warm rice.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon and check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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Vazhakkai Poriyal

Most of the traditional curries cooked on a daily basis in south Indian kitchens are simple and quick preparations. They are served as a side dish to rice and go by different regional names like koora, palya, poriyal, and thoran. An example is this plantain curry aka vazhakkai poriyal that was a part of Tamil Nadu lunch thaali, I posted a while ago. It is a tasty, every day kind of curry that can be prepared with the basic ingredients found in any Indian home. 

The preparation is so common place that one can replace plantain in the recipe with any other vegetable. However it is to be noted that some vegetables may need not need boiling at all and just sautéing is needed. This was the first time I had a plantain curry with such simple flavors, vazhakkai podimas being an exception. We usually add a souring agent like tamarind / lemon juice and jaggery as well in this preparation. It makes a good accompaniment to any south Indian meal.

Some other plantain preparations that I have posted here.

Plantain fry

Aava pettina aratikaaya koora (Plantain cooked in mustard base)

Vazhakkai podimas

Ingredients:
2 plantains (About 2 cups peeled and cubed)
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. skinned black gram / urad dal
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 / 2 green chilies or 2 / 3 dried red chilies, broken into bits
A sprig of curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
1/4 cup shredded fresh / frozen coconut 

Directions:

* Peel and cube the plantains. Pressure cook plantain cubes along with enough water and turmeric without turning them into a mush.  

(One or two whistles depending upon the cooker.) Or the plantain cubes can be cooked with enough water on stove-top in a pan or in a microwave just until fork tender but not mushy. Drain all the water used to cook the plantains.

* Heat oil in a kadai / pan and add black gram and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to splutter, add chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. 

* Stir them and add the plantain cubes, salt and coconut and mix them well. (Thaw if using frozen coconut before adding to the curry.) Let them cook on low flame for a couple of minutes and turn off the stove.

* Serve the curry with rice, drizzling a little ghee over it.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon with the theme 'Dry Side Dishes'. Check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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Aratikaaya Vepudu / Plantain Fry

I wish everyone who are celebrating Diwali, a happy, safe and fun filled one. 

Coming to this week's recipes for BM, it is going to be dry sautes that can be served with rice and/or rotis. I did not have to go looking for recipes elsewhere for this theme as I prepare vegetable dishes on a daily basis, just like the rest of the Indians do. All I had to do was pick those dishes that I haven't posted on my blog yet. The first one is going to be this crispy and yummy fry made with plantain, an absolute favorite of my family. Generally I stay away from frying vegetables but as usual there is one exception for which I keep gladly breaking the rule. And that happens to be this plantain fry, that everyone at home loves to indulge in. This is a regular fare in my mother's kitchen and in fact a commonly served dish for new mothers in our families since plantain is believed to generate heat in the body.

Ingredients: (Yield 4 servings)
2 large sized plantains
2 tbsp. oil
Salt to taste
Red chili powder to taste 

Method:
* Trim the edges and peel the plantains. Quarter each plantain lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick pieces.
 
* Heat oil in a kadai or a wide non-stick pan and add the plantain pieces. Fry on medium flame, intermittently stirring / tossing the pan until they turn crisp and golden brown uniformly. 
If the plantain pieces are scorching or sticking to the bottom of the pan, then gently scrape with the spatula and lower the heat. Add extra oil if needed. The fried plantain should have an inviting crunchiness and not the rock hard texture.
* Turn off the stove and then add salt and chili powder to the fried plantain. Toss the pan to coat the plantain pieces with the spices uniformly. (One is going to end up with a coughing fit if the stove is not turned off before adding the chili powder.)
* Serve immediately with hot, steamed rice. They taste good and crisp off the pan. They go soft after a while and doesn't taste that good.
 
This goes to Blogging marathon #58 under the theme 'Dry Sautees'. Check the link to see what other marathoners are cooking.

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Aratikaya Bajji / Plantain Bajji ~ Indian style Plantain Fritters

Bajjis are the Indian version spicy vegetable fritters where vegetables are given a chickpea flour paste coating before the deep frying part. They make a great evening snack any given day and the most commonly used vegetables to make bajjis are onion slices, sliced potatoes, eggplants, snake gourd, ridgegourd or plantains. I make bajjis rarely but they used to be a regular fare on a rainy evening or a part of a festive meal in my mother's kitchen. I had made these last week but hardly had a minute to capture them before everyone gobbled them up. I placed them in a random bowl and took about a couple of pictures. I later realized that I forgot to even consider the perfectly round bajjis in the hurry albeit every bajji was yummy. :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup garbanzo flour / besan
2 tbsp. rice flour
1 tsp. cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Chili powder to taste
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
2 pinches of asafoetida powder (optional)
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 small sized plantain (green colored)
Oil to deep fry (I used canola oil.) 

Method:
* Heat the oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat. Don't bring it to the point of smoking hot.
* Sieve garbanzo flour into a mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the plantain and oil to the bowl and mix to combine. Next add water and make a batter of semi-thick consistency. It should be neither thick nor watery but should be able to coat when the plantain slices are dipped in it.
* Peel the plantain and slice thinly. Drop the slices either in a bowl of cold water or in the batter to prevent the slices turning brown.
* Drop a pinch of batter into the oil to test whether the oil is ready for frying. If the batter sizzles and comes to the surface immediately, it's ready to fry. If the batter sinks and doesn't rise, the oil needs some more heating. Dip the plantain slices in the batter so that it is coated well on both sides and drop it into the oil carefully. Repeat this step and drop as many slices as the pan could hold without over crowding.
* Fry until they turn golden brown. Remove them with a spatula and drain on absorbent towels. 
* Repeat the steps with the remaining plantain slices and the batter.
* These bajjis can be served as it is or with chutney on the side.

These bajji are going to be a part of
1. Blogging Marathon #52.
2. Srivalli's 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Sandhya this month with the theme "Snacking all the Way".

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Veggie Wednesday ~ Baked Plantain Chips

When I thought about posting a week worth of vegetable based posts this marathon, I planned to showcase a vegetable and nothing else as the star ingredient in each post. These posts are going to include simple, every day recipes that I cook in my kitchen and it is turn of the the humble green plantain today, in the form of baked chips. I don't claim them to be the exact clones of the fried version but they fit the bill if you are looking for some grease-free and guilt-free snacking. Pick the green skinned plantains for a crispier version and peel the skin as shown in this post.

Ingredients: (About 30 - 35 chips)
1 medium sized plantain (green colored)
2 - 3 pinches of salt
1/4 tsp red chili powder or to taste (Pepper powder or any other spice powder of your preference can be used. I used very spicy chili powder.)
1 tbsp. oil (I used canola oil.)

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.
* Cut off the edges of the plantain and make a slit running a knife along the seams. Peel away the skin with your hand. Or peel the plantain twice to reach the cream skin of the plantain inside. (Otherwise the plantain chips will have a dark blackish colored border. There is no harm in eating them but it doesn't look that appealing to me.)
* Thinly slice the plantains. Go as thin as you can though paper thin is not needed.
* Combine salt, chili powder and oil in a bowl. Add the plantain slices and toss the bowl to coat. If you think the slices are not evenly coated, use your hand to combine.
* Place them on a foil lined baking sheet in a single layer.
* Bake them around 10 minutes and flip them. Brush with oil again if needed.
* Bake around 8 - 12 minutes again or until the edges start to brown. Watch like a hawk at the final stages and do the taste testing if needed since they can go from being crispy to hard in an instant. (One can also tap them with finger tip to check the whether they are done.)
* Serve them as a snack or with guacamole or as a part of a south Indian lunch. They remain crispier longer than the fried version.
 
Notes:
* If the plantain slices were cut unevenly, then the thinner ones get baked earlier than the thicker slices. In that case, go on removing the thinner chips as soon as they are done and don't wait until all the slices are baked.
* Don't be tempted to bake until golden brown since the resulting chips would be 'hard to bite' kind instead of being crispy. They would have been done even if they appear yellowish. One can even turn off the oven at the last minutes of baking and leave the chips in the oven until the desired crispiness has reached.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

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P for Panama ~ Patacones / Patacón / Tostones

Event: BM #44, Around the World (A - Z Series)  

Choice of Country: The Republic of Panama  

Capital City: Panama City 

Official Language: Spanish

Panama history:

Panama is the southernmost country of Central America and the whole of North America. It was inhabited by several indigenous tribes before becoming a Spanish settlement during 16th century. It broke with Spain in 1821 and became a part of the Republic of Gran Colombia, along with Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. When Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The total transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama culminated on 31 December 1999.   

Panama cuisine:
Panamanian cuisine is a unique mix of African, Spanish, and Native American techniques, dishes, and ingredients, reflecting its diverse population. Since Panama is a land bridge between two continents, it has a large variety of tropical fruits, vegetables and herbs that are used in native cooking. Panamanian foods are mildly flavored and the commonly used ingredients are maize, rice, wheat flour, plantains, yuca, beef, chicken, pork and seafood.

I went with one of the popular side dishes of the region, patacones. Patacones / Tostones are twice fried, crisp green plantain slices. In fact, these starters/side dish are popular in many of the Latin countries and the Caribbean and go by different names. In Nicaragua, Honduras, Cuba, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and in most of Venezuela, they are known by the name tostones. The word tostones comes from the Spanish verb 'tostar' meaning "to toast". They are known as patacón / patacones in Colombia, Costarica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and in some parts of Venezuela, where they are served with a garlic sauce. These are also known as fritos verdes (in Dominican Republic), banan peze (in Haiti) and plantain crisps (in West Africa). (Source:Wiki)

Tostones is pronounced as thos-tho-nes ('Tho' like in a Indian girl's name Toral and 'nes' as in nest).  Patacones is pronounced as pa-tha-co-nes (Say 'pa' as in the word pat and 'tha' like in Indian name 'Tanu' ).

Actually I guess this post should be divided into what you should and should not do while trying patacones. I was well prepared or so I thought when I tried these patacones for the first time. You see, I have eaten and prepared my share of plantain chips in life. This recipe is so simple and besides I had gone through some online videos on how to prepare these addictive chips. I thought it was impossible to go wrong but my first trial burst my bubble and it was a super flop experiment. Two things failed me - peeling the plantains and using the wrong gadgets to press the fried plantains.
The recipe is simple and you need unripe, green plantains, oil to fry and salt.
The first time I peeled the plantains using a peeler removing only the thick superficial layer - the way I do when doing Indian style plantain dishes. You still can see the light green skin.

And ended up with these after the first time frying. When I tried to flatten them, the outer darker layer was breaking apart from the yellow portion. (Not at all good for this recipe and ended up making Indian style curry.)

During this marathon besides learning how to make these crispy, yummy patacones, I also got to learn an easy, Latino way to peel the plantains which by the way is important for this dish.
* Take an unripe plantain and cut off the edges. Make a slit running the knife along the seams and peel away the skin with your hand. It peels off easily. Or if using a peeler, do it twice to reach the cream colored skin of the plantain.
 
* Cut the plantain into about 1 inch pieces. How big the patacones are depends upon the size of the cut plantains. Or they can be cut lengthwise into two slices.

* Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan. Drop the plantain pieces and fry them on low medium heat for about 3 - 4 minutes. They would be cooked to some extent and would have turned yellow in color.

* Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels.

* Usually a gadget named tostonera is used to flatten the fried plantain slices. In my first attempt, I tried the bottom of a heavy pan, a food can and even a small sized pounder and all failed. Then I realized that the athirasam press I had is similar to what the Latinos are using to flatten the fried plantain pieces. One can use even a roti press or any kitchen utensil with a flat surface.
* Place a fried piece of plantain on the bottom disc of the gadget and place the upper piece over it.

* Apply pressure using the handle of the upper wooden piece and flatten the plantain piece.

* Drop the flattened pieces of plantain into the hot oil and fry again on medium flame until they turn golden brown.

 

* Drain them on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and serve immediately. 
 

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Vazhakkai Podimas

Event: Blogging Marathon #42
Theme: South Indian meals 
Choice of state: Tamilnadu

According to the theme of the marathon, the dishes that are going to be showcased this week should belong to one particular south Indian state and a part of lunch menu. This was the least stressful theme considering that I am from the southern region and the dishes I chose were no fuss dishes and were a part of our lunch menu this week. It was so easy that in fact I cooked 2 sets of dishes from 2 states for this theme. I cooked Andhra dishes earlier but changed my mind and cooked Tamilnadu dishes again this week. 
The first one in the series is going to be a tasty and easy plantain stir fry called vazhakkai podimas. At my home, roasted plantain is the most preferred one among the curries I prepare using plantain. I have been noticing over the years that the Tamil kitchens have several other yummy versions and was planning to try them for sometime now. I used this opportunity to try out the podimas recipe. The plantain is parboiled and then grated to prepare the curry and surprisingly, the texture of the plantain and this cooking method makes this version of plantain curry yummy. This simple curry needs no prior planning or preparation and goes well with rice / rotis. Serve along with a dal for a filling meal.

Ingredients: (4 - 5 servings)
2 small / medium sized plantains (I used about 1 & 1/2 large sized plantains.)
2 tsp oil (I used canola oil)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal / skinned, split black gram
2 red chillies
2 - 3 green chilies (or adjust as needed)
A couple of pinches of asafoetida / hing
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
A sprig of fresh curry leaves
1/4 cup fresh, shredded coconut 
Salt to taste

Method:
* Wash and pressure cook the whole plantains directly without peeling the skin, for one whistle. (The plantains I used were big in size and so, I cut them in half to fit into the container I used. If you are using a container to go into the pressure cooker like I did to cook the plantains, add water to the container as well.) If you are not using a pressure cooker, cut the plantains into 2 or 3 pieces and cook in a sauce pan adding water just until done. Whatever method you pick to cook, the plantains should not turn mushy but just be done (or parboiled).

* Let the plantains cool for a bit and peel off the skins. Grate the plantains using a grater. I had about 2 cups of grated plantain.

* Heat oil in a pan and add uard dal and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add chillies and fry for few seconds. Then add curry leaves, turmeric and asafoetida.

* Stir and add grated, parboiled plantain, coconut and salt. Mix well with a spatula, cover and cook for 5 - 6 minutes, stirring once or twice in between.
* Turn off the stove and serve warm. I served it with fresh, steamed rice and eggplant sambhar.

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Dalma

After trying out more than a dozen deep frying / sugar laden recipes in the marathon so far, I thought it was time for some simple comfort food. And so it is dalma for today, which happens to be a popular, vegetarian home-style dal. It comes from the state of Odisha formerly known as Orissa, from the eastern coast of India. This dal was completely different to the ones I have grown up eating. The sweet-sour Andhra style pulusu or the spicy sambhar that uses tamarind or the north Indian style dals - This was none of those. It uses ginger - cumin and the panch phutana tadka that happens to be the signature seasoning of the east Indian cooking. The recipe uses no kind of souring agent, surprisingly and so I was missing the tang I naturally associate with the dals. Otherwise the dal was worth trying. 

Recipe source: Here
Ingredients: 3/4 cup toor dal / pigeon peas
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups mixed vegetables (Brinjal , green papaya, raw plantain, potato and pumpkin - Peel all veggies except brinjal and cut into medium sized pieces.)
1 tsp minced ginger
Red chili powder to taste
Salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp shredded fresh coconut
Coriander leaves to garnish
Ingredients for tadka:
1 tsp ghee / oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds / rai
1/2 tsp black cumin / kala jeera
1/2 tsp fennel seeds / saunf
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
1/2 tsp fenugreek seed / methi ke dana

Method:
* Cook toor dal adding turmeric, ginger, vegetables and about 1.5 cups water if using a pressure cooker. If not using the pressure cooker and cooking toor dal in a sauce pan, add extra water as needed until the dal is cooked soft.
* If you think the vegetables may turn mushy in the pressure cooker, they can be cooked separately on stove top or in a microwave. 
* Dry roast 1 tsp cumin seeds and a red chili in a pan. Cool and grind them fine.
* In another pan, heat oil and add red chillis and the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, turn off the stove.
* Add the above tadka, salt, sugar to the dal and stir well. 
* Sprinkle cumin and chilli powders. Garnish it with coriander leaves and coconut. Serve with rice.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking.

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Kele Ke Dahi Bare / Spicy Plantain Dumplings in Yogurt

I was worried about the Delhi post since the recipes I was interested in either involved tedious work or were popular in other northern regions as well. I had prepared aloo chaat in case I wouldn't get a chance to prepare anything at the last moment but was not happy to post the simple dish for the marathon. Luckily yesterday, I found "kele ke dahi bare" while going through Pushpesh Pant's "India Cookbook". This book contains 1000 recipes ranging from the basic spice mixtures, dishes from Nawabi kitchens to exotic desserts. It covers both vegetarian and non vegetarian recipes but in spite of that it definitely catches the attention of a vegetarian because of the huge, impressive collection of mouthwatering vegetarian recipes.
This recipe uses plantain vadas unlike the urad dal ones as in the case of classic dahi vada. The spicy vadas and the sweet yogurt compliment each other very well and the balance creates a fabulous snack to savor. A great dish to entertain the guests.

Ingredients:
2 cups yogurt (Full fat preferably)
1/2 tsp sugar (Optional)
2 small plantains
1 tsp cumin powder
2 green chillies
2 tbsp minced cilantro
1 tbsp cornstarch (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil / Ghee to fry

Method:
* Add 1/4 tsp salt and sugar if using to the yogurt and whisk well. Keep it aside.
* Peel and cube the plantains. Add a cup of water and cook in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles or in a sauce pan until they are cooked but not mushy. Transfer the cooked plantain cubes to a colander, drain and cool them slightly.
* Add drained plantain cubes, cumin powder, salt and green chillies to a food processor and mash them roughly. Transfer the contents to a mixing bowl. Add cornstarch if using and cilantro to the mixture and mix together.
* Divide the mixture into equal portions and roll them into balls. Grease your hands if the mixture is sticky and flatten the balls slightly between your palms.

* Heat the oil in a kadai or deep pan. Working in batches, add the flattened plaintain discs and fry until golden, flipping once. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen towels.

* When ready to serve, add the plantain dumplings to the yogurt and combine so that they are covered in yogurt.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking.

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