Raw banana fry with rice
Raw banana slices tossed in turmeric, chilli powder, hing and a little rice flour and shallow-fried in coconut oil with mustard seeds and curry leaves until crisp at the edges: Tamil Nadu's vazhakkai fry. It is eaten with rice and sambar or rasam; in the North, kachche kele ki sabzi is made much the same way with jeera.
- 35 minTime
- 30 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- 10 gprotein per portion
- 730kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 3Raw bananas (plantains), peeled, in 5 mm rounds
- 3 mlTurmeric
- 1 ½ tspRed chilli powder
- 1 mlHing (asafoetida)
- 2 tbspRice flour
- to tasteSalt
- 4 tbspCoconut oil
- 1 tspMustard seeds
- 1 tspUrad dal
- 2 sprigsCurry leaves
On the side
- 350 gRice, sona masoori or ponni
- ≈ 900 mlWater, for the rice
Method
- Peel the raw bananas thinly with a peeler and cut them into 5 mm rounds. Drop the slices into a bowl of water so they don't darken.
- Wash the rice two or three times and put it in the pressure cooker with the water. Close the lid.
- Pressure-cook on medium for 3 whistles, about 12 minutes, and let the pressure drop by itself.
- Drain the banana slices well and toss them with the turmeric, red chilli powder, hing, rice flour and salt until every slice is coated.
- Heat the coconut oil in a wide kadai and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the urad dal and curry leaves and fry until the dal turns golden.
- Spread the banana slices in the pan in a single layer and cook on a medium-low flame for 12–15 minutes, turning now and then, until crisp and golden brown at the edges and soft inside.
- Serve the raw banana fry with the hot rice.
