Vazhakkai Varuval

5 from 2 votes

Vazhakkai varuval is a spicy and slightly crisp stir fried dish made with raw unripe bananas. It goes very well as a side dish with rasam, sambar, kuzhambu and dal.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Servings:

Calories: 266kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

to be crushed coarsely

½ teaspoon cumin seeds - crushed or ½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon black pepper - crushed

other ingredients

2 tablespoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ cup thickly sliced pearl onions (shallots or small onions) or ¼ cup chopped onions
1 green chili - chopped or slit
6 to 7 curry leaves
2 medium unripe bananas or plantains, chopped in small cubes
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
¼ teaspoon Garam Masala
½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
½ teaspoon fennel powder
salt as required

Instructions

preparation

Take ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon black pepper in a mortar-pestle. Crush coarsely and keep aside.
Peel, rinse and chop 4 to 5 pearl onions in thick slices.
Chop 2 medium bananas in small cubes just before you start cooking. If you chop them earlier then they darken. Thus you need to soak them in water to avoid darkening.

making vazhakkai varuval

Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Instead of coconut oil you can use peanut oil or sunflower oil also.
Keep flame to a low or medium-low and add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds. let them splutter.
Then add ¼ cup thickly sliced pearl onions, 1 green chili (chopped or slit) and 6 to 7 curry leaves.
Sauté for about 2 minutes on a low flame. then add chopped banana cubes and mix well.
On a low flame begin to sauté bananas.
Do keep a check and stir after every 2 to 3 minutes.
Sauté bananas till they are half done or half cooked on a low flame.
Then add crushed cumin seeds and black pepper.
Next add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder, ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder and ½ teaspoon fennel powder. Also add salt as per taste.
Mix the spice powders very well.
Continue to sauté till bananas are cooked.
Stir regularly at intervals so that the bananas are cooked evenly or else the bottom layer gets too browned. So frequent stirrings are required.
Sauté till bananas are slightly crisp and cooked well.
Serve vazhakkai varuval hot or warm as a side dish with any south indian meal. You can even garnish it with some chopped coriander leaves if you want.

Nutrition