Vazhakkai Varuval (Plantain Fry)

It has been raining on and off since last week and today it was all cloudy. Though it didn't rain heavily, we had a few drizzles. This is the climate that makes us crave for Chaats. Since it was afternoon, I was not in the mood for snacks. When I was blog-hopping I stumbled upon Kamalas Corner and found the recipe for Plantain fry. I did have a couple of Plantains (Vazhakkai) and made a fry of them. It was a very good compliment to the Sambar Rice that I had for lunch. My son ate as many as he could before I could even take the pictures. I followed the same method as hers but I substituted the Sambar powder with the homemade Chilli powder (You can substitute it with equal amounts of Chilli powder and Dhania Powder)

Ingredients

• Plantains - 2
• Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Dhania powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Tamarind juice of a 1" ball
• Salt to taste
• Oil to shallow fry

Method

Peel the plantains and make thin round slices of it. Soak in water immediately to prevent it from coloring. Mix all the powders in a wide vessel or a plate along with the tamarind extract. Add water if needed. Take care not to make it too watery otherwise it will not coat the pieces. Add the plantain pieces to this mixture and let it soak for 15 to 20 mins.

Heat oil in a pan. Once hot add the plantain pieces to it. Keep turning till it becomes brown and crisp. Add little oil if needed. Take care to separate pieces as they stick together. I did them in batches as I fried 2 plantains. Serve hot with rice.