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.

Onion Tomato Chutney

Wow, this is my post after 6 long months. I do apologize to my fellow bloggers and my friends who had been in support of my blog, for disappearing into thin air. As days roll by my responsibilities are increasing and it is very hard to squeeze time for myself. With a 2 year old demanding more energy everyday it is becoming hard to catch up just with the daily routine and chores. Anyways, I do apologize again and will try to be more regular with my posts.

My now is a Hot and Tangy chutney, which is very popular in the South Indian kitchens. Though there could be a lot of variations, the basic version remains the same. It is a very simple chutney and goes well with Idly and Dosa.

Ingredients

• Onions - 2 big
• Tomato - 1, big
• Garlic - 3 pods
• Tamarind - a very small ball
• Dry red chillies - 2 to 3
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt to Taste

Seasoning

• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - 4-5 leaves
• Asafoetida - a small pinch
• Oil - 1 tsp

Method

Cut the onions lengthwise and also dice the tomatoes. Heat oil and when hot add the dry red chillies. Next add the onion and garlic in a few seconds. When the onion turns golden, add the tomatoes. When the tomatoes are done and everything starts to become one pulp add the tamarind. Cook for a few seconds and allow to cool.

When cooled, transfer everything to a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Add a little water if needed, but take care so that it doesn't become too watery.

Heat a pan, and add oil. Add the mustard seeds and after they had sputtered, add the cumin seeds, Asafoetida and curry leaves. Add this to the ground chutney and serve hot with Idly or Dosa.