Baked Vazhaipoo Vadai

Dishes made out of banana flower is famous especially in Southern part of India. Its always better to choose a tender flower. To know if its tender or not, peel one or two bracts and check if the florets are pale pink or white.
Banana flower reminds me of artichoke,but the flower bracts are not edible like in artichoke. Its often avoided become of the amount of time spent in cleaning. But today, I was totally skeptical about frying them so I was all set to venture this dish by baking them. Here is my version of vazhaipoo vadi with kaal channa!!

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 medium size banana flower
1/4cup buttermilk
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
3 cloves
3 cardamom (only the seeds)
2 tbsp oil
2 green chili
1 tbsp garlic chopped
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup black chickpea (kaala channa), cooked and mashed
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preparation:
Peeling Banana flower:
1.Remove the bracts(petals) one at a time.You will find a bunch of florets in between each bract, remove them till you reach the core. You will know its a core when you find it hard to peel.
2. Remove the round headed string which is in the middle of each floret and also the small plastic like outer white cover.
3. Soak all these florets in a bowl of buttermilk with enough water and chop along with the core into tiny bits.
For the masala:
1. Dry fry cumin seeds,fennel seeds,coriander seeds,clove and cardamom for 2-3 minutes .
2. Grind green chili,garlic,coriander leaves and the fried ingredients with little water to paste.

Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok and add chopped banana flower mix. Cook for about 10-15 minutes along with turmeric powder and chili powder.
2. Add the masala paste and cook for 5 minutes.

3.Add cooked kaala channa and cook for another 5 minutes and turn off the heat. The batter should be thick enough to shape them.
4. Divide the batter into equal medium size balls. Flatten each ball in between your palm and coat it with bread crumbs.
5. Bake them for 10 minutes and broil for 5 minutes at 350F.
6. Serve hot with mint or coconut chutney.
COOK'S FILE:
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VARIATION: You can substitute kaal channa with any other dal too.
NOTE: Your fingers will turn dark while peeling the banana flower. Apply oil and wash the hands with soap after you are done chopped them.