March 31, 2010

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.

27 comments:

Aps Kitchen said...

Hey M new here...but loved to see ur blog with such good recipes...nd this one i have never tried wil surely do when i get the flower :)

Sushma Mallya said...

Baking vadi is a very healthy option and a great idea too...lovely guilt free as well as delicious snack

Sailaja Damodaran said...

Healthier way to eat........nice idea.

Sashi said...

Thanks for dropping by at my site. You too have a great space. Will peek in often. Baked Vadi looks yummy !! Nice idea to avoid deep fry !!

Ivy said...

Thanks for passing from my blog. This looks delicious.

Biren said...

Very creative....must be delicious too. Thanks for visiting my blog :)

Rumana Rawat said...

Wow!!! this looks very tasty..
http://rumanarawat.blogspot.com

Nithya said...

Wow.. baking them!!! this is a stunning idea. I would be more than happy if frying is avoided. This is surely going to be a good one for me. will try it out soon :)

Unknown said...

Baking the vadis is a very healthy way. The Banana flower looks very cute. Great idea!

Unknown said...

truely an innovative one...in bengal banana flower is very famous too..and we prepare a lot of recipe out of it..but this one is a new dish to me...very heathly and liked the baking option very much....

Priya Suresh said...

Prefect baked vadai, wat a fabulous way to enjoy..

Angie's Recipes said...

A completely new dish to me! They look so tempting.

Aruna Manikandan said...

Healthy crispy vadai...
Looks perfect and delicious..

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I never cook a dish with banana flower, this look really interesting! must try if I can get banana flower.

Rowena said...

I think I may have seen banana flower at an ethnic market only once (in Milan). A pity because this looks like such an interesting recipe! Thank you for stopping by....I must say that your photography skills are stunning!

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Looks delicious and mouthwatering. Do visit my blog when time permits.http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.com/

Gita Jaishankar said...

Hi Thanks for stopping by my blog..you have a very nice space here...baked vazhaipoo vadai sounds very interesting....looks really crispy and tasty...I'll let this and let you know how it turned out for me :)

Vineetha Sush said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving ur sweet comment..Even though I m from South,never tried vazhaipoo :(

Tina said...

Simply superb and healthy snack...

3 hungry tummies said...

I love vadi but never had your version, will love to reserve some for this next time i make my banana flower salad

Uma said...

Thanks for sharing a healthy, baked unique recipe. As always, beautiful pics.

Sarah Naveen said...

My Fav!!! beautiful click..looks so yummy!!

Madhuri Krishna Bhat said...

Wow Vadi looks awesome. Never tried this.
Photos: Nice exposure

MaryMoh said...

Looks delicious. I can just snack on the. Best is they are baked.

A-kay said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. You have a neat blog too. More importantly, I am glad you had written about how to peel the bana flower, that is something I don't know how to do and hence don't buy this although I would love to.

Cham said...

Baking vazhaipoo vadai! Cool, it look excellent with a different twist!

Dershana said...

that's such a good idea! that of baking vazhaipoo vadais :-)first time here, nice space!