Vazhaipoo Vadai

I consider myself lucky to have vazhaipoo a.k.a plaintain/banana flower readily available at the Asian grocery store we visit... however it is not something i've bought often mainly because it requires quite a bit of time and labor to seprate the flowers & the stamen from each. But my mom can process a vazhaipoo in no time and doesn't think it's such a big chore at all so we've been buying this rather regularly now that she's here. At home, vazhaipoo vadai or paruppu usli are amongst the favorite preparations. Amma makes two kinds of vadais - one with urad dhal (ulundhu) not unlike the medhu vadai and the other is this... with channa dhal/kadalai paruppu. The former yields a softer vadai while this is the crunchy counterpart - both delicious.

VAZHAIPOO VADAI



Ingredients:
Vazhaipoo - half of a big one
Channa dhal - half cup (soak for 2 to 3 hours)
Dried Red Chillies - 2 to 3
Ginger - half inch piece, minced
Asafoetida - a big pinch
Onion - half of a big one, chopped finely
Curry leaves - 1 stalk, chopped
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped
Salt - to taste
Oil - to deep fry

Method:
1) Prepare the vazhaipoo by peeling out the florets and removing the stamen (click here for detailed steps on how to do this). Chop the vazhaipoo into small pieces and put them in bowl of water to which a tbsp of yogurt has been mixed in. This will help maintain the colour of the vazhaipoo without blackening them.

2) Heat a pan and drain fistfuls of the vazhaipoo (from the above diluted yogurt water) and add to it with a pinch of salt and allow to cook for about 10-15 mins or until all the water has evaporated. This should be dry.

2) Grind the soaked the channa dhal & red chillies to a coarse texture (not too chunky either or it won't hold together well).

3) To the channa dhal, add the cooked vazhaipoo, chopped onions, curry leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, hing & salt to taste. Mix thoroughly.

4) Heat oil (to deep fry) in a pan on medium and when hot enough, make small vadais (flattened slightly) and deep fry till golden brown. Make sure the oil is not too hot or the insides won't cook through. Drain on a paper towel & serve.