Vazhaipoo Vadai (Banana Flower Fritters)

My 243rd recipe, "Vazhaipoo Vadai (Banana Flower Fritters)", a delicious snack made with the healthy banana flower. I think I have gone on a fried snack spree. While I dont do that frequently, but the cold weather has deemed that necessary. To be frank, last year the winter was crazy and exceptionally cold. Even though I live at the southern part of the country, it was colder than usual out here. I was at most times stuck at home, sipping a hot cup of chai and enjoying fried snacks for comfort. So I decided to enrich my blog with all those wonderful snack recipes right before the winter hits us this time around. After making my stuffed mirchi bajji and vellam bonda during the last week, thought it was time to make one of RK's favorite snack today.

Vazhaipoo | Banana Flower | Banana Blossom is something which we love at home, but I only rarely buy it. It is just the effort needed to prep the flower which stops me from buying it frequently. Whenever I choose to buy it, I choose the evening times to clean it up. Turning on the music and monotonously cleaning flower after flower, would take atleast an hour for me. But at the end, when I make this Vazhaipoo vadai on the next day, I always feel that, the time and effort I had put in was not in vain.

This vadai tastes super delicious and goes from plate to stomach in no time. Just like a regular masala vadai, this is super crispy on the outside and soft inside. But the addition of the vazhaipoo takes the flavor of the dish to the next level. On a side note, vazhaipoo is extremely healthy for you and hence you need not be too guilty gobbling few of these Vazhaipoo vadai. While I love to have it hot along with my evening tea, it is also a perfect side for rice and gravy 🙂

Vazhaipoo Vadai

Vazhaipoo Vadai

Revathi Palani

Vazhaipoo Vadai is a super delicious South Indian snack / appetizer made from chana dal and the banana flower / blossom. Deep fried until crispy and golden.

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Prep Time 5 hrs 5 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 5 hrs 15 mins

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Servings 16

Ingredients

  

• ¾ Cup Chana Dal
• 1 Tbsp Raw Rice
• 2 Green Chilli
• 1 ½ tsp Fennel Seed
• 1 ¼ Cup Banana Flower (Finely Chopped)
• ¼ Cup Onion (Finely Chopped)
• 1 sprig Curry Leaves (Finely Chopped
• ¾ tsp Salt (Adjust per taste)
• ⅛ tsp Asafoetida
• Oil - For Frying

Instructions

 

• First wash and soak the Chana Dal and raw rice in sufficient water for about 5 hrs.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/mav-1.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/mav-2.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />
  
• Add Green Chilli, Fennel to a mixie and grind it coarsely. Just a few pulses is enough.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-3.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-4.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />
• Drain the water from the dal. Reserve 1 Tbsp of the dal and add the remaining dal to the mixie/blender and grind it to a very coarse paste.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-5.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-6.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />
• Add the chopped banana flower to the blender and give a few pulses to get it roughly mixed with the dal.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-7.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-8.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />
  
• Transfer the ground mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the reserved 1 Tbsp dal, onion, curry leaves, salt and asafoetida. Mix well until combined.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-9.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-10.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />
• Heat oil in a kadai. Take a small portion of the dough, roll it into a ball and flatten it using your palms.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-11.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-12.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />
  
• Fry them in oil at medium heat until they are nicely golden brown. Drain the vadai on a paper napkin.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-15.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vavada-16.jpg" alt="vadai" width="48%" />
  
• Enjoy hot.
  <br><br><img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vazhaipoo-vadai-1.jpg" alt="vazhaipoo vadai" width="100%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vazhaipoo-vadai-2.jpg" alt="vazhaipoo vadai" width="100%" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="//revi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vazhaipoo-vadai-3.jpg" alt="vazhaipoo vadai" width="100%" />
  

Notes | FAQ

- Drain the dal nicely before grinding. Also, squeeze the water out of the chopped banana flower completely. You should not add any water while grinding.

- Reserving 1 Tbsp of the dals before grinding is to give a nice texture to the vadai.

- Do not grind to fine paste. The ground paste should be coarse to give the vadai a nice texture.

- Fry at medium heat and in batches, so that the vadai gets a chance to cook through till the center.

- Refer to my post here to know How to clean the banana flower.