Vazhaipoo Vadai/ Banana flower Vada
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 15
 
Ingredients
  • Vazhaipoo(Banana flower) Cleaned – 2 cups , chopped
  • Chana dal – ¾ cup
  • Onion – ¼ cup, finely chopped
  • Buttermilk - 2 tbsp
  • Mint leaves – 2 tbsp, chopped
  • Rice flour – 1 tbsp
  • Dry red chillies – 2
  • Green chillies - 2
  • Curry leaves – 10-15
  • Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
  • Salt – to taste
Instructions
  1. Clean vazhaipoo (check how to clean vazhaipoo above) and chop it fine. Immerse with 2 tbsp of buttermilk just to avoid browning.
  2. Soak channa dal for 4 hours.
  3. First grind ginger, red chillies,green chillies, mint and fennel coarsely in a blender jar.
  4. Drain channa dal completely and add it to the same jar of the ginger paste and grind coarsely. 4-5 channa dal pieces can be whole.
  5. Just squeeze and remove excess water from vazhaipoo and just give a quick grind for vazhaipoo(just one or two pulse, do not blend it too much, you should be able to see the vazhaipoo) and add it together in a mixing bowl.
  6. Mix finely chopped onion, coriander, salt, rice flour and curry leaves.
  7. Heat oil in pan/kadai.
  8. Meanwhile Keep a bowl with water and wet both hands. Make equal sized balls first for uniform sized vadas. Shape each ball to flat patties of medium thickness.
  9. The oil should be hot and when it is hot, Drop the vadas. Simmer the heat and deep fry them in hot oil until golden brown in color, flipping once in between. It is always good to cook in medium flame to ensure even cooking and golden colour.
Notes
1. Make sure not to add water while grinding.
2. Make sure to soak lentils for three to four hours. It is hard to grind them otherwise and also if it is not soaked well, it may turn hard and too crisp.
3. Rice flour helps to make it crispier. It is optional. You can soak 1 spoon for rice with the dal and grind instead.
4. Garlic is optional too.
5. Shallots can be replaced with normal red/white onions. But shallots give great texture and flavor.
Recipe by Relish The Bite at https://www.relishthebite.com/vazhaipoo-vadai-banana-flower-vada/