Valaipoo Vadai (no onion no garlic)

Ingredients

• Channa Dal (Or Pattani Dal) - 1 cup
• Green Chillies - 3
• Red Chillies- 2
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Valai Poo (Banana Flower) - 1 cup chopped
• Coriander Leaves + Mint Leaves - 4 tsp finely chopped
• Buttermilk - 1 tbsp
• Salt to Taste
• Oil for Deep Frying

Preparation

*Soaked channa dal- Soak the channa dal for 1 hour. After this drain the water. Keep 1 tsp of channa dal separately.

• 1 cup channa dal (or pattani dal)

*Valaipoo - Remove the individual flowers from the valaipoo. Rub the top gently and remove the stamen. Now finely chop the leftover flower and soak in buttermilk water to keep the flowers from going black.

• valaipoo (banana flower)- 6-8
• 1 tsp buttermilk

Procedure

Dry grind the ginger, red chillies, green chillis and fennel seeds. Grind these coarsely. Now add the *soaked channa dal and grind once more. Note: The reason I grind twice is because if everything is ground together, the ginger, fennel seeds and chillies will remain as chunks and might fall out of the vadai when put into oil.

• 1 inch ginger
• 3 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 red chillies
• *soaked channa dal

Mix the chopped valaipoo, the paste made in the earlier step, the separately kept soaked channa dal, chopped coriander & mint leaves and salt. Note: Here you can add garlic and finely chopped shallots if you would like.

• *chopped valaipoo (banana flower)- 1 cup
• *1 tsp soaked channa dal that was kept aside
• ground paste from previous step
• 4 tsp coriander and mint leaves finely chopped
• salt as per taste

Heat oil in a kadhai for deep frying. Make sure the heat is on medium. To check if the oil is hot enough put a pinch of the batter in the oil and it should rise instantly. To make the vadai make small round balls with the batter using wet hands. Now flatten the ball gently with your palms. Reduce the flame and drop the uncooked vadai into the oil. Slowly increase the flame to medium and cook until the vadai is golden brown. Note: Each time you drop the uncooked vadai into the oil reduce the flame so that it doesn't get burnt on the outside and remain uncooked on the inside. Slowly bring the flame back to medium each time and wait until the vadai is cooked.

• oil for deep frying

The valaipoo vadai is ready to be served! These can be a side dish to add crunchiness to a meal or can be devoured just as is :)