Vazhaipoo vadai is a crispy evening snack. Banana flowers are added to make these fritters. They have a unique taste which makes them special. It has so many health benefits too. Enjoy your evening with this vada and a cup of chai.
Banana flowers fritters /Vazhaipoo vadai is my favourite snack .Just love to have it with a cup of Adrak chai. In fact the banana flowers added give this vadai a unique taste. It has so many health benefits too. Enjoy your evening with this vadai and a cup of chai.
In fact cleaning banana flower is bit time consuming so it is better to clean it and refrigerate when we get time.
Jump to:
Why You will love this Recipe ?
Easy Snack - They are easy to make snack. Even beginner's can cook the fritters perfectly.
Pantry Staples - Made with the basic pantry staples.
Health Benefits - Vazhaipoo or Banana flower has plenty of health benefits. They are also rich in fiber and other minerals.
Party appetizer - Perfect to serve during parties or potlucks or any functions. Goes well as a evening snack too with some hot tea and chutney.
Ingredients
Banana Flower - This is the main ingredient. We have to carefully clean the banana flower and chop as needed. Better to use it immediately. If not soak the chopped flowers in buttermilk to prevent blackening. Refer this tutorial for detailed steps on how to clean banana flowers.
Channa Dal - In India most of the fritters will have soaked channa dal. It gives a rich protein kick and adds volume to the vadai.
Rice Flour - This helps in binding and make sure the fritters holds its shape.
Onions and Cilantro - Finely added cilantro and chopped onions adds a lovely flavor to vadai.
Oil - We deep fry the fritters in oil. We can use any oil of our choice. My preference is groundnut oil.
The fritters has few other basic flavoring ingredients. Please refer the Recipe card for a detailed ingredients list along with the measurements.
How to make Vazhaipoo Vadai
1. In a bowl add channa dal and soak in water for at least 2 hours. After soaking the dal drain the excess water and add the soaked channa dal to a blender.
2.Along with the channa dal add dry red chilli and fennel seeds. Now coarsely pulse everything once.
3.Clean the banana flowers and chop roughly. Add the chopped banana flowers to the blender along with the pulsed channa dal. once again pulse everything coarsely. Make sure not to blend to a fine paste.
4. Blend everything into a coarse mixture. I usually keep 1 or 2 tbsp of soaked channa dal without adding it to the blender and then as a whole while shaping the vada. This gives a beautiful texture to the vadai.
5. Now transfer everything to a mixing bowl. Also, add finely chopped onions, coriander leaves curry leaves, rice flour, and the required salt.
6. Combine everything and start shaping the vadai. If you feel the mixture is loose and not able to shape properly add another tbsp of rice flour. Shape the vadai and keep it in the freezer for 10 mins. This helps in keeping the vadai firm without breaking as you fry.
7. Heat a pan with oil for deep frying. I usually prefer ground oil for frying. You can also use sunflower oil or coconut oil. Once the oil is hot drop the shaped vadai. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan while frying.
8. Fry the vadai in medium flame for 3-4 mins on both sides. Once the vadai is crispy, golden, and cooked on all sides. Remove the vadai from the pan. Remove the excess oil with paper towels and serve hot.
Crispy and Perfect vazhaipoo vadai is now ready.
Expert Tips
Make sure you soak the channa dal 2-3 hours before preparing the fritters.
Always drain the water completely from the dal before adding them to the blender.
If not drained properly the water content will prevent the fritters from holding its shape. These fritters will easily dis-integrate of dropped in hot oil for frying.
You may also add finely chopped green chilies if you prefer a spicier vada.
Make sure to not shape the vadai not too thick or thick. If the fritters are too thick the inside portions may not get cooked. If they are too thin , it may resemble thin papad.
We can also store the shaped vadai in the freezer for at least 30 mins. This helps in holding the vada firm.
Storing Options
I recommend storing the uncooked shaped vada in freezer. Do not recommend storing the cooked vada. Cooked vada looses its crispiness if not served immediately.
Instead we can store the shaped vada in freezer for up to 2 weeks. We can fry thaw them for few mins before frying and then fry as needed.
Serving Suggestions
Serve hot with some coconut chutney and Masala Chai.
FAQ's
Yes there is another version to this vazhaipoo vadai , where they do not use any dal. The channa dal here is replaced with grated coconut along with potukadalai or fried gram. If you have not soaked the dal and make the vadai instantly you can very well try this version.
The thing with the banana flowers is that they get blackened easily it left for something after chopping them. They have to be used immediately for cooking. Banana flowers are rich in iron and hence they gets oxidized quickly and blackened. To prevent the blackening we should use them immediately or soak them in buttermilk or vinegar solution.
If you do not want to deep fry the vadai. We can definitely use air fryer for cooking the vadai. After shaping the fritters freeze them for 30 mins . Preheat the air fryer at 356 F/ 180 C for 5 mins and air fry at 356 F / 180 C for 12 mins. Make sure you flip them halfway and brush with oil as needed. Also make sure you consume the air fried vadai's immediately. Else they will lose the crispiness.
Remove the outer thick cover and take the banana flower. Each single flower has to be cleaned individually. Remove the transparent layer on top of the flower and also remove the single single bud. Refer this post for detailed steps on how to clean vazhaipoo. We can either chop and add the banana flowers for vadai or grind and add,. Tastes good either way.
More Fritters Recipes
★ Did you enjoy this recipe? If you happen to try it out, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Thanks for your time. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter for more updates
📖 Recipe
Vazhaipoo Vadai
Standard 1 cup measures 240 ml
Ingredients
- 2 cup Banana flower ( Vazhaipoo ) chopped
- ½ cup Channa Dal
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 3 Dry Red chilli
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 2 tbsp Coriander leaves
- 1 sprig Curry Leaves
- 1 tbsp Rice Flour
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a bowl add channa dal and soak in water for at least 2 hours. After soaking the dal drain the excess water and add the soaked channa dal to a blender.
- Along with the channa dal add dry red chilli and fennel seeds. Now coarsely pulse everything once.
- Clean the banana flowers and chop roughly. Add the chopped banana flowers to the blender along with the pulsed channa dal. once again pulse everything coarsely. Make sure not to blend to a fine paste.
- Blend everything into a coarse mixture. I usually keep 1 or 2 tbsp of soaked channa dal without adding it to the blender and then as a whole while shaping the vada. This gives a beautiful texture to the vadai.
- Now transfer everything to a mixing bowl. Also, add finely chopped onions, coriander leaves curry leaves, rice flour, and the required salt.
- Combine everything and start shaping the vadai. If you feel the mixture is loose and not able to shape properly add another tbsp of rice flour. Shape the vadai and keep it in the freezer for 10 mins. This helps in keeping the vadai firm without breaking as you fry.
- Heat a pan with oil for deep frying. I usually prefer ground oil for frying. You can also use sunflower oil or coconut oil. Once the oil is hot drop the shaped vadai. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan while frying.
- Fry the vadai in medium flame for 3-4 mins on both sides. Once the vadai is crispy, golden, and cooked on all sides. Remove the vadai from the pan. Remove the excess oil with paper towels and serve hot.
Notes
- Always use fresh banana flower in cooking.
- While selecting banana flower in shop also if it is too much dark on the edges avoid buying that as it is old and will be bitter. It is my personal experience.
- Soaking the chopped flowers in butter milk allow it to stay fresh and prevent it from getting bitter.
- Add onions only before preparing vadai otherwise it might leave water and vadai will drink more oil.
- Cook in medium flame, if cooked in high flame the outer part will get crisp soon but the inner part will remain un-cooked.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist , the nutrition value provided here is an estimate. It will vary based on the quantity and brands of the products used.
Note: This post is originally from 2016. I have now updated it with a new Recipe card, Pictures, and video.
Leave a Reply