Vazhakka erissery is a delicious vegetarian curry served for sadyas in the olden times.
Ingredients
raw banana(ponthan kaya) 2
salt 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
hot chilli powder 1/2 tsp
To grind
coconut grated 1/2 cup
cumin seeds (jeerakam) 1/2 tsp
shallots 4-5
garlic cloves 2-3
To temper
ghee 1 tbsp
mustard seeds 1 tsp
red dry chilly 2 broken
curry leaves 2 sprigs
grated coconut, 2 tbsp
Method
Wash and peel the skin of the raw bananas very nicely so that there is no green part seen (though it is said to retain the green part of the raw banana skin, but for this particular recipes it's better to peel off the green part completely). Add to a bowl of water and cut the banana in small pieces. Add rice cooked water (kanji vellam) and wash again to get rid of the thick sap.
Add the washed banana pieces to the cooker, add water (1 cup), salt, turmeric powder, hot chilli powder. Cover and pressure-cook for 3 whistles.
In the meantime, add grated coconut to a blender jar. To this add cumin seeds, garlic cloves, shallots and little water. Grind to a smooth paste (not very fine though), keep aside.
When pressure is released, mash the cooked bananas almost done. Add the ground paste, give a quick mix. Add 1/2 cup water to the blender jar and add to the curry.
Bring this mix to a boil, adjust salt if needed. Add more water if required to adjust consistency. This curry thickens on cooling, so add water accordingly.
Heat a pan or wok, add ghee to temper. When ghee is hot, add mustard seeds. Add red dry chillies and curry leaves. Add grated coconut and fry till golden brown. Switch off and pour over the prepared curry. Keep covered for 10 minutes, mix and serve warm.
NOTES
* You can use raw plantain too, but the ponthan kaya (raw banana) mashes well and tastes better, I feel for this curry.
* Adding ghee to temper imparts a unique flavour. You can use oil instead of ghee, too.
* Adding grated coconut to temper is very special in this curry, so don't miss doing that.
No comments:
Post a Comment