Dry Curry, Sizzling Tastebuds

Vazhakkai Milagu Errisery | Raw banana curry with black pepper | Kerala Recipe

My first tryst with Kerala
was on a 26 hour train from Bangalore to Kanyakumari (or Cape Comorin) with my
parents and sis. By the time we finished the journey, we had learnt about
different varieties of rice in Kerala, of Pazhampori (deep fried ripe banana friters) wrapped in newspapers, how
banana and jackfruit and coconuts form the mainstay of Kerala, crossed a
zillion rivers and rivulets, and the journey from the train window was more
exhilarating with tiny drops of rain water flowing down the window panes and
strong gust of wind blowing if we stood near the compartment door.

There is something about
train journeys that a flight can’t do. There is something about Kerala and its
beauty that can never be summed up in the 26 alphabets of English.

To live there, to
experience Mother Nature and lie in the lap of the cool breeze stemmed by the
lush coconut trees – well, this is my wish list. Soon perhaps we would make that
visit again, this time me being a parent to my lil adorable daughters and
experience God’s Own Country all over again.

 

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reference : www.grida.no

Till then, this is a simple
Kerala dish (from the Palghat cuisine side) which is practiced by more Tamil
Iyers living in Palghat than the locals themselves. A neighbor who is from that
region gave me this recipe and this is a standard fare on the days I make just
rasam and rice, and one cant really go wrong with this. If you happen to make
more of this, even better. It tastes awesome with plain chilled curd riceJ

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BM : 39 ~ Indian State : Kerala

Recipe : Vazhakkai Milagu Erissery

(Raw banana in black pepper masala)

Dish type : Side Dish / Accompaniment

Served with : Steamed rice
and Rasam

Spice Level : Medium to
spicy

———————————————————-

Prep Time :15-20 mins, Cooking time
: 15 mins ; Serves : 2

Ingredients:

  • Raw banana – 2 nos
  • Turmeric – ½ tsp
  • salt to taste

Ingredients to be ground

  • Coconut (fresh / frozen) – ¼ cup
  • Black Pepper Seeds – 1 TBSP
  • Red chillies – 2 nos
  • Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp

Ingredients for seasoning

  • Mustard seeds – ½ TBSP
  • Urad dal (split black gram) – 1/2 tsp
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Asafoetida – a generous pinch
  • Oil – 2 TBSP
  • Coconut Oil – 1 tsp (optional – I sometimes add)

Method:

Peel,
cube the raw banana. Bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add a pinch of
turmeric and salt and par boil this veggie (about 6-8 mins) till its soft but
not mushy. Drain.

Grind
the ingredients under “to Grind” to a slightly coarse paste.

In
a non stick pan, add oil. Splutter the ingredients to season. Add the paste and
fry till the raw smell disappears.

Now
add salt. Adjust spice and add the par boiled veggies.

Mix
well. It can be a slightly runny gravy, however we prefer it dry.

Saute
for 3-4 mins on low flame.

Finish
with Coconut oil if desired else serve with Rice, Rasam and Curd.

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15 Comments

  1. oh I love this… so tasty and so homey!!!

  2. vaishali sabnani

    Kalyani..you took me back to my train journey on my visit to Kerala..yes it was by train..long journey but worth every minute!..loved reading ..and love the side dish..looks so tempting!

  3. Priya Suresh

    This is something i can have with any fuss with some rice and rasam, fantastic side dish.

  4. Varada's Kitchen

    You have such nice memories of your train journey. One learns so much on long rain rides. The dish looks really nice.

  5. Gayathri Kumar

    This looks absolutely delicious. Need to try this asap..

  6. Nalini's Kitchen

    Nice write up,raw banana errisery sounds interesting and inviting…

  7. delicious vazhakkai erissery.. perfect with rice.

  8. Wow those LTC tours of yester years!! Love this dish Kalyani!

  9. The banana poriyal looks yum kalyani..very nicely done..

  10. Chef Mireille

    my favorite veggie – looks yummy

  11. Chef Mireille

    One of my fave veggies – I love this preparation

  12. That is such a simple, yet delicious curry.

  13. Looks so delicious. We get a lot lot of raw bananas here and I am wonder what new to make from them. Trying this asap

  14. Suma Gandlur

    It looks delicious. Must try this soon.

  15. MySpicyKitchen

    This looks like a nice side dish. Loved reading your train journey.

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