Simple spicy and delicious stir fry made with vazhakkai, sambar powder, curry leaves and tempering spices. It goes well with rice, rasam, sambar or curd rice.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • 2 large raw banana (or vazhakkai)
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp urad dal (optional)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1 red chili (broken optional)
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • ¾ to 1 tbsp sambar powder (, use more if needed)
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder ((use as needed))
  • ⅛ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp salt (or as needed)

Method

  1. Prepare vazhakkai: Wash the banana under running water and peel the skin. Cut off the ends and discard. Rinse the banana well. Slice them to equal sizes. Do not slice them too thick or too thin. Immerse them in a bowl of water to prevent browning.
  2. Temper: Heat a wide pan with oil. Add mustard, cumin, red chili and urad dal. When the dal turns slightly golden, add the curry leaves and hing. Lower the flame completely and wait until the leaves turn crisp.
  3. Make vazhakkai poriyal: Stir in chili powder, turmeric and sambar powder with the oil. Quickly drain and add in the sliced banana pieces. Mix well and fry tossing for two minutes. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tbsp of water and mix well.
  4. Cover and cook on a low to medium heat, until tender and cooked through, Keep stirring them in between. Sprinkle salt evenly and a tbsp more water to dissolve the salt and coat the pieces well. If you prefer them crisp avoid water and keep frying.
  5. Serve vazhakkai fry with rice, sambar or rasam.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.