Kalyana Veetu Vazhakkai Varuval Recipe – Marriage style Raw banana fry

 

I have bookmarked so many Kalyana veetu recipes to try. As the list is going long, I wanted to start with this easy and flavourful Kalyana veetu vazhakkai varuval recipe / Kalyana veetu vazhakkai poriyal. I love this Tamil nadu marriage style vazhaikai varuval a lot since my childhood. Some people call it as vazhakkai chops too.

Every time I taste this in a marriage banquet, I have tried to guess the ingredients that goes into it. I was able to spot the fennel seeds alone. I have also made a Yam chops recipe in my blog years ago. Now I am happy to try this perfect Kalyana veetu style vazhakkai curry with a strong masala flavor which is my kind.

The ingredients used for grinding the masala is the highlight in this recipe. So please do not skip any. Actually I referred this recipe in many YouTube channels and tweaked it slightly to make an easy version. It came out so well. We all loved it.

Friends, do try this Tamil nadu Kalyana veetu style Vazhakkai varuval recipe. You will love it for sure. It tastes great with sambar, rasam and curd rice. Check out the video below

 

Kalyana veetu vazhakkai varuval recipe

Kalyana veetu vazhakkai varuval recipe | Marriage style raw banana fry recipe for rice

 

Cuisine: Tamil nadu

Category: Side dish

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

To roast in oil Raw banana - 2 Cooking oil - 3 tbsp To grind masala Grated coconut - 1/3 cup Cinnamon - 2 pieces Cloves - 2 Garlic cloves - 4 Ginger - 1 inch piece Small onion - 6 Fennel seeds - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Tomato - 1 To temper Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Big onion - 1 ( chopped) Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves - to garnish

HOW TO MAKE KALAYANA VEETU VAZHAKKAI RECIPE

1. Wash and peel the skin of raw banana. Chop into big cubes and set aside.
2. Steam in an idli pot or in a cooker. Raw banana should be soft but firm in shape.
3. Remove and cool down. Heat oil and shallow fry the raw banana till golden in color. Collect in a plate.
4. Grind all the ingredients given under “ To grind masala” to a coarse paste without adding water. Set aside.
5. In the remaining oil, splutter mustard seeds, fennel seeds and curry leaves.
6. Saute onions and add the ground masala, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well. Add little water and Saute till raw smell goes off.
7. Lastly add the roasted raw banana pieces. Mix to coat well in low flame.
8. Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Serve with plain rice, sambar, rasam and curd rice. Enjoy !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and peel the skin of Raw banana. Chop into big cubes. Keep in water till use. Take the chopped raw banana cubes and steam if for 5 minutes in an idli pot or keep it in a vessel inside a pressure cooker. Steam cook for one whistle in high flame. Make sure raw banana pieces turns soft but firm in shape. This step is completely optional. But I did it as I wanted my raw banana pieces to be cooked well to avoid Gas trouble and stomach irritation.   Take the steamed raw banana pieces. Heat 3 tbsp oil and drop few banana pieces. Shallow fry both the sides till golden and slightly crispy. Remove in a plate. Repeat the same in batches. Fry all the raw banana pieces and set aside. Grind the ingredients given under “For masala” to a coarse paste without adding water. Set aside. Heat the remaining oil the kadai after shallow frying. Splutter mustard seeds, fennel seeds and curry leaves. Add finely chopped onion and saute till transparent. Add the ground masala and mix well. Add little water and boil in low flame till thick. Masala boils and leaves the raw smell too. It becomes thick and starts to leave oil in the sides. Lastly add the fried raw banana pieces and mix gently to coat well. Roast in low flame for few minutes. Switch off the flame once the poriyal starts to leave nice smell. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice, sambar, rasam and curd rice. Enjoy !

Note

To make it more spicy, add one finely chopped green chilli along with onion and saute it. Adjust the quantity of oil. You can also fry the raw banana pieces in little oil in dosa tawa. Do not skip fennel seeds.

Try this yummy Kalyana veetu style Vazhakkai varuval recipe and enjoy !

 

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Pavakkai Poriyal – Bitter Gourd Curry Recipe

I love to try varieties of recipes with bitter gourd. Iam trying to include Pavakkai in my cooking at least once or twice in a week considering its health benefits. My daughter Raksha likes to eat bitter gourd only if its bitterness is less or it should be in deep fried form like bitter gourd chips with wheat flour. But I want to avoid making deep fried stuffs often. So I started exploring many side dishes using bitter gourd.

Recently I came across an easy pavakkai poriyal in pressure cooker in a You tube channel. As mentioned, my poriyal had a very mild bitter taste. We all loved it. The addition of sugar / jaggery made it more tasty. So Raksha too ate it without any complaints.

Actually this poriyal can be prepared by just sauting in a kadai with generous oil but I did everything in a pressure cooker with less oil and made it soft. It tastes good in either ways. Finally its our choice.

Lets see how to make Pavakkai poriyal without coconut in a pressure cooker.

 

Pavakkai poriyal recipe / Bitter gourd curry

Pavakkai poriyal recipe / Bitter gourd curry for rice

 

Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Pavakkai / Bitter gourd - 1 ( medium sized) Big onion - 1 Garlic cloves – 10 Tamarind extract – 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Sambar powder -1 tsp Jaggery or sugar - 1 tsp Salt & water - as needed To temper Cooking oil -2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Chana dal - 2 tsp Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch Curry leaves - few

HOW TO MAKE BITTER GOURD CURRY IN PRESSURE COOKER

1. Wash and chop bitter gourd into thin slices. Chop onion and garlic thinly.
2. Heat oil in a cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and hing.
3. Add curry leaves, onion and crushed garlic cloves. Saute well.
4. Add chopped bitter gourd and saute for few minutes till it shrinks in size.
5. Lower the flame and add sambar powder, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt.
6. Mix well and add required water. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle.
7. Open the cooker after the steam is released. If there is excess water, boil in high flame till water evaporates. Mix gently and transfer to a plate.
8. Serve with sambar, rasam rice and curd rice.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop Bitter gourd into thin slices. Chopping thinly helps to remove bitterness. Wash and chop onion. Crush garlic cloves. Set aside. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cumin seeds, curry leaves, crushed garlic and sliced onion. Saute till onion becomes transparent. Now add the thinly sliced bitter gourd and saute for a minute. Add turmeric powder, salt and sugar/ jaggery. Mix well. Adding turmeric powder helps to retain bright green color of bitter gourd. Add 1/4 cup of tamarind extract, sambar powder and mix well. Lastly add little water ( say 2 tbsp) and close the pressure cooker with its lid. Let the flame be high. Once the steam starts to come out, lower the flame completely and put the weight valve. Let it cook in low flame for one whistle. Switch off the flame and let the pressure release naturally. Open the cooker and add finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix gently. Boil for few minutes if there is excess water. If there is no water, you can just mix and serve with rice. Tastes good with sambar, vatha kuzhambu, kara kulambu and curd rice.

Note

Slice the bitter gourd thinly to avoid bitter taste. Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per your taste.

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Cauliflower Curry Without Onion, Garlic - Cauliflower Poriyal Recipe

Its my long time wish to try different types of cauliflower curry without using onion and garlic. I have already posted a cauliflower curry without onion, garlic and tomato in Jain style.  Usually I make Cauliflower poriyal following my mom’s recipe. It has onion, ginger, garlic, tomato and spice powders. We love this version.

Recently when I was looking for a change from my version, I found this Dhaba style Cauliflower curry in Cooking Shooking YouTube channel. Chef had used both cauliflower and potato in this recipe but I used cauliflower alone. Also I tweaked the recipe slightly to make it a low calorie version. Still it came out great. Tasted awesome. Myself and Raksha loved it with Dal rice and rasam rice.

Friends, do try this easy and yummy Cauliflower curry without onion and garlic. You will love it like us. I made it dry like a poriyal. You can also add little water to make it like Sabji / gravy.  Ok, Lets see how to make North Indian style Cauliflower curry without onion and garlic with step by step pictures.

Cauliflower curry without onion, garlic

Cauliflower curry without onion, garlic for rice, roti.

 

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Cauliflower - 1 Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Ginger - 1 inch piece (finely chopped) Curry leaves - 1 Tomato - 1 Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder - 3/4 to 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Curd – 1 tbsp Coriander leaves - to garnish

HOW TO MAKE CAULIFLOWER CURRY WITHOUT ONION GARLIC

1. Wash and separate the cauliflower into medium sized florets. Keep in water.
2. Roll Boil 3 cups of water in a bowl and add turmeric powder, salt.
3. Switch off the flame and add the cauliflower florets. Cover and keep it for 10 minutes till its half cooked. Drain the water and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter cumin seeds, ginger, curry leaves.
5. Add tomato and saute till mushy. Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, garam masala powder and curd. Mix well. 
6. Lastly add the cauliflower florets and toss it well. Add little water, cover cook till its soft but retains its shape. Switch off the flame.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice, roti !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and separate the cauliflower into medium sized florets. Keep in water till use. Roll boil 3 cups of water in a bowl. Add turmeric powder and salt. Switch off the flame and add the cauliflower pieces. Cover and keep it aside in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the water completely and set aside.  Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter cumin seeds, ginger and curry leaves. Add tomato and saute till mushy. Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and curd. Mix well. Lastly add the cauliflower florets and toss it well. Add little water, cover cook till its soft but retains its shape. Switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with rice and roti. Enjoy !

Note

Parboil cauliflower to remove the worms. Do not skip this step. Make sure you do not over cook the cauliflower florets. Adjust the quantity of spices as per your taste.

Try this easy, yummy Cauliflower curry without onion, garlic. You will love it !

 

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Raw Banana Curry – Vazhakkai Curry Recipe

I love raw banana curry with full of masala flavor. Especially the vazhakkai curry that is served in Tamil nadu weddings / marriages. I was looking for one such recipe for long time. Recently I came across one in an YouTube channel. But the recipe called for deep frying raw banana pieces before adding the masala. I was hesitant to deep fry it. So I shallow fried the raw banana pieces in little oil, covered and cooked it till soft. Then roasted it in masala. Addition of fennel seeds, onion, garlic and ginger in the masala took this poriyal to the next level. Though it doesn’t taste like original kalyana veedu vazhakkai curry, it came out so well and flavourful. We all loved it. I started making this curry often these days.

Friends, do try this masala flavoured raw banana curry for your lunch. It tastes great with sambar, rasam and curd rice. You will love it for sure.  I have also captured the video for this recipe. I will try to edit and share it soon. Now , lets see this yummy vazhakkai curry with step by step pictures. 

Raw banana curry recipe / Vazhakkai curry

Raw banana curry recipe / Vazhakkai curry for rice

 

Cuisine: Tamil nadu

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Raw banana - 2 Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( to shallow fry banana pieces) Big onion - 1 Fennel seeds - 3/4 tsp Ginger - 1 inch piece Garlic cloves - 5 Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Sambar powder - 1 tsp Tamarind - 1 small piece ( optional) Salt and water - as needed To Temper Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - few

HOW TO MAKE RAW BANANA CURRY

1. Wash and peel the skin of raw banana. Chop into small cubes.
2. Heat oil and shallow fry the pieces. Cover and cook till it become soft.
3. Remove in a plate. Grind onion, garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, tamarind, sambar powder and salt to smooth paste adding water.
4. Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves. Add the masala paste and saute for few minutes.
5. Now add the raw banana pieces. Mix well and cook till raw banana is roasted well with nice flavor.
6. Switch off the flame and serve with rice . Enjoy !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and peel the skin of raw banana. Chop into small cubes. Keep immersed in water till use. Heat 2 tbsp oil and shallow fry the pieces till light golden. Cover and cook till it becomes soft. Remove in a plate. Grind onion, garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, tamarind, sambar powder and salt to a smooth paste adding required water. Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Add the ground masala paste and saute for few minutes. Now add the raw banana pieces and mix well. Cook in low flame till raw banana pieces are roasted well, becomes dry with nice masala flavor. Raw banana turns soft. Switch off the flame. Remove in a plate and serve hot with sambar, rasam and curd rice. Tastes yummy ! Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of chilli powder as per your need. Make sure masala is well coated in raw banana pieces. Saute till raw banana turns golden in color with nice masala flavor else it tastes bad

Try this easy, yummy raw banana curry and enjoy with rice.

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Vazhaithandu Poriyal – Banana stem poriyal recipe

This is my MIL’s style Vazhaithandu poriyal recipe (Banana stem curry) which is a super healthy and excellent side dish for sambar rice. We try to include Banana stem in our diet at least once in a week as it is a rich source of fiber, Potassium and Vitamin B6. It helps to ease constipation and is good for treating and preventing Kidney stones.

Mostly I make banana stem juice with buttermilk and salt. Sometimes I make poriyal, kuzhambu, thayir pachadi or add in sambar. Recent days I started to make Vazhaithandu dosa as well. Soon I will try to post a collection of all the Vazhaithandu recipes in my blog for easy reference.

Today’s recipe is a very easy and simple Tamil nadu style poriyal recipe with Vazhaithandu. My MIL makes it without onion and garlic but I used garlic today. Also she uses red chilli for spicy taste whereas I used sambar powder for variation. It came out so well. We all loved it. Even Raksha who eats only dosa with Vazhaithandu ate this poriyal today without complaints.

Friends, do try this yummy and healthy raw banana stem poriyal for rice and enjoy with your family. But make sure you use tender and fresh banana stem for best taste.

Vazhaithandu poriyal / Banana stem curry for rice

Vazhaithandu poriyal / Banana stem curry for rice - Easy and healthy side dish using Banana stem.

 

Cuisine: Tamil nadu

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Vazhaithandu / Banana stem - 1 Moong dal - 1 tbsp Sambar powder or red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - as needed Water - to cook Grated coconut – 1/4 cup To temper Coconut oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Chana dal - 2 tsp Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - few Garlic - 5 cloves Coriander leaves - to garnish

HOW TO MAKE BANANA STEM PORIYAL

1. Remove the outer sheath of Banana stem.
2. Wash and chop into circles and dip in thin buttermilk.
3. Chop finely and keep it immersed in buttermilk till use.
4. Take the chopped banana stem in a plate and add salt, moong dal.
5. Mix well and keep the plate in a slanting way for 15 minutes. Water drains out. Discard the water. 
6. Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cumin seeds and curry leaves. 
7. Add garlic cloves and saute for a minute. Squeeze the banana stem and add to kadai.
8. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Sprinkle some water and cover the kadai. Keep the flame low and cook till moong dal and banana stem turns soft.
9. Lastly add the sambar powder and grated coconut. Mix well and cook for few more minutes.
10. Switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves if you like.
11. Serve with sambar and rasam rice. Enjoy !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Remove the outer sheath of the banana stem and chop into thin roundels. Keep in buttermilk till use. Now take the roundels and chop finely into small cubes. Keep them immersed in buttermilk. Take the chopped banana stem in a plate. Add salt, moong dal and mix well. Keep the plate in a slanting way so that banana stem leaves water which collects in the plate. Discard the water. Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated, splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add chopped garlic and saute for few minutes. Squeeze the banana stem and add to the kadai. Keep the flame low and saute for few minutes. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Sprinkle some water and cover cook till dal and banana stem turns soft and cooked well. Lastly add the grated coconut, sambar powder or red chilli powder. Mix well and cook for few minutes in low flame till raw smell goes off. Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves (optional). Enjoy !

Note

You can saute red chilli along with garlic and skip chilli powder / sambar powder for less spice. For variations, you can skip garlic and make it without onion and garlic. If you like, you can add one finely chopped onion along with garlic and make this poriyal. Healthy and tasty Vazhaithandu poriyal is ready !

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Southekayi Palya – Cucumber Poriyal | Vellarikka Poriyal Recipe

Cucumber (Southekayi in Kannada, Vellarikai in Tamil, Vellarikka in Malayalam, Dosakaya in Telugu, Kheera in Hindi) is a super healthy vegetable that is usually consumed as a salad. We eat it as such or add in Kosmbari or green gram carrot salad. But this time, I tried a simple, Karnataka style palya / poriyal/ curry with cucumber. Generally people in Karnataka use Mangalore Cucumber also known as Sambar Cucumber for making side dishes. But I used the salad Cucumber today.

This Cucumber poriyal is a no onion no garlic recipe. Its so easy to make and its cooking time is very less because of its water content. Sendhil and Raksha couldn’t make out its cucumber curry. It was so tasty and flavorful. Friends, if you are bored of making salad with Cucumber, try this palya. You will love it.

Lets see how to make Karnataka style Southekayi palya recipe with step by step pictures.

Southekayi palya recipe / Cucumber curry / Vellarikai poriyal recipe

Southekayi palya recipe / Cucumber curry / Vellarikai poriyal recipe for rice

 

Cuisine: Karnataka

Category: Side dish

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Cucumber / Southekayi / Velarikkai - 2 Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - as needed To Temper Coconut oil or cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 /2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Chana dal - 2 tsp Curry leaves - few Red chilli - 1 or 2 Asafetida / hing - 2 pinches Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves - to garnish

HOW TO MAKE SOUTHEKAYI PALYA

1. Wash and peel the skin of Cucumber. Chop into small cubes.
2. Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, Urad dal, Chana dal, curry leaves, red chilli and hing.
3. Add chopped Cucumber pieces, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.
4. Cover and cook in medium flame till Cucumber becomes soft.
5. If there is water, boil for few minutes to drain.
6. Lastly add the grated coconut and coriander leaves. Mix well.
7. Serve hot with rice.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and peel the skin of Cucumber/ Southekayi. Trim the ends, chop into small cubes. Set aside. Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, red chilli and curry leaves. Add the Cucumber pieces, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well and cover cook in low to medium flame till Cucumber turns soft. No need to add water because the water content in Cucumber is sufficient to cook. (If needed sprinkle little water) Stir the curry once or twice in the middle. Once its cooked, add grated coconut, chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Cook for a minute and switch off the flame.  Enjoy with rice !

Note

No need to add water for cooking this vegetable. If necessary, just sprinkle little water. Say few tbsp. For variations, you can add sambar powder instead of red chilli. If you wish, you can grind coconut, one green chilli, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 2 small onion coarsely and add to cucumber once its cooked. It gives a nice flavor to poriyal more like Kerala style thoran.

Easy, yummy Karnataka style Cucumber palya is ready to serve !

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