Tamil style recipe for Sutta Vazhakkai Podi – Smoked Raw Banana Stir Fry Recipe made with onions and spices. Raw Banana Podimas fry / spiced roast recipe.
Sutta Vazhakkai podi is an excellent side dish for rice. The raw bananas are smoked and then roasted in a spice mix until it resembles a coarse idli podi. Its so flavorful and goes extremely well with rice. Here is the recipe for Sutta Vazhakkai Podi – Smoked Raw Banana Stir Fry.
Here is the video of how to make Sutta Vazhakkai Podi. Click the link to view the video.
Click the link below to find the recipes on the site that uses the main ingredient as raw banana / vazhakkai. Recipes using Plantain / Raw bananas
Here are some of the equipment, utensils and gadgets that will be useful for making this Sutta Vazhakkai podi recipe. Click the link to buy them online. Heavy Stainless Steel Saute / Fry Pan Heavy Duty Indian Mixie Non Stick Frying Pan Mixing Bowls Paring Knife / Small Knife Tongs Spatula Prep / Cutting Board
Charring the Vazhakkai / Raw banana for Sutta Vazhakkai Podi First lets prep the vazhakkai / raw banana. You will need the raw plantain variety for this recipe. Wash and clean the raw banana. Apply a little oil to the skin for it to roast evenly.
Keep the oiled raw banana directly on a gas flame. Keep turning the raw banana every couple of minutes so it gets charred evenly. If you do not like the smoky flavour, you can also steam the raw bananas and proceed with the recipe. At home, I love smoked anything while my husband and son vehemently refuse as they hate the smoky flavour.
It will take about 5-6 minutes for the raw bananas to be completely charred. Note: The gas stove and the burner are going to be a little messy with the charred ash. A little clean up will be due. Heads up on that.
Once the raw bananas are charred, remove from flame and let it rest on a plate for a couple of minutes. Peel the skin with a knife. Wash the raw banana if the ash is sticking to the flesh. Set aside.
Masala for Sutta Vazhakkai Podi Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the chana dal and the urad dal. Roast on a low flame. Add in the dried red chillies, curry leaves and tamarind when the lentils are roasted half way.
Once the lentils are nice and golden, add in the coconut. Saute for a few seconds and remove the pan from heat. Transfer the contents to a mixie jar. Instead of fresh coconut, desiccated coconut also works well in this recipe.
Grind the mixture in a small mixie jar to a coarse powder. Do not add any water while grinding. Pulse several times stopping in-between to mix the masala in the mixie jar so it gets powdered evenly. Finally add in the charred and peeled raw banana and pulse it for a few seconds. Set aside.
Tempering the Vazhakkai Podi Heat coconut oil in a pan (preferably non-stick) and add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, fennel seeds (sombu) and broken cashew nuts. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the finely chopped onion and the salt. Saute till the onions are nice and golden.
Once the onions are cooked, add in the ground mixture to the pan.
Add in the turmeric and the jaggery. Jaggery is optional but that little sweetness nicely balances the sourness from the tamarind and rounds out the flavour. Keep the flame on low and roast everything for a good 10-12 minutes. Keep breaking the lumps and roast till the mixture is dry.
Raw banana stir-fry / sutta vazhakkai podi roast is ready. Serve hot with rice.
For charring the veggie for Sutta Vazhakkai Podi
- 2 raw bananas / vazhakkai (raw plantain variety)
For the Masala
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon chana dal
- 1 tablespoon urad dal
- 3 dried red chillies
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- a small marble sized piece of tamarind
- 1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
For the tempering Sutta Vazhakkai Podi
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 4 - 5 cashewnut
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon jaggery
- Keep the oiled raw banana directly on a gas flame. Keep turning the raw banana every couple of minutes so it gets charred evenly. It will take about 5-6 minutes for the raw bananas to be completely charred.
- Once the raw bananas are charred, remove from flame and let it rest on a plate for a couple of minutes. Peel the skin with a knife. Wash the raw banana if the ash is sticking to the flesh. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the chana dal and the urad dal. Roast on a low flame. Add in the dried red chillies, curry leaves and tamarind when the lentils are roasted half way.
- Once the lentils are nice and golden, add in the coconut. Saute for a few seconds and remove the pan from heat. Transfer the contents to a mixie jar.
- Grind the mixture in a small mixie jar to a coarse powder. Do not add any water while grinding. Pulse several times stopping in between to mix the masala in the mixie jar so it gets powdered evenly. Finally add in the charred and peeled raw banana and pulse it for a few seconds. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a pan (preferably non-stick) and add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, fennel seeds (sombu) and broken cashew nuts. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the finely chopped onion and the salt. Saute till the onions are nice and golden.
- Once the onions are cooked, add in the ground mixture to the pan.
- Add in the turmeric and the jaggery. Jaggery is optional but that little sweetness nicely balances the sourness from the tamarind and balances out the flavour. Keep the flame on low and roast everything for a good 10-12 minutes. Keep breaking the lumps and roast till the mixture is dry.
- Raw banana stir-fry / sutta vazhakkai podi roast is ready. Serve hot with rice.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side dish
- Cuisine: Tamilnadu
For charring the veggie for Sutta Vazhakkai Podi
- 2 raw bananas / vazhakkai (raw plantain variety)
For the Masala
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon chana dal
- 1 tablespoon urad dal
- 3 dried red chillies
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- a small marble sized piece of tamarind
- 1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
For the tempering Sutta Vazhakkai Podi
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 4 - 5 cashewnut
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon jaggery
- Keep the oiled raw banana directly on a gas flame. Keep turning the raw banana every couple of minutes so it gets charred evenly. It will take about 5-6 minutes for the raw bananas to be completely charred.
- Once the raw bananas are charred, remove from flame and let it rest on a plate for a couple of minutes. Peel the skin with a knife. Wash the raw banana if the ash is sticking to the flesh. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the chana dal and the urad dal. Roast on a low flame. Add in the dried red chillies, curry leaves and tamarind when the lentils are roasted half way.
- Once the lentils are nice and golden, add in the coconut. Saute for a few seconds and remove the pan from heat. Transfer the contents to a mixie jar.
- Grind the mixture in a small mixie jar to a coarse powder. Do not add any water while grinding. Pulse several times stopping in between to mix the masala in the mixie jar so it gets powdered evenly. Finally add in the charred and peeled raw banana and pulse it for a few seconds. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a pan (preferably non-stick) and add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, fennel seeds (sombu) and broken cashew nuts. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the finely chopped onion and the salt. Saute till the onions are nice and golden.
- Once the onions are cooked, add in the ground mixture to the pan.
- Add in the turmeric and the jaggery. Jaggery is optional but that little sweetness nicely balances the sourness from the tamarind and balances out the flavour. Keep the flame on low and roast everything for a good 10-12 minutes. Keep breaking the lumps and roast till the mixture is dry.
- Raw banana stir-fry / sutta vazhakkai podi roast is ready. Serve hot with rice.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side dish
- Cuisine: Tamilnadu
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/sutta-vazhakkai-podi/
Indian style masala fried fish made in the air fryer. Kerala Karimeen Fry – Kerala Style Pearspot Fish Fry – Air Fryer Fish Fry – Karimeen Masala Fry
I have this vivid memory of karimeen – Pearl-spot fish. My dad is a civil engineer and he worked for the LMW Group in Coimbatore for a long long time. He is 76 and still working for the group 🙂 Its his second home or maybe first. Its debatable. In the beginning of 90’s, they had an ambitious project of building a resort in Cherthala, Kerala. My dad (a vegetarian) used to travel a lot during that time and he visited Cherthala almost every week. If he was travelling on a weekend, me and my brother would hop in the company provided Tata Sierra (It still is my favorite car. What a stylish car for those days) at 4am in the morning and go along with him. Sometimes, we travelled by bus. They were developing the land in Cherthala at that time and the setup there was very simple. A couple of basic thatched roof huts with essentials to stay. After a loooong ride in the worst possible roads, we had to take a ferry and then a boat / coracle to reach the place as the land was right on the backwaters. So whenever we went, the caretaker would take us fishing while my dad went on to supervise the work, meet the laborers, check the accounts or whatever. We would catch fresh karimeen. Karimeen was the highlight of my trip. I had traveled 200 plus kilometres from Coimbatore only for this beauty. Fresh karimeen would be cleaned and shallow fried in coconut oil and that would be our late lunch with rice, rasam and buttermilk. We ate the same for dinner. I slept happily on a karimeen overdose. We usually stayed just for a night. The next day, we would have JM & sons bread from Coimbatore and the cloyingly sweet kissan jam for breakfast (still a favorite) and leave. For the next 5-6 years, we travelled to Cherthala every chance we got before the project was dropped as they were too ahead for their time and they were amidst innumerable labor problems and strikes. My Karimeen vacation also sadly came to an end. The flavour of coconut oil fried karimeen is etched in my memory.
Here is my rendition of Kerala Karimeen fry. I have made it healthy by frying it in the air fryer. The same can be shallow fried in a pan.
Karimeen Masala Fry made in the Air Fryer First lets make a masala. Here is what you will need.
Take in all the ingredients listed under marinade and mix them well. Use thick ginger garlic paste for this recipe.
The oil and vinegar and the moisture from the ginger garlic paste will be enough to make a thick paste. Add a teaspoon of water if only necessary. Make sure that the masala is thick so it evenly coats the fish.
Wash, clean and prep the fish.
Make small gashes on the fish with a sharp knife so the masalas can penetrate and season the fish throughout. Be gentle and do not cut too deep. These cuts / crevices will hold the masalas later. So take time and make as many even cuts as possible. This is a very important step.
Apply the marinade on the fish. Make sure that the masalas are evenly coated. Apply masala in the gashes so the fish gets evenly seasoned.
Marinate the fish in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
We will now cook the fish in the air fryer. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the fish. I cooked these in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
The fish was perfect after cooking for 15 minutes. For bigger fishes, cook for 5 minutes more.
Now we will make a topping for the fish. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the finely chopped shallots (small onion), curry leaves and whole crushed garlic with the skin. Add in a pinch of salt. Fry for 5-6 minutes.
The shallots would have become crisp by the time.
Now add in the red chilli flakes and remove from heat.
The topping is ready.
Sprinkle the topping on the fish and serve hot.
Main Ingredient
- 500 grams karimeen – pearlspot fish (or) fish of your choice
For the marinade
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil / peanut oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or plain vinegar
- 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 teaspoon chopped curry leaves
- 1.5 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the topping / tempering
- 1.5 teaspoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoon chopped shallot / small onion
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 6 - 7 cloves of garlic, crushed with skin
- a pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
- Take in all the ingredients listed under marinade and mix them well. Use thick ginger garlic paste for this recipe.
- The oil and vinegar and the moisture from the ginger garlic paste will be enough to make a thick paste. Add a teaspoon of water if only necessary. Make sure that the masala is thick so it evenly coats the fish.
- Wash, clean and prep the fish. Make small gashes on the fish with a sharp knife so the masalas can penetrate and season the fish throughout. Be gentle and do not cut too deep. These cuts / crevices will hold the masalas later. So take time and make as many even cuts as possible. This is a very important step.
- Apply the marinade on the fish. Make sure that the masalas are evenly coated. Apply masala in the gashes so the fish gets evenly seasoned.
- Marinate the fish in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
- We will now cook the fish in the air fryer. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the fish. I cooked these in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
- The fish was perfect after cooking for 15 minutes. For bigger fishes, cook for 5 minutes more.
- Now we will make a topping for the fish. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the finely chopped shallots (small onion), curry leaves and whole crushed garlic with the skin. Add in a pinch of salt. Fry for 5-6 minutes.
- The shallots would have become crisp by the time. Now add in the red chilli flakes and remove from heat. The topping is ready.
- Sprinkle the topping on the fish and serve hot.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Fish Fry
- Cuisine: Kerala
