Vazhaikkai Paal Curry (Raw bananas in coconut milk)

The idea of living in a house surrounded by an organic farm, with cows and dogs is immensely exciting . While travelling to Trichy, I noticed vast areas of cultivable land being converted to realty projects. Although we say agriculture is truly our backbone, I feel we are losing the race to realty companies and will soon be enveloped by a concrete jungle. I am at Uyyakondan Thirumalai near Vayalur that is famous for Banana plantations. I get to pluck fresh, organic raw bananas from the tree to use it for a recipe taught to me by a local from the town. The grand finale of this shoot was, sharing the cooked food with the farmers who helped in growing these bananas. This is my way of saying thank you to them for giving us our daily food. They are truly the unsung heroes.

Here’s the recipe to make Vaazhakkai Paal Curry:

• Raw bananas – Cut in med size pieces – 1
• Shallots/ small onions -10 halved
• Powdered fennel/ saunf – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves – 5-7 leaves
• Coconut and green chilly paste – 1 cup
• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
• Coconut milk – 1 cup (first milk extracted)
• Green chilly – 2
• Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
• Cloves – 3
• Salt – to taste
• Coconut oil – 3 tbsp
• Water – 3 cups

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan/wok and add the cloves, cinnamon and shallots
2. Saute the onions till golden brown and add green chilly
3. Add water to the onion and green chilly mixture.
4. Add turmeric powder, the cut raw bananas, salt and cook till raw bananas are cooked
5. Make sure not to overcook them as they get mashed easily
6. Add the coconut and green chilly paste to this and let it cook.
7. Add powdered fennel/saunf and coconut milk in to the curry
8. Remove from heat and garnish with curry leaves
9. Serve hot with rice or rotis

For those of you who understand tamil, here’s the link to see how it’s made.