Vazhaipoo Usili:

Plantain Flower Subzi. Vazhai-Poo Usili. Attipoo/ arattipoo Usili. Kela ka Fool Usili.

When I visited my hometown…..we have palntain tree in the house! I happen to cook palntain flower all the time! We either make ‘kootu’ or ‘vadai’ generally! So…for a change…I was going thro’ local magazines and came up with this idea of making usili. My Dad really appreaciated this dish! So as Mommy and Bro’ Pari!!

Ingredients:

Plantain Flower 1 large(see my other plantain flower recipes for cleaning instructions)
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 spoon
Chana dal 1/2 spoon
Urad dal 1/2 spoon
Curry leaves few
Green chilies 3 finely chopped
Dry red chilies 6
Chana dal 1 cup(soaked in water for 20 minutes)
Ginger-garlic paste 1 spoon
Fennel seeds 3 spoons
Salt(to grind with dal)
Salt for beans
Turmeric 1 pinch
Curry leaves few(to grind)
Oil 2 cups

Method:

In a blender dry grind fennel seeds, salt, dry chilies and curry leaves. Set them aside.

Wet grind chana dal bit coarsely and set aside.

In a pan, heat oil. Add mustard, cumin, curry leaves, chana and urad dal. Let them pop and splutter well.

To this add green chilies and finely chopped flower. Fry well. Add salt and 1 pinch of turmeric powder. Sprinkle little water over this. Cover and cook.

When it is 3/4th cooked add chana-wet ground paste and cook without lid. Let the dal paste get well coated with the vegetable. Toss to all the sides..until dal gets fried and cooked.

Run few spoons of oil now, if needed. The dal should not be wet or undercooked anymore. It should be sort of crispy and fragrant now.

Serve this hot as a side dish to rice or chappathi/roti.