Vazhaipoo Vadai | Banana Blossom Fritters

A perfect snack to go with your coffee/tea – Vazhaipoo Vadai recipe with step-wise pictures. These fritters made with banana flower/banana blossom are so delicious and a must try for this cold winter weather.

Some things are so nostalgic and especially food memories are hard to put up in words. This recipe for Vazhaipoo Vadai or Banana Flower Fritters is one such thing for me. I have always loved Masala Vadai more than Ulundu Vadai and for really special occasions, amma used to make Vazhaipoo Vadai – a specialty from Tamilnadu. It is labor intensive, especially cleaning up the banana blossom but the vadai turns out super delicious that it is a must try.

In South India, every part of Banana plant is used in cooking and has major health benefits. Banana Stem, Banana Flower, Raw Banana, Ripe Banana and of course the Banana Leaf used for serving food – it is one plant that truly gives! When we built our first house, we lovingly planted some banana saplings and in no time, we had a bunch of banana plants. We waited with bated breath to see it flower and then yield fruits. The joy of making your own produce knows no bounds, I tell you. Anyway, I digress.

Now coming back to Banana Blossom, cleaning it is crucial and time consuming. Open up every petal, remove the bunch of pale yellow flowers out and separate them. Open up each flower in turn and remove the longest stem, the stamen and discard the tiny petal at the bottom. This should be done for all mature flowers and very tender ones can be used as it is. Store the cleaned flowers in ziplock pouch and they should be good for a week, chop them when necessary. Not an entire banana blossom is needed to make these Vazhaipoo Vadai, use the left over for making a quick stir-fry.

How to make Vazhaipoo Vadai | Banana Flower Vada

📖 Recipe

Vazhaipoo Vadai | Banana Blossom Fritters

Ramya

Vazhaipoo Vadai – perfect tea snack!

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Snack, Appetizer

Cuisine South Indian

Servings 12 Vadai

MEASUREMENT

1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ ⅓ cup Chana Dal
• ▢ ⅓ cup Vazhaipoo Cleaned and Finely Chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup Finely Chopped Onions
• ▢ 1 Green Chilli
• ▢ Few Curry Leaves
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
• ▢ Salt as needed
• ▢ Oil for deep frying

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Instructions

 

• Soak the chana dal in enough water for 1-2hrs. Drain extra water, reserve 1 tablespoon of soaked chana dal and grind the rest into a coarse paste. Don’t add any water.
• Add finely chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves along with salt and chana dal. Mix well.
• Next add the ground coarse chana dal , ginger garlic paste and banana blossom. Mix well, the mixture should form a lump easily.
• Meanwhile heat oil for deep frying. Make equal sized balls of the vadai mixture.
• Pat into medium sized patti/vadai on your palm. Drop gently into oil.
• Cook on medium heat until it is golden brown and crisp. Drain off excess oil. Repeat the same with rest of the mixture.
• Serve hot with tea/coffee or even as side dish for rice.

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Detailed step by step picture recipe of making Vazhaipoo Vadai | Banana Blossom Fritters

1. Soak the chana dal in enough water for 1-2hrs. Drain extra water, reserve 1 tablespoon of soaked chana dal and grind the rest into a coarse paste. Don’t add any water.

2. Add finely chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves along with salt and chana dal. Mix well.

3. Next add the ground coarse chana dal, ginger garlic paste and banana blossom. Mix well, the mixture should form a lump easily.

4. Meanwhile heat oil for deep frying. Make equal sized balls of the vadai mixture.

5. Pat into medium sized patti/vadai on your palm. Drop gently into oil.

6. Cook on medium heat until it is golden brown and crisp. Drain off excess oil. Repeat the same with rest of the mixture.

7. Serve hot with tea/coffee or even as side dish for rice.

Recipe Notes

• Don’t add any extra water while grinding as the water from banana flower, onions is enough to pat the vadais.
• It is important to cook these on medium heat. On high heat, they turn brown way too fast and on low heat, absorb more oil and disintegrate easily.
• Adjust the number of green chillies as per spice preference.

I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂