A typical meal platter in our household always has a vegetable either made in the dry curry form called palya or poriyal or in the gravy form called kootu. Today I am going to share one such vegetable side. Here is our family recipe of vazhaikai podimas as we say in Tamil or Balekayi Palya as we say in Kannada. Check out the detailed method of this quick and easy to prepare plantain stir fry.
This balekai palya was part of my Ugadi Thali platter. I wanted to post this recipe for quite some time but finally got a chance to post today. I learned this recipe from my MIL, and this palya is one of her signature recipes.
Cooking Plantain:
I have explained about the plantain cooking process in both my eriserry and varuval post.
- You can cut the edges, peel the skin (it will be bit sticky, so apply some gingelly oil on your palms before chopping) and chop them into cubes. Then you can cook/roast in the open pot method. You can find the details on my vaazhaikai roast recipe post.
- You can cut the edges and microwave them for 10 to 12 minutes. Then peel the skin and chop them. You can find this cooking method details on my eriserry post.
- For this recipe, I went with the pressure cooker method. I trimmed the top edge and cut them into two halves and just cooked for one whistle. And then peeled the skin and mashed it into pieces.
Plantain Health Benefits:
Even though I have posted quite a few recipes with plantain, I have never mentioned about its health benefits. The potassium-rich plantains help boost the immune system, improves/regulates digestion. The starch loaded plantain is nutrient-filled and fiber-rich as it provides many vitamins and minerals, and it can be an excellent substitute for rice or potatoes.
Is Plantain Gaseous?
The fiber-rich starch loaded plantain, however, gives some people gas issues or flatulence – the accumulation of gas in the alimentary canal. Cooked plantain doesn’t cause much gas but if you are sensitive to starch, go with smaller serving portions. Also, make sure you add sufficient asafetida, at least ½ tsp for this recipe or even more to avoid the gas.
Balekai Palya | Vazhaikai Podimas Recipe
Ingredients
- Plantain – 2
- Water – to pressure cook, approx 2 cups
- Coconut Oil – 2 tsps
- Green Chili – 2
- Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
- Urad Dal – 1 tsp
- Channa Dal – 1 tsp
- Curry Leaves – few
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Grated Coconut – 3 tbsps
- Hing – ½ tsp
Steps:
- Cut the top edge of the plantain and then cut into two halves.
- Place it in a bowl and add water. Pressure cook it for just one whistle and allow the pressure to release.
- Let it cool and then peel the skin. Using a fork, mash the plantain roughly into small pieces.
- Heat a pan and add the coconut oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, hing and curry leaves.
- Break the green chilies into two halves and add it to the tempering. Let it fry for 30 seconds.
- Now add the mashed plantain and salt. Mix well.
- Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Finally, add the coconut and stir it well. Reduce the heat and allow it to cook for just a minute and that’s it.
- Balekai palya is ready. Serve hot with sambar or rasam rice.
Notes:
- Instead of green chili, you can use dried red chilies also.
- Adjust the salt and spice as per your preference.
- Cook the plantain in your preferred way.
- As always, I recommend coconut oil for this recipe, but no harm in using other cooking oil.
📖 Recipe
Balekai Palya | Vaazhaikai Podimas | Plantain Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 2 Plantain
- 2 cups Water to pressure cook approx 2 cups
- 2 tsps Coconut Oil
- 2 Green Chili
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Urad Dal
- 1 tsp Channa Dal
- 5 Curry Leaves few
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsps Grated Coconut
- ½ tsp Hing
Instructions
- Cut the top edge of the plantain and then cut into two halves.
- Place it in a bowl and add water. Pressure cook it for just one whistle and allow the pressure to release.
- Let it cool and then peel the skin. Using a fork, mash the plantain roughly into small pieces.
- Heat a pan and add the coconut oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, hing and curry leaves.
- Break the green chilies into two halves and add it to the tempering. Let it fry for 30 seconds.
- Now add the mashed plantain and salt. Mix well.
- Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Finally, add the coconut and stir it well. Reduce the heat and allow it to cook for just a minute and that's it.
- Balekai palya is ready. Serve hot with sambar or rasam rice.
Notes
- Instead of green chili, you can use dried red chilies also.
- Adjust the salt and spice as per your preference.
- Cook the plantain in your preferred way.
- As always, I recommend coconut oil for this recipe, but no harm in using other cooking oil.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
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