Raw Banana Vadas
Every Indian home is notoriously famous for serving some delicious fried snacks. You will certainly find a variety of pakoras, vadas and tikkis across the country. This recipe of Raw Banana Vadas is a healthier take on Batata Vada/ Aloo Bhonda/ Aloo Chop as we know it.
Many of you might wonder, why use Raw banana or Kachcha Kela in a snack when Potatoes or Aloo is so readily available and liked by all. Trust me these vadas are nothing the regular aloo bhonda/ vada. These Raw Banana Vadas are high in fibre, packed with vegetables and yet are delicious.
Being an Odia, the green raw bananas are a regular vegetable in our kitchen. My mommy makes a variety of dishes where this is used….be it Dalma (a dal preparation that is laced with vegetables), Ghanta ( a traditional Odia mix veg dish), tikkis, tawa fried versions. In fact, she is the one who came up with the idea to replace the aloo with raw bananas to make chops (batter fried mashed potatoes mix).
Before diving into the recipe I would like to share few benefits of Green Raw Banana into your diet:
- Raw Bananas, the green ones are rich in resistant starch and pectin which makes them a filling vegetable .
- They rank low on the glycemic index with a value of 30 (this index measures how quickly foods raise blood sugar levels after eating). Hence consuming raw bananas can help to control your blood sugar levels.
- Consuming Raw bananas can help keep your gut bacteria healthy. It can also increase the production of short- chain fatty acids, which are important for digestive health.
- Similar to the ripe yellow bananas, these Green raw bananas are also rich in minerals and vitamins.
I am sure these benefits along with the recipe given below will certainly induce you all to give this humble vegetable a try.
Raw Banana Vadas
Deep Fried, Batter coated mashed bananas and vegetable cutlets.
Ingredients
- 4 nos Green Raw Bananas, medium sized
- 1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Onions
- 1/2 Cup Finely chopped Green Capsicum
- 1/2 Cup Grated Carrots
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Coriander leaves
- 1/4 Cup Grated fresh Coconut This is optional
- 1 1/2 Tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 Tsp Roasted Cumin (jeera) powder
- 1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
- To taste Salt
For batter
- 1 1/2 Cup Besan
- 2 Tbsp Rice flour For extra crispy outer covering
- 1 Tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 Tsp Ginger paste
- 1 Tsp Garlic paste
- 1 Tsp Green chilli paste
- To taste Salt
- 1/2-3/4 Cup Water
- For frying Oil
Instructions
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Peel and wash the raw bananas and boil them in a pressure cooker with salt and pinch of turmeric. After 1 whistle, simmer the flame for 2-3 minutes and then switch of the flame. After the steam is completely released, strain the water and let the boiled bananas cool down.
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In a large mixing bowl, mash the boiled bananas. Add the chopped onions, capsicum, grated carrots and coconut along with kashmiri red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder, salt and corriander leaves. Mix all the ingredients well.
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Shape the vadas into small balls and flatten them a bit. The thickness should be about 0.5-1inch.
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For the batter, mix the besan, rice flour, Kashmiri red chilli powder and salt together. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli paste to the mix and make a batter using water. The consistency of the batter should neither be thin nor very thick.
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Heat oil in a frying pan. Dip the banana tikkis in the batter and fry them till golden. Take them out on the kitchen towel or paper napkin to get rid of excess oil.
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Serve the hot and crisp raw banana vadas with your favourite chutney or sauce
