Monday 20 February 2012

Mashed plantain fry (aratikaya fry)

I remember even when i was very little that i have been interested in new foods. Not as much the cooking as the eating part. And it helped that mom was a fantastic cook willing to experiment. She even had a recipe book where she had jotted down recipes that caught her fancy and there were all sorts of things from curries to snacks to desserts including jams, jellies and sauces. It used to be a good time-pass to go through that book and dream about all sorts of foods. I distinctly remember one such Sunday afternoon when i was twelve or thirteen. I was browsing through the recipes and found one recipe for 'potato latkes' that sounded easy enough to me and volunteered to cook it for the rest of my family. I did make those cutlet type snacks that evening but had undercooked the potatoes. The outside was turning from dark brown to almost sooty black but the potatoes refused to become soft. I was so disappointed. I don't think i ever offered to make a new dish again until many many years later.
One other thing i remember i was so cross at that recipe book at that age was because none of the recipes ever specified how much salt was required. It drove me crazy. Why does everybody say 'salt to taste'? How will i know whether that is half a spoon or 3 spoonfuls. You will get an idea of the salt required if you have been cooking regularly for at least 10 days. But if that is your first experiment when you are 11, you can go nuts trying to figure that out. So now that i have tried my hand at cooking for a fair amount of time, its my turn to act mysterious and not specify the exact amount of seasoning. That way if something goes wrong, they can't blame me. ha ha ha. (evil laugh) No, not really. I can never be deliberately evil or hurtful, so whenever my memory serves me i shall give an approximate amount of salt. Starting from today.
And as i have mentioned before in this post, today's recipe has been my most favourite way to eat plantains ever since i was a kid.
Ingredients
2 large or 3 small raw green plantains
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2 hot green chilies, sliced
4 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
5-7 small cloves garlic, peeled (optional)
2 sprigs curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder or garam masala powder
Juice of half a lime
Method
  1. Pressure cook (or boil on a stove) the raw plantains with skins on in half a cup of water. Peel the plantains and roughly mash with the back of a spoon or fork
  2. In a medium sized pan (or kadai) heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. 
  3. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering add the green chilies, garlic, and onions and fry till the onions turn soft, about 5-7 minutes. 
  4. Add the curry leaves, mashed plantain, salt and turmeric and fry for 6-8 minutes
  5. Adjust seasoning, add a little red chili powder (and) or garam masala. 
  6. Turn off the heat. Then add lime juice and mix. Serve with a garnish of chopped coriander or another slice of lime. Goes well with plain rice or Indian flat breads

34 comments:

  1. Looks absolutely yum. I am sorry I did not pick up the plantains in the market today.

    Nice reading about you. I remember making kande pohe like upit.:)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Archana.. learning through disasters is well remembered. isn't it? :)

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  2. Wow you started cooking so young. The first thing I ever made was chappatis. I thank my mum for that because now I make them so easily and it's imp because my hubby is a north India. How did my mum know??
    Anyways, we call this kaya( raw plaintain). Love the preparation. It has to taste amazing.

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    Replies
    1. Really, how did your mum know? :)
      Recently a friend of mine delivered a baby boy and their first kid was only talking of a baby brother all through and never of a baby sister. They had to wonder, how did that 4 year old girl know. Its intriguing how these things happen.

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  3. We make this too but very differently - looks delicious and interesting!

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    1. Hope to see your version soon too Priya. Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. What terrific flavors and aroma it would be holding! I don't happen to eat Plantain much, but now there's a good reason to do that.
    Thanks for following me and leaving that lovely comment; it helped me discover your beautiful space even. :)

    Ongoing Event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts
    http://anjali-cooklog.blogspot.com/2012/02/announcing-my-first-event-cakes-cookies.html

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    1. Thanks Anjali, for dropping by and for your lovely words.

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  5. wow this looks new to me, looks yummy!!!!
    I'm ur happy follower now, do stop by mine too!!!
    cheers,
    DD
    Good Food Recipes

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    Replies
    1. Hey thanks for stopping by. For some reason you don't show in the followers. Going over to your blog now. Hope to see you here often.

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  6. bookmarked to try..this is a nice recipe with plantains

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  7. We usually make kofta with this and then a gravy...frying it with masalas is new for me...you started early... and that too with a pretty complicated dish...when I was young I was also obsessed with cooking....made omelettes and Maggie...I agree with the salt to taste bit....in fact all my mother's put a pinch of that and a bit of this used to irritate me and then we would get into fights...and now lo and behold I cook exactly like her...

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    1. I 'd cook maggi too when it came into the market coz my mom refused to cook us such 'unhealthy junk'. And my kid sister and i would cook maggi at my grandma's house because she didn't know how to cook "these new foods".
      About a bit of that and a bit of this - i too cook first just throwing stuff in and then cook another time measuring everything so that i can at least give approximate measures on the blog.

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  8. I love that you took a traditionally Latin food and made it into an Indian dish. Truly delicious looking. I love plantains!

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    1. Didn't know it was latin. I feel like i have accomplished something now :-)
      Thanks for stopping by Ameena.

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  9. Yumm....
    Making plantain perfectly is not that easy, But this looks perfect!!!
    Beautiful!!

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  10. Wow...lovely Plaiintain recipe.....thnx for sharing !

    Http://Onlyfishrecipes.blogspot.com/

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  11. I don't remember entering kitchen when i was young, except for eating.. took me a good 25 yrs to attempt something :D.. we do this too call it vazzhakai podimas :).. i quite like it but S doesnt, so i hardly make it much! i think i need to this again :D now!

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    Replies
    1. It doesn't matter when we started, the interest we have now is all that matters. Do try it :)

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  12. I also make this quiet regularly !! looks so delicious !!

    Ongoing event CC-Dish For Loved Ones

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  13. this is looking super delicious, learnt a lovely recipe using plantains, want to try this out :)

    Join the Just "4" Fun event :)

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  14. Looks superb, very tempting, especially the last picture..

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  15. Replies
    1. Thanks Chandrani. Will send something for your event.

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  16. That is one delicious looking dish! It looks so scrumptious.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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