Pazham Pori

I got to eat this when I went with Pras for Nisha's wedding. We stopped at one of the famous India Coffee House enroute Palakad, while heading back from Thrissur. It was delicious and melt in the mouth. A perfect accompaniment to tea but also makes for a good dessert when topped with a dusting of icing sugar.

Pras had bought some Nenthram Pazham yesterday and they are like huge. I'm sure they won't get over any time soon and to ensure that they don't end up in the dust bin, I decided to make Pazham Pori. These are from the banana family and have a bit of bite in them. Peeling off their skin requires a little effort and they are a Kerala speciality.

Now that this is a Kerala speciality, you do know that it is one of Pras's favorites too. So, I thought of sending this to The Valentine's Day event hosted by Pari of Foodelicious and Cuponation.

Ingredients (serves 2 as a snack):

1. 1 large nenthram pazham
2. 3/4 cup maida
3. 1 tsp sugar
4. A pinch of salt
5. 1/2 tsp of cinnamon/cardamom powder - using my mortar and pestle I crushed 2 cardamom and a thin stick of cinnamon
6. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
7. water to make a paste
8. Coconut oil to fry

How I made it :

• Mix the maida, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, cardamom, cinnamon powder alongwith water to make a thickish batter - similar to bajji batter. It should be a bit thick so that it sticks to the banana and not easily slide off. That way you won't have any batter on the banana.

• Heat oil in a kadai.
• Slice the bananas. Don't slice them too thin. They should be about 0.5 cm thick.

• Dip the bananas in the batter and fry

• Let it fry on medium heat for 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel.
• Serve hot with chai. Alternately, dust with icing sugar and serve with some ice cream as dessert.