Crispy Tava Plantain

Crispy, Tasty, Quick ~ Crispy Tava Plantain

Crispy plantain

We all love snacks especially if they are finger foods. As my family was watching some masala movie, I wanted to make it a little bit interesting; interesting not in terms of the movie, because I know I will fail but something to munch on which could make the situation a bit more acceptable. At least this is what my intuition was. So, I went over some of the ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator and there was this plantain that has been lying around. Thanks to my memory power that with no further due, I recollected the recipe my Mom used to make with this succulent vegetable. It needs a very few ingredients which is mostly available in everyone’s pantry and easy to prepare. It is widely used in southern India in a variety of dishes and they are truly delicious. Plantain leaf also serves a purpose; it is used in serving food traditionally and believe me when you eat it in that leaf, the food seem to taste more appeasing. The flower is also used in dishes and has some medicinal purpose too. Almost all part of the tree is useful in some form or the other. Today, I will use the raw plantain from this humble tree.

Raw plantain

Recipe:
1 or 2 plantain (depending on the number of people)
1/2 cup or so besan (chickpea) flour

Either the following:
2 tsp of red chili powder or per taste
1 - 2 tsp of turmeric powder

Or the following:
1 tbsp of sambar powder. I personally, prefer using this.
A pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
Salt to taste

Mix all the above ingredients with little water so that the consistency is of a dosa or a pancake batter. Taste it and adjust for seasonings. Make sure that you do get the aroma and taste of hing a little bit stronger and keep it aside. Peel the plantain and cut into thin rounds. It should not be so thin like chips but a bit thicker than that so that it cooks easily yet it can hold it’s shape well. Heat a iron or non-stick griddle and pour a spoonful of oil and coat it well. Dip each piece of plantain in the batter and place it on the griddle on medium low flame. Drizzle some oil around each plantain for it to cook. You will see that there are many plantains cooking at the same time for the first batch. After a couple of minutes flip the side and let it cook. Increase the heat a little bit to crisp it and to see that golden brown color. If the cut plantains are thick, I suggest that you on low flame with a lid so that it cooks through, then flip it, let it cook again with the lid covered and then crisp it by increasing the flame. Enjoy with some home made dhania chutney or hot sauce.

Crispy, spicy, satisfying plantain