Friday, February 5, 2010

Aethekkappam/ Pazham Pori/ Banana Fritters- A Signature tea time snack of Kerala!


Do you get excited when you post a dish, you'd craved for a long time?..the food that you'd relished since your childhood days?..

Well, I undergo a special feeling whenever I do so..:)

A 17 year old Home Science student, confronts the public practicals of her main subject Nutrition and Dietetics, goes through the first question,"prepare a snack for tea, for your unexpected guest."

A few of those familiar ones flash past her mind.
Vada ?..hmm na!..any dal which goes into would require
some soaking.
Chips?...ahh...should I be making a junk snack for my exam?

All of a sudden this hits her -Ethakkappam?...!!!

She quickly approaches the counter where the raw materials are displayed..rice, flour, coconut, dal, vegetables, fruits...and there she spots in one corner, the aethapazham, she wanted at the moment, desperately... pulls out a couple of them, reaches out for a cup of maida and all the rest to make the snack for her 'unexpected guest'.
The girl is finally happy to have come out with the best of aethekkapams, (which she'd never tried to make in her life time) solves the nutritional problem, attempts the rest of the questions and comes out of the lab, with a wide grin.
She shares the story of her successful outcome of the pretty looking snack,with her friends, awaiting to be judged soon.

Heyyy, what do you have there, right up your hands??

She turns back to confront the serious examiner now, looks aside... down.. to see the neatly rolled up answer sheet under her right arm :)..
The girl has obviously submitted the Nutrition Information chart, instead of her answer sheet :)..apologises, scratches her head and hands over the paper..:)
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Here's how she made them... after years :)

Ripe Kerala bananas/nenthran pazham/aethappazham- 2-3 nos

Maida/All purpose flour- a cup
Rice flour-1-11/2 tbsps (if you like crispy ones)
Sugar-1/2 tsp (more of this browns the fried snack)
Water-as needed to bake the batter
Salt-a pinch
Soda bi carb-a fat pinch
Turmeric power-a fat pinch(this is for that mild yellow colour)
Cardamom powder- to flavour ( I generally omit this, as I love the bursting natural flavour of ripe bananas)

Oil- to deep fry.



Select Ripe Bananas.
Halve them across in the middle and slice again, across, lengthwise as thin as possible. Not an easy job with real ripe ones :) but you get 5-6 slices this way.
If you find this really bugging..scroll down to the last picture :).


Combine the ingredients, except water and banana, well in a bowl.Add water to make a batter that resembles more or less a cake batter.
In the first picture, the batter is a little runny, so added a li'l more of maida and rice flour to make a thicker batter to ensure that it coats the banana pieces well.



Now, drop the pieces one by one in hot oil...oops that's my son who grabbed my cam for shooting this pic..a little awkward, but I needed some help :)!


Turn over to cook both the sides. Remove once they are golden and crispy.



Serve HOT!!, with a hot cup of cardamom tea! :). (I love it with a scoop of vanilla icecream)


Ahh, yes, if you're impatient to slice the ripe ooey gooey bananas across, just peel n slice the whole banana round, dip in the batter, fry and enjoy! :)...
...Shhh.. this is how I make them, everytime ;)


P.S-Surprisingly, I have never come across a mallu who says, "Ughh!..I hate aethekkapam!".
So, if you hate this snack, kindly leave a comment here :)!

38 comments:

  1. First youmake us all drool on FB and now you have to show us step by step pic to make us more than drool.
    How i wish i could grab them from my screen.
    The only person who likes here is me, not that i get these banana here.
    I so so wish i could grab them, it is not asking too much is it.

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  2. U r really so mean.... U make them so yummy & to top it u u have them step by step too.... & those pics are so lively, that I feel its easy to pick them up to eat.... VERY EFFECTIVE THOUGH!!!!! KUDOS!!!!

    Ash...
    (http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

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  3. very tempting and inviting dish with step by step demo.

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  4. the best ethakka appams i have ever seen...
    i am so craving this now, its sad i dont get it any where nearby. So il just have to look at the pic and drool.
    I religiously follow ur blog...

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  5. great procedure explanation and kudos to your son for the cam work...mouthwatering recipe

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  6. The second post today about pazham pori, The pics are just tempting and I literally had to revisit the pictures over and over again oh god you are a real lil devil, beautiful post at a perfect time too!!!

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  7. ooh, lovely looking snack.never tasted it.just want to grab it from the screen.gorgeous click.
    Vanila icecream with this appam,oh strange and new combo!!!

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  8. Droolworthy pics...

    Pazhampori and ice-cream - sounds like a good combo. Should try it.

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  9. What??? you actually had nutrition practicals at 17???
    I've never heard this called ethakkappam before....must be a kottayam thing, right??? I've always known it as pazhampori and I absolutely love it.

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  10. ugh! i hate u mallus sitting there with your golden perfectly ripe ethakkas and gorgeous looking pazham poris.

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  11. Wow, those look amazing! Anyone loving banana's would crave these! Please, share!

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  12. I can make these right now!!! I have 2 very ripe bananas which i was saving for a cake, fritters look lovely!

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  13. Looks so delicious! Reminds me the food I had back in kerala.
    Good work.
    Do drop by http://anjuskitchentreasures.blogspot.com/

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  14. This is one of my favs.... Have some awards waiting for you at my blog... Please accept those..

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  15. Looks mouthwatering,have to try this out one time,i always make with vazhakkai.. :) PIctures are too tempting,wish I could pick a slice fro there :)

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  16. Beautiful post dear!!!

    wow Bharathy you still remember our practical exams question?;).. I made Bread Pudding that day but don't remember we all got same question or different questions???

    Aethekkappams looks really tempting...and gorgeous cicks too!!! Never tried Aethekkappams with ice creams...have to try it soon...

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  17. One of my favorite..ever-so-favorite snack.Something which I can have daily and still relish it as if I am eating it for the first time.

    Pazhampori reminds me of train journeys and sunday evening snacks.The BEST snack to have after a short nap,with a steaming cup of tea..my mouth is watering so much!!!

    I make it using rice flour instead of maida..any which way,pazham pori is a snack hard to resist!!

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  18. Forgot to add..I ALWAYS make round pazhampori..LOL;)

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  19. woo my all time fav snack...nice click

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  20. It looks so delicious...
    I also made the mushroom masala from ur recipe list... and added a tbsp of coconut milk :D Was real yummmmmm :D
    Ur the best!!!!

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  21. Dont thank me.. ur blog is like a breath of fresh "Indian"air to me... makes me miss home much more :)

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  22. Dont thank me.. ur blog is like a breath of fresh "Indian"air to me... makes me miss home much more :)

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  23. wow u reminded me of my mom's cooking, i'm feeling so nostalgic right now!!

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  24. Lively photos! Bringing back the memmories of home. Really I mean it.Feel homesick.Thanks for your step by step demo.

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  25. Hi Jayasree you are right. If you are from North Kerala ofcourse strange to that name. In Malabar side of kerala it is called pazhampori and in travancore named as Aethakkayappam.

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  26. lovely dish..pics are so beautiful..i made this yesterday..cheers and do visit me if you can

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  27. Wow!!! I've never had these fritters and your click compels me to make them:) Delicious recipe:)
    Cheers,
    Rachana

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  28. Very tempting fritters, looks very crunchy. Wanna take a bite........

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  29. I remebered my amma seeing ur ettka appam pics , yummy yummy.

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  30. new to me, but great snack recipe

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  31. Bharathyyyy.. finally i caught you from Orkut.. :) ini rakshayilla.. :)
    pazhampori adipoli.. :)

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  32. Hi Bharathy, first time in ur blog. Pazham pori looks yummy. Like i heard, to get the best in food, u should use the right utensil. the kadai looks so good...Can u tell me what kind is it and where u bought it.


    Meenakshi

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  33. Welcome to my space, Meena! and Thanks for that sweet comment! :)
    Its just a simple iron wok I got from a shop which sells iron utensils outside Sreerangam Temple in Trichy.

    Where are you placed, Meena?
    Any wok/kadai will do for this simple snack, not necessarily iron.it just regulates the heat of the oil, may be that's it.

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  34. Just bcoz u asked, I hav a frend hu hates anything made out of bananas, including these yummilicious fritters.....well, we all noe wt she is missing ;)

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  35. what an amazing dish! I have some organic bananas at home that I had bought from www.organicgarden.co.in I am surely going to make this recipe.

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