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 :)!

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