Banana flower pickle / valaipoo (vazhaipoo) urugai
Ingredients
- Vazhaipoo/banana flower (flowers alone after cleaning) - one big handful(125gms)
- Garlic cloves - 10-12(chopped)
- salt to taste
- Asafoetida/perungayam - 1/2 tsp
- Kothamalli thool/coriander powder - 1 tsp
- Sombu thool/fennel powder - 1 tsp
- Milagai thool/chilli powder - 2-3 tsp
- Turmeric powder/manjal thool - 1/2 tsp
- Lemon juice - 4 tbsp
- Nallenai/gingelly oil - 200gm
- Jaggery /velam - some
To roast:
- Cumuin/seeragam - 1/2 tsp
- Vendhayam/fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
- Kadugu /mustard - 12 tsp
Instructions
- Clean the flower by removing the pistil like stick and a plastic petal like thing at the edge.2.Then chop the flower and put it in buttermilk water till use.3.Keep a kadai dry roast vendhayam,kadugu and seeragam till mustard splutters and fenugreek becomes golden.4.Take these roasted things along with Turmericpowder, hing, salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and fennel powder and make a powder.5.Add oil in a thick bottomed pan when it nicely heats up add the chopped flower without any water.6.Fry nicely in-between add the chopped garlic also and fry till the flower becomes nicely dry.7.Now add the spice powder bring the flame to control and fry.8.Switch off the stove and add lemon juice with some jaggery.9.In the heat the jaggery can melt when cool store in airtight container.
Notes
- Frying the flower in oil ensures that we can keep it for long.
- With sufficient oil on top the pickle remains good even for a month.
- You can have this pickle for serving after two to three days so that it tastes better.
- Instead of lemon juice you can use vinegar.
- Use of jaggery is optional.
- Adding spices can be adjusted according to your taste