Unripe plantain, the vegetable that belongs to banana family is a acquired taste. Like potato, plaintain cubes fried or boiled to soft taste super good. Why not, plantain is nothing but pure startch. There are several different versions of curries with plantain, as it is quite popular vegetable, particularly in South India. This curry with fresh coconut and chana dal is one of them.
Recipe:
2 raw plantains, peeled, sliced into small cubes
Fistful of Chana dal, soaked in water for about 30 mts
Half cup of fresh coconut pieces
5 to 8 green chillies
Pinch of Turmeric and 1/2tsp of salt
Preparation:
First soak chana dal in water for about 30 mts. Meanwhile make a paste of fresh coconut and green chillies by adding a pinch of salt.
Place of a pot of water on stovetop on medium heat, wait for it to boil. Meanwhile prepare the plantains (wash, pee l& cut). When water starts to boil, add these cut plantain cubes to water. Cook them for about 5 minutes on high heat, then pour them into a colander and discard the water.
Now in a big sautepan, add one tablespoon of oil, do the popu i.e (fry one tsp of mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves), then add the soaked chana dal. Fry them in oil for few minutes. Now add the plantain cubes, turmeric, salt, coconut-greenchilli paste. Mix them thoroughly and cook them covered for about 10 to 15 minutes.
This curry tastes great with rice and Sambhar or dal. But today I prepared chapatis instead of rice. So here it is plantain curry chapatis.
This is possibly the only way I dont like plantain (or any other dry veg curry that incorporates coconut)… 🙁 No offence, Indira, and it certainly isnt a reflection on your blog and your wonderful posts 🙂 Just my preference. I like it made as “kootu” or boiled and fried with coconut oil. That’s yummy allright!
Comment by shammi — September 9, 2005 @ 6:56 pm
Shammi, none taken. We all have our own food preferences, right. Actually while preparing this post, I remembered your version and what you wrote about not liking the coconut. Here I am, can’t eat this curry without coconut.:)-
Comment by Indira — September 9, 2005 @ 7:03 pm
Not to disagree with you but I think plantains belong to the banana family. They are just treated as vegetables but when they rippen they can be eaten raw. They are a popular snack in Kerala and can be very sweet indeed.
Comment by Shakthi — September 9, 2005 @ 9:47 pm
This recipe sounds very interesting, unlike anything I’ve ever made before. Thanks for sharing!
Comment by Beth - The Zen Foodist — September 9, 2005 @ 9:50 pm
Shakthi, point taken. Just edited my post. Thanks.
Beth – Always happy to share, thanks.
Comment by Indira — September 9, 2005 @ 10:17 pm
Hi Indira – this sounds so good! I love plantains, but have never cookied them myself. I’ve never dealt with fresh coconut either – do you buy a whole coconut and crack it open or is it possible to buy chunks?
Comment by Cathy — September 10, 2005 @ 9:03 am
Cathy, They taste like potatoes but with more fiber and starch.
Yes, I do buy fresh coconut particularly on festival days. Tips – shake the coconut by your ear side. If you hear lot of water noise, then it is of good quality and purchase it. You need a hammer to break it into two. Hold the coconut on one hand, with other hand using a hammer, give two or three poundings hard, by third, it will crack into two pieces. Pour the coconut water into a glass. Remove the hard outer shell with the hammer and a knife. You will have fresh pieces of coconut. They remain fresh in the refrigerator for upto one week. I never saw coconut chunks for sale in US grocery shops, only the whole coconut. I am not sure, but maybe Thai or other Southeast Asian grocery shops carry the chunks or freshpieces of coconut.
Comment by Indira — September 10, 2005 @ 1:36 pm
Hey indira,
I do stay in USA.How about trying frozen grated coconut.That’s really good.I use this in curries and also prepare chutneys etc with the grated coconut.Have u ever tried this ?
awaiting for your early reply,
padmajakalyan
Comment by padmaja — September 18, 2005 @ 7:19 pm
Padmaja…that sounds good. Where do you buy frozen grated coconut?
Comment by Indira — September 19, 2005 @ 9:04 am
Hi Indira- I am always baffled at how bad my plaintain recipes turn out. But I made your recipe today and it tastes much better than my usual recipe. But I have the problem that the larger plaintain here seems to dry out too much while cooking. The smaller kind in India seems to retain moisture better- Did you notice this?
Comment by mika — October 22, 2005 @ 1:14 pm
Particularly during winter times, they turn into solid rock like bits once they are cooled. I also have same problem, Mika. That’s why we usually eat the curry right out of the stove. I will keep the ingredients ready and I prepare the curry while making the chapatis.
Also adding the plantain cubes to popu or tadka immediately after removing them from the hot water – this also makes them little bit soft and moist. And always cook them covered, don’t let the moisture escape from the pan.Even after taking all kinds of precautions, they dry out within one hour.
I agree that the plaintains available here are completely different from that of India.
Comment by Indira — October 22, 2005 @ 7:40 pm
Hi Indira,
Thanks for the receipe. I enjoyed making this dish. The taste is superb.
Regards
Sethu
Comment by Sethu — September 24, 2006 @ 10:11 pm
no recipe for aratipuvvu kura in Mahanandi!!!:(
Can’t believe this.
Comment by parvathi — June 22, 2007 @ 10:00 pm
mmmm this looks soooooo good! I am going to try it out..
Comment by p — July 15, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
dear maam Indira!
iam an avid reader of your site since 6-7 months. your recipes are just too good.can you post a recipe for “arati puvvu koora” the next time around? Telugu jaati keerti pataka ilaagey eguravesthu undagalaru.
Comment by jyotsna — September 7, 2007 @ 12:50 am
dear Indiraji! i think adding 4-5 tablespoons of oil for popu(tiragamota), instead of just 1 spoon reduces the problem of drying of plaintain peices to a considerable extent.(we could stop counting calories once in a while.)the taste is much better too.
Comment by jyotsna — September 7, 2007 @ 12:57 am
Another very simple version of this curry would be to simply dice them into bite sized cubes and fry them in a little oil in a non stick pan. Add a little red chilli powder and salt and bingo you have a heavenly sidedish to go with sambar . It tastes just great with a little white rice and ghee too.
Comment by SreeLakshmi — March 27, 2009 @ 5:28 pm
hi, this recipe seems to be yummy, i tried this combi of chana dal and coconut with other vegetables like cabbage, carrot but never with raw banana, so, wd definitely try this and thank u for this
Comment by vijaya lakshmi — October 21, 2009 @ 9:01 am
Hi Indira,
How do we get rid of the sticky mess to the container while we boil the plantains?
thanks,
Comment by Geeta — March 22, 2010 @ 3:23 pm
Hi Indira …came here searching for a ripe plantain recipe but i am amazed to see the raw plantain curries here .. i will make a few of these and let you know . You have a great blog !!
BTW the ripe plantain boiled and served with ghee n sugar doesn’t seem to be my type , may be i’ll have to look for something else.
Comment by sangeeta — October 7, 2010 @ 4:08 am