Vazhakkai Kuzhambu - Raw Banana Curry

Guess this time I've been away for real long ! Repair work at home and each of us falling sick one after the other ,so couldn't sit at my comp.I went without using the internet for a couple of days only to realize how addicted I've been :) I have a lot of catching up to do I guess.Coming to the recipe is a very simple curry.I sometimes  feel that planning for food for a party is easier that deciding on what to cook everyday.I always break my head on what to cook.It's hard to find something that isn't boring to cook,healthy,yummy and most important of all, not time consuming :) I try to find something that at least satisfies two of the above criteria.I had a few raw bananas and wanted to make a curry that would go well with chapati ,so decided to make this curry as its relatively easy to prepare and goes well with rice & chapati..

You'll Need:
Raw Banana/Vazhakkai - 2
Garlic - 3 -4 cloves
Onion - 1 small - medium (chopped)
Tomato - 1 small - medium(chopped)
Coriander leaves - 2 -3 sprigs (chopped)
oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
salt as needed
Tamarind juice from a small marble of Tamarind.
Coconut Milk - 1/4 - 1/2 cup.
For the Powder:
Toor dal - 1 tbsp
Whole Red Chilli - 2 -3
Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Method:
-For the powder : Dry roast all the ingredients one after the other and grind together to a slightly coarse powder.
-For the curry - Clean the banana and scrap the skin .Chop it into pieces.
-Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.Squeeze and strain to extract the juice.
-In a vessel add the chopped banana,tamarind juice,salt and turmeric powder and mix well.Let the mixture boil until the raw banana is  almost cooked.
-To a pan add oil,when it heats up splutter Curry leaves,mustard and cumin seeds.Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two.
-Add the onion,tomato and Coriander leaves and saute until the tomatoes turn soft.Add the ground powder and mix well.
-Add the cooked banana along with the water and mix well.Check for salt.Add water if needed.Cover with a lid and let the curry simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
-Remove the lid and add the coconut milk and mix well.Let the curry cook for a further 2 -3 minutes. Done !

Thanks for stopping by ! Happy Cooking !