Name: Nenthrapazham Nirachatu recipe by Shiba Nair at BetterButter
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: A. Ingredients For Filling; Coconut shredded 11/2 cups; Sugar 1/2 cup; Cardamom powder/elaichi 1/4 tsp; cashews 10; Raisins 25; Ghee 1 tbsp plus 11/2 tbsp; B. Ingredients For The Batter; Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup; Rice flour 3 tbsp; Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp; Salt; Sugar 2 tbsp; Water; C. For Frying; Oil 2 cups; D. Bananas 4

ABOUT Nenthrapazham Nirachatu RECIPE

Pazham Nirachathu is otherwise known as Stuffed Ripe Plantains. This is a very easy to make, yummy evening snack which is a favorite among kids as well as adults. Those kids that hate bananas can be easily convinced to eat one by making this for them. This is a very common evening snack found in most of the homes in Kerala. This snack is very commonly found in the Muslim homes in Kerala at the time of Iftar. This can be easily made by stuffing the ripe plantains with coconut & raisins & cashews that is sautéed in ghee & then the stuffed plantains are dipped in the flour batter & deep fried in oil. This recipe is given to me by my grandma. This is how she makes it & this is how she taught me to make it. So, all of you try it out & let me know how it turned out for you.

Instructions

A. Preparing The Filling
Add ghee in a pan. When it gets hot, add the cashews & fry them till they turn golden brown in color. Remove & drain them onto paper towels.
Add raisins in the same ghee & fry till they puff up. Remove from the ghee & drain them onto paper towels.
Add 11/2 tbsp more ghee & add the shredded coconut to it. Sauté till you get a nice aroma & the coconut gets mixed well with the ghee & the coconut changes color, a little. Do not sauté till the coconut becomes brown(see pic below).
Add sugar & mix it well with the coconut mixture.
Add the raisins & cashews & mix well. Add cardamom powder & mix it well again.
Allow it to cool.
Peel the skin of plantains. Make a slit in the middle, leaving an inch on both the ends. When you make the slit, make sure, you do not take the knife to the other side of the plantain.
Remove the black string which is inside the plantain.
Take a little filling, press it in between your palm & fingers (so that you can fill it in the plantains easily) & stuff it in the plantain.
B. Preparing The Batter
In a bowl, add flour, turmeric powder, salt, sugar, rice flour & water to make a somewhat thick batter. Do not make the batter watery, then it will not stick to plantain, at the same time, do not make it too thick too.
C. Frying
Dip the plantains in the batter. If there isn't enough batter to cover plantains completely, using your hand, scoop some batter & pour it on the top of the plantain(where the filling is).
Add oil in a pan & heat it on high. When it gets hot, lower the flame to medium & add the plantains to the oil, the side with the filling facing up.
Cook on a medium flame till the plantains turn golden brown on one side & then turn the plantains to the other side & cook till this side turns golden brown in color too. Do not fry the plantains on high flame or very low flame.
While one side is cooking, make sure to keep pouring oil on the top(the side with the filling), otherwise when you flip to the other side, it will stick & all the filling might fall into the oil.

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