Ethakka Appam / Ethakka Boli / Pazham Pori / Plantain Fritters

Ethakka boli had been my favorite tea time snack right from childhood. Sadly, these plantains were not available at the place where I grew up. But this used to be one of the items on my wish list to have, my stomach full, while we used to go to Kerala during vacation. Other items on my wish list included kerala parotta, bonda etc. My wishes are just weird, isn't it ? :).

Well, while I moved to kerala for my higher studies, these turned out to be available everywhere and at anytime - in the college canteen, hostel mess, in any other tea stall by the roadside. Having it everytime, felt to be the dream come true for me :). I am still addicted to these.

If you happen to visit Kerala, you should try these out. But, these are called by different names in different parts of Kerala. For example, if you are in Kottayam, you could call it Ethakka Boli but in Trivandrum, Boli is a different 'Palaharam' altogether. I have listed a couple of names that are known to me in the title of the post. Hope you get to try these out at home, as these are really simple to make. In that case, you need not worry about its name too :).

Ingredients

1. 2 ripe Plantain/ Ethakka
2. 1 cup of all purpose flour
3. 1 tsp of rice flour
4. 1 tbsp of sugar
5. 1/8 tsp of salt
6. 1/8 tsp of turmeric powder
7. Water
8. Oil for deep fry

Method

• Peel and cut the banana into two, length wise. Then again cut each half into two.
• Take a bowl and mix the all purpose flour, rice flour, turmeric powder, sugar and salt.
• Add water into the dry mixture and form a batter that is a bit thicker than the dosa batter.
• Heat the oil to a desired temperature, so that when you put a drop of batter into it, it should rise to the top as soon as it hits the bottom. 
• Once the oil is heated, maintain it on medium heat.
• Dip the banana in the batter to form a coating and drop it in the oil. 
• Flip the banana once the other side gets golden brown.
• Remove the bananas once they are evenly cooked, having drained off excess oil.
• Serve it hot with tea/coffee.

Tips

1. The plantain shouldn't be too ripe as it might absorb a lot of oil. The best way to identify that the bananas are ripe enough is, when its skin starts turning black.
2. I used the turmeric powder just to give it an authentic look(the yellow colour). You could avoid using it.
3. The rice flour is added to make the coating crispy. You could avoid using it as well.