Veg Kola Urundai - Veg Meat Balls - Plantain Flower Balls - Vaazhaipoo balls recipe

Meatballs (Kola Urundai) prepared by my Grandma always a perfect with crispy outer and well cooked meaty content inside. On my childhood days, I used to enjoy the outer crispy and leave the meaty content. Its hard to replicate the same taste by me.

Vaazhaipoo Kola Urundai, this idea I get from my kid, he said the other day I made vaazhaipoo vada, he said I want this as ball sandwich (like falafel sandwich he meant), there I got this idea at the same time I dont want to add chickpeas with vaazhaipoo, separately both tastes great but I'm not sure how both tastes together. Let me try that culinary sins next time😛. My husband in fact thought they were Minced meat Kola Urundai until I told him that it is made of Vazhaipoo 😉. Now I have plans to make this for potluck or guests visit. 

Ingredients

• Vaazhaipoo/ Plaintain flower - 1
• Channa dal - 1 cup
• Onion - 1
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
• Red Chilies - 6
• Garlic pods - 2
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Handful of coriander and curry leaves
• Salt as per taste
• Oil for deep frying

How to clean florets 

1. Keep a large bowl of thin buttermilk. We add our banana florets into the buttermilk to stop them changing dark.
2. Remove the outer layers of the banana flower. You will see a row of smaller florets in each layer removal. Discard the pink outer layer you just removed.
3. Open the each floret you can see a long filament with small bulb on top. Remove that strand. In bottom side you see one small flap and remove that too. The remaining parts put into the buttermilk.
4. Once you reach the center of the flower, you can see a white solid piece. This portion is also edible. 

How to grind and deep fry

1. Soak channa dal and red chilies for atleast one hour. Clean the plaintain flower thoroughly wash the florets in water
2. Add soaked dal, red chilies and garlic and grind it coarsely without adding water.Add the cleaned plaintain florets and grind them coarsely.
3. Take a bowl and add grinded mixture, onions, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, asafoetida, coriander, curry leaves and salt. Mix well and make the balls like falafel.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Deep fry until it turns to brown crispy texture.

Clean the florets

Add soaked dal, red chilies and garlic and grind it coarsely without adding water

Coarsely grinded

Add cleaned florets

Grind it

Add grinded mixture, onions, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, asafoetida, coriander, curry leaves and salt

Make same sized balls

Deep fry until gets crispy texture

Ready to serve