Indian cooking / Dishes / Vazhaippazham Chips

Vazhaippazham Chips

Banana Chips

VegetarianOrigin Tamil Nadu/KeralaPrep 20 minutesCook 15 minutes

Crisp, golden plantain slices deep-fried until crunchy and lightly seasoned with salt for a savoury snack.

Ingredients

685–0.9 g750–1 ml

oil/fat

1000 g

vegetable

to taste

salt

Pour 685 g vegetable oil into a kadhai or deep pan and heat to 180°C (350°F), verifying the temperature when a small bread cube browns within 30 seconds.
Working in batches, thinly slice the 1000 g plantains directly into the hot oil, or slice them beforehand and ease them in.
Add salt to taste and fry for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown, then flip the slices and fry for another 3 to 4 minutes until thoroughly crisp.
Lift the chips out with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper.
Let the chips cool completely before sealing them in an airtight container.

Vegetable oil

Peanut oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.
Ghee
Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.
Mustard oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Green plantain

Raw green banana
Use the same weight; peel under water to avoid staining, then slice and cook as directed. Texture is very close.
Raw banana
Use the same weight; choose a firm, unripe one. It may be slightly sweeter than green plantain.
Unripe plantain
Use the same weight; cook a little longer if it is very firm. Flavour and starchiness are close.

Same: Kele ke Dahi Bare also uses fried unripe bananas as its base and seasons them with salt.
Different: Kele ke Dahi Bare shapes the bananas into patties fried in ghee and serves them soaked in yogurt with green chilli, cumin, coriander leaf, and sugar, whereas this dish consists of plain banana slices deep-fried in vegetable oil.

Same: Artikai Vepudu also features green bananas cooked in vegetable oil and seasoned with salt.
Different: Rather than being deep-fried plain, it is a dry stir-fry prepared with ground turmeric, coriander, chilli powder, and dried coconut in much less oil.

Same: Both dishes use bananas as their primary ingredient and include a pinch of salt.
Different: Kele ka Doodh is a blended cold beverage made with milk and ground nutmeg rather than fruit slices deep-fried in vegetable oil.

Same: Both dishes feature unripe green bananas seasoned with salt.
Different: Hirvya Kelyatil Jawla is a coastal broth made with prawns, desiccated coconut, black pepper, lime juice, and ghee, whereas this dish is thinly sliced and deep-fried in vegetable oil.