Hot n Spicy Banana Chilli Spirals with Apple Chutney and Carrot Cucumber Raita(Yogurt)

Did you know eating an apple is a more reliable method of staying awake than consuming a cup of coffee? The natural sugar in an apple is more potent than the caffeine in coffee.

But why am I talking about apples here? You guessed it right; this recipe has something to do with Apples. ;)

I owe a heap of gratitude to Manjula Aunty who keeps raising wonderful cooking contests every month that give you the platform to experiment with never-tried combinations and blush out with new innovations. Also, you get to know such interesting facts about the ingredients you are pushing into your recipe. :)

This month, the challenge is to take up at least 2 of the following 5 food items and come up with an appetizer.

1. Carrot

2. Cucumber

3. Celery

4. Banana

5. Apple

As usual, I thought of several combinations, like Banana-oat patty, Carrot Mutthiya, Cold Apple Pickle, but none was making a perfect deal for a complete appetizer that could gratify the taste buds. Finally, a trio clicked me which would be tangy, healthy and at the same time, pleasing to the eyes. Also, it will cover four of the above five ingredients which makes me a little happy, though I would have loved to use all five of them. :)

Here goes the recipe.....

Hot n Spicy Banana Chilli Spirals with Apple Chutney and Carrot Cucumber Raita (Yogurt):

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Health Meter: This goes perfect for people who are 'chilli bhajji/mirchi vada lovers'. Its hot n spicy flavor will tease your tongue and the refreshing cool yogurt will extinguish that fire. The complete dish has Vitamin C from green chillies; Iron from banana; Calcium and Potassium from apples; Carbs from gram flour, banana; Carotene, Vitamin A and K from carrots, apples; Minerals from cucumber; soothing tinge from curd/yogurt, and a smile :) that follows after you consume all this. :) Though I would also mention that it is a fried food, so to make it cholesterol free, please use cholesterol free vegetable oils, like Sunflower oil/Canola oil/Soyabean Oil.

For more information on nutrition facts, please go through  http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/

 

BANANA CHILLI SPIRALS:

Ingredients:

For Filling:

1. Raw Banana/Plantain: 1(Boiled, peeled and mashed)

2. Yellow Chilli/Bhajji : 4

3. Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp

4. Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

5. Cumin Powder: 1/2 tsp

6. Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp 

7. Amchoor (Dry Mango) Powder - 1 tsp

8. Garam Masala: 1/2 tsp (optional)

9. Salt: 1 tsp or as per taste

10. Dried Mint Powder: 1/2 tsp (optional) 

11. Cumin seeds: 1/4 tsp

12. Oil - 3 tbs

Outer Spiral:

1. Maida (All Purpose Flour): 1/2 cup

2. Besan (Gram Flour): 1/2 cup

3. Ajwain: 1/2 tsp

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp or as per taste

5. Oil - 2 tbs (for moin) and rest for deep frying

5. Water (for making dough)

 

Step-by-Step Method:

1. We'll prepare the Spiral dough first. Take the maida, besan, salt, oil, ajwain seeds and mix well. Now slowly add water to it making a soft dough. Knead it well. Keep the consistency like that of chapati/poori dough. Keep it aside, covered with a soft cloth or vessel.
2. Now let's prepare the filling. Boil the raw banana/plantain in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes (just how you do for potatoes). Peel off the outer cover and mash it well.
3. Now take a pan and add 3 tbs oil to it. Heat it and add cumin seeds. Now add the banana pulp followed by all spices and salt. Cook it for 5 minutes with continuous stirring as the banana pulp will keep sticking to the bottom. Cook till the oil separates (it will hardly take 8-10 minutes). Your filling is ready.
4. Now take the yellow chillies/bhajji and wash them well. Wipe with a clean cloth. Now make a vertical incision in each chilli without cutting it into two pieces (You must be knowing how to dissect it without murdering it ;)) Take out all the seeds from the chilli. Now fill the banana filling gently in each dissected bhajji with the help of fingers and be careful that you don't break the chilli. Keep these filled chillies aside.
5. Now we'll prepare the outer spiral. Take a medium part of the dough, and make a ball with it. Now roll it into a roti which is 5mm thick. Cut vertical long stripes of 2 cm width each with the help of a knife.
6. Now take the filled chilli/bhajji and start wrapping it with the stripes in a spiral fashion. Start from the tail of the chilli, and keep rolling carefully till you reach the top where you seal it. Be sure there is no gap left from where the chilli could peep out. If one stripe is not long enough to cover the whole bhajji, use 3-4 stripes joined together with water droplets.
7. Now take oil in a pan/kadai and heat it. Now deep fry the filled spirals on low-medium heat till they turn golden brown. Do not fry on high flame as it would burn the outer layer without cooking the chilli within.
8. Take them out and serve these hot n spicy spirals with Apple Chutney and Carrot Cucumber Raita/Yogurt.

APPLE CHUTNEY:

Ingredients:

1. Apple: 1

2. Red Chilli Powder: 1/4 tsp

3. Black Pepper Powder: 1/4 tsp

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp or as per taste

5. Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

6. Sugar: 1tsp

7. Cumin seeds (jeera): 1/4 tsp

8. Chat Masala: 1/4 tsp

9. Oil: 1 tbs

Method:

1. Peel the apple and cut into small pieces.
2. Now take oil in a sauce-pan and heat it. Add cumin seeds (jeera) to it followed by the apple pieces. Now add all the masala and cook for 2 minutes. Add sugar, stir and cover the pan for 5 minutes. Now let it cool. After it has cooled down, grind this into chutney and serve with the spirals. 

CARROT CUCUMBER RAITA/YOGURT:

Ingredients: 

1. Carrot (grated): 1

2. Cucumber small (grated): 1/2

3. Yogurt/ fresh curd (beaten): 2 cups

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp or as per taste

5. Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

6.  A dash of Black Pepper Powder

7. A dash of Black Salt

8. A dash of Dried Ginger Powder

Method:

1. It's as simple as it sounds. Just beat the curd or take yogurt. 
2. Add all the above ingredients and mix well.
3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve chilled with hot n spicy spirals.

Suggestions:

1. For staying healthy, use cholesterol free oils, like Canola/Sunflower/Soyabean for deep frying.
2. To lessen the calories, use low-fat yogurt or low-fat curd.
3. While preparing Raita/Yogurt, you could also use steamed/microwaved carrot for soft texture, though I prefer to use the peeled fresh ones.
4. An alternate for Apple Chutney could be Cold Apple Pickle where you can spice up peeled and grated apple with the spices without frying it. Then you can refrigerate this pickle for 2-4 hrs so that the spices get their nerves. 
5. In place of banana in spirals, you could also use any vegetable, like potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots.
6. Always cook your dishes with a good mood and happy heart as they are reflected in the taste/flavor your dish wears.
7. If some filling is extra, you could make 'banana samosas' with them. 

At last, let me share one more interesting fruit fact with you:

Bananas are actually an herb, not a fruit. It is in fact the world's largest herb, related to the orchid and lily families. The bananas are actually considered the berries of this giant herb.