Ethapazham pachadi made with ripe plantains, where the sweetness of the plantains is enhanced by the jaggery with a little heat coming from the chillies and some much needed texture from the coconut, is an integral part of any Kerala sadya.
Ethapazham or nethrampazham as it is also called, ripe plantains are any Malayalee’s (anyone from the Southern state of Kerala) favorite. Pazham Pori ( Ripe Plantain Fritters) is a very popular and a crowd favorite tea time snack. Sweet ripe plantains steamed and mixed with ghee is given to babies from the age of 6 months. Ethapazham pan roasted with ghee is an after school snack that fills up hungry tummies and ripe plantains steamed in their skin is a common fruit accompaniment to any breakfast table in Kerala. That is how much we love our plantains.
This pachadi made with plantains cooked in jaggery syrup and the ground coconut and chillies added to this is a common occurrence as one of the 20 odd dishes in the typical Kerala feast called the sadya. Growing up, no sadya was complete without this and my brother and I would always fight to see who gets more of it. Appa would go and get about a dozen plantains and amma would make all that into pachadi so my brother and I would have enough to go with the sadya and some for leftovers too.
It is fairly easy to make, the only catch being – you need to use really ripe plantains that are naturally sweet that the jaggery just enhances that natural sweetness. The darker the skin of the plantains, the riper it is. The perfect ripeness would be when at least about half of the skin is black and it is soft and gives in a little when you press it. I am yet to find plantains that are as good as the ones we get in India, but you have to make do with what you get, right?! 
This is usually served as a side with rice, along with other accompaniments like sambar, avial and thoran.
Ethapazham Pachadi – The Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe plantains
- 1/3 cup crushed jaggery
- 1/2 cup grated coconut ( I use frozen)
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 8-10 curry leaves
Method:
Peel and roughly chop the plantains into about 2 inch pieces. Cook the plantain cubes with about 1/2 cup water till it is cooked (soft but still intact). Add the crushed jaggery to this and cook till the jaggery has melted. Add turmeric and salt to this.
Grind the coconut and red chillies with a little water to a smooth paste. Add this to the plantain – jaggery mixture. Mix well and let it cook for a couple of minutes.
Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds to it. Once the mustard seeds have spluttered, add the curry leaves and pour this over the pachadi.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe plantains
- 1/3 cup crushed jaggery
- 1/2 cup grated coconut ( I use frozen)
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- salt , to taste
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 8-10 curry leaves
Instructions
- Peel and roughly chop the plantains into about 2 inch pieces. Cook the plantain cubes with about 1/2 cup water till it is cooked (soft but still intact). Add the crushed jaggery to this and cook till the jaggery has melted. Add turmeric and salt to this.
- Grind the coconut and red chillies with a little water to a smooth paste. Add this to the plantain – jaggery mixture. Mix well and let it cook for a couple of minutes.
- Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds to it. Once the mustard seeds have spluttered, add the curry leaves and pour this over the pachadi.
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