Pazham Pulissery is a delicious, creamy sweet curry made with sweet ripe plantains, yogurt and coconut and a touch of spices to balance the flavors out. An integral part of the Kerala Sadya.
The concept of a Sadya and the various different elements to it just blows my mind every time I think of it. This is in spite of growing up eating a sadya at least a few times a year – for Onam, Vishu, Birthdays and invariably some weddings. If you have been following my blog, you probably know by now that Sadya is this huge feast that is a part of every celebration in the Indian southern state of Kerala. It is served on banana leaves and you sit down on the floor to eat it. There are various elements to the sadya like the vegetable curries, the more saucy curries that go on top of the rice in various courses, the sides of pickles, pappadams, plantain chips and not to forget the dessert course of payasams (kheer or puddings made with milk or coconut milk and lentils or rice or fruits like jackfruit, plantains etc).
It is Vishu, the Kerala New Year, on Tuesday the 15th and I have already started planning the sadya. I can’t wait to cook and eat! 
Meanwhile, here is some pazham pulisseri to enjoy!
Pulisseri is basically any dish with a ground coconut and yogurt sauce spiced with green chillies and cumin. You can make it with ripe plantains, ripe mangoes etc. I cook the plantains in water and sauté them with some ghee in another pan and return to the water just to give it a little extra richness. This is a completely optional step if you don’t want that additional ghee in your diet. Now go ahead, make some of this right now and tell me how you like it.
Pazham Pulissery – The Recipe
Ingredients:
Ripe Plantain – 1, peeled and chopped
Water – 1 cup
Jaggery – 1 tbsp.
Ghee – 1 tbsp.
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
To grind to a paste:
Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
Yogurt – 1/2 cup
Thai Green Chillies – 2
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
For tempering:
Coconut oil – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Dried Red chillies – 2
Curry leaves – a few ( 7-8)
Method:
Cook the plantain in water with the turmeric powder and jaggery till it becomes soft.
Drain the plantains out from the water with a slotted ladle. Heat the ghee in a sauté pan and sauté the plantains in the ghee for a couple of minutes. Reserve the water in the other pan.
Grind the ingredients under “grind to a paste” to a smooth paste.
Add this to the reserved water and simmer on low heat. Add the plantains back to this sauce mixture and let it simmer for 2-3 mins on low heat.
Heat the oil for tempering in the saute pan. Add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and chillies and pour into the plantain with the sauce. Mix well and serve with rice!
Pazham Pulisseri / Pazham Pulissery ~ Ripe Plantains in a Spiced Coconut Yogurt Sauce | Kerala Sadya Recipes
PrintIngredients
- 1 Ripe Plantain peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Jaggery
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
To grind to a paste:
- 1/2 cup Grated coconut (I use freshly frozen that I buy from the local Indian store)
- 1/2 cup Yogurt
- 2 Thai Green Chillies
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
For tempering:
- 1 tsp Coconut oi
- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
- 2 Dried Red chillies
- 8 Curry leaves
Instructions
- Cook the plantain in water with the turmeric powder and jaggery till it becomes soft.
- Drain the plantains out from the water with a slotted ladle. Heat the ghee in a sauté pan and sauté the plantains in the ghee for a couple of minutes. Reserve the water in the other pan.
- Grind the ingredients under "grind to a paste" to a smooth paste.
- Add this to the reserved water and simmer on low heat. Add the plantains back to this sauce mixture and let it simmer for 2-3 mins on low heat.
- Heat the oil for tempering in the saute pan. Add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and chillies and pour into the plantain with the sauce. Mix well and serve with rice!
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