Achar Kela Recipe | Raw Banana Achar Masala | Vazhaikkai Masala Recipe

Posted on Dec 3rd, 2020

by Sowmya Venkatachalam

Categories:

Dry Curry

4.20 from 5 votes

Achar Kela, a wonderful dry curry made with Raw Banana flavored with freshly prepared Achar Masala. Spices are well balanced making this dry curry a perfect accompaniment for South Indian or North Indian Main Courses. Learn here how to make this Raw banana Achar masala with step by step pictures and instructions.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

Achar Kela, a delicious dry curry made with plantain (raw banana) and freshly ground achar masala powder. We usually make simple vazhakkai poriyal with coconut or a roasted raw banana which goes well for most of the South Indian Main courses. But for Pulao, it would be nice if we have a spicy and masala rich stir-fry. Pulao is usually mild in spice and hence we need either a spicy gravy or dry curry. This Raw banana Achar Masala is one the perfect accompaniment for pulao. In this dry curry, sliced plantains are half-cooked and then concocted with onions and achar masala till they are soft. The flavor of the freshly ground achar masala gives a unique taste to the dry curry. Relish with pulao or roti and enjoy this dry curry!

Tips for making Achar Kela:

Pre-cooking raw banana is optional. But some plantains take more time or becomes more stiff if cooked with spices. So half-cooked raw banana are easier to concoct with rest of the masala.
For achar masala, we can add amchoor and onion seeds (Kalonji).
Dry roast in medium flame so that the ingredients doesn’t get burnt.
If you include amchoor in achar masala, we can skip lemon juice or adjust the quantity as needed.
Gently mix half-cooked raw banana pieces with masala without mushing them.

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Recipe Card for Achar Kela Recipe | Raw Banana Achar Masala | Vazhaikkai Masala Recipe:

INSTRUCTIONS WITH STEP BY STEP PICTURES:

PREPARING ACHAR MASALA

Heat a pan, add corianders seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, kashmiri red chili and normal red chili.

Dry roast everything in medium flame till you get a nice aroma and the coriander seeds turn slightly brown.

Allow the roasted ingredients to cool off and then take it to mixer jar.

Grind the roasted ingredients to smooth powder.

COOKING RAW BANANA

Wash and peel the skin of raw banana. Slit in half and then chop it in 1/2″ thick pieces. Take the raw banana slices in a sauce pan. Add water to soak the raw banana. Also add a pinch of turmeric of 1/2 tsp salt to the sauce pan. Keep the sauce pan on flame and cook the raw banana for 5 mins.

Strain water and set the pre-cooked Raw banana aside.

START WITH TEMPERING

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow it to sputter. Also add few curry leaves and give a mix.

To this, now add chopped onion and give a good mix. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute the onions till they are translucent.

When the onions become translucent, add the pre-cooked Raw banana slices. Gently give a mix.

MAKING ACHAR KELA MASALA

Next, add turmeric powder, ground achar masala and salt. Give everything a good mix. Gently mix so that the cooked raw banana pieces don’t become mushy.