Aava pettina Aratikaya Kura (Mustard Flavored Raw Banana Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter A
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: A for Aava pettina Aratikaya Kura (Mustard Flavored Raw Banana Curry)

We are starting our Month long Mega Blogging Marathon today and we are doing 'A-Z' theme this month, which means all the members will be posting recipes with the same letter every day. I chose to do 'A-Z dishes from Andhra Pradesh'. I wanted to do it for quite some time now and with the inspiration of all my fellow marathoners and especially Valli, I'm finally doing it this month.

To start off, a little information about Andhra Pradesh (A.P.). A.P. is situated in the southeast of India. It is 4th largest by area and 5th largest by population. It has the longest coastline among all the states of India. Capital of A.P. is Hyderabad.

Photo Courtesy from MapsofIndia.com

The state comprises of 4 regions: Telangana, Kostha Andhra (Coastal Andhra), Rayalaseema & Uttarandhra. Food varies based on the geographical region, caste and traditions. Andhra food is probably one of the spiciest in India. Rice is our staple and A.P happens to be one of the largest producer of rice along with chilies.

For this marathon, I've tried my best to showcase the unique dishes from A.P. I'm lucky to experience the dishes from the various regions of Andhra right at home. My parents are from Andhra, my in-laws are from Hyderabad and my maternal aunt is settled in Visakhapatnam. This is my humble attempt in recreating some of their dishes through this A-Z series.
I've also tried to adhere to the rules of the theme and made sure that the names start with A-Z in Telugu. But like with any language it is not always possible to 100% translate Telugu words into English. I had to get a little creative with a few of the words :-)

Big thanks to all of the below:
(Free) Consultant: Amma.
Sites: Zaiqa.net, Mahanandi, Sailu's Food, Vah re Vah Chef
Cookbooks: Cooking at Home with Pedatha, Vantalu-Pindivantalu by Malathi Chandur, 660 Curries

To start of 'Letter A': A stands for veggies like aratikaya (raw banana/ plantain), anapakaya (bottle gourd), alugadda (potato) and so on. A is also for the very famous Andhra Avakaya, the super spicy Mango pickle. I never made this traditional I have a sweeter version of it here.

A for Ava pettina Aratikaya Kura:
A is also for Aavalu (mustard seeds) and today's dish combines two ingredients starting with 'A' to make an 'A+' tasting dish that screams home to me. Ground mustard gives makes this dish earthy and spicy, the taste of which is a little difficult to describe. All you will say is 'delicious'.
Raw banana in this dish can be substituted with Cabbage or sweet pumpkin (erra gummadikaya).

Ingredients:

Aratikaya/ Raw Banana - 3 medium or 2 large, peeled and chopped
Tamarind pulp - 1tbsp
Turmeric - ¼tsp
Salt - to taste

For Paste:
Mustard seeds - 1½tsp
Rice - 1tbsp
Ginger - 1" piece
Coconut - ¼cup, grated
Cilantro - ¼cup, chopped

For Tempering:
Urad dal - 1tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 6-8
Asafoetida/ Hing - ¼tsp
Green chilies - 4-5

Method:

• Soak mustard seeds and rice in little water for at least 30 minutes.
• Then grind the soaked mustard seeds and rice along with ginger, grated coconut and cilantro into a smooth paste adding little water. Keep aside.
• Boil banana until tender. Drain and set aside.
• In a saute pan, heat tbsp oil and add the tempering ingredients. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the boiled banana, turmeric, salt and ground paste. Cook for 4-5 minutes for the flavors to mingle.
• Next add tamarind pulp and cook until the raw smell of tamarind cooks off, another 3-4 minutes. Serve hot with steamed rice and a dollop of ghee.

Our simple lunch with mamidikaya pappu, aratikaya kura and annam.

Logo courtesy : Preeti
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 32.