I make no evening snacks at home in Bangalore, cooking three meals a day itself is never ending work for me. At tea time, we make do with biscuits or cake or even bread with peanut butter or jam, or some other bakery bought stuff and maybe even Maggie noodles but never actually attempted to make anything special unless…

But at my parents home in Kottayam, Kerala, my mom made these all time favourites – ethakka appam or fired plantain fritters. Inside, the plantain was sweet, just ripe and the batter coating was sweet, crispy to bite and soft to chew. The recipe is well know; but there were some special modifications and additions, my mom said.

To make the batter, instead of maida (refined flour), as a healthier option she used atta (wheat flour) plus rice flour; she added some ground cumin and a hint of cardamom powder. Sugar for the sweetness and a pinch of salt.; batter is made by mixing with water. The plantains are cut into smaller pieces, dipped in the batter and deep fried in oil until crisp and golden.

Hot plantain fritters and warm milky sweet tea at 4 pm. Visiting home brings back so many old tastes and happy memories; we eat like children, savouring the taste, greedy and hungry for more🤤. The whole lot disappeared in no time 😊

“Why can’t you make this at home ?” asks the kid

“Yeah, will do…..sometime…” I reply

Till next post, take care !!