Recipe- Popular Indian Side Dish Kachya Keliche Kaap

Kachya keli che kaap or Keliche Kaap is one of the most popular Indian side dish served along with meals or eaten as a snack. This is a no onion-garlic recipe. Keliche kaap is a Marathi word for raw banana fritters. These are also called plantain fry, raw banana fry, kachya kelyache kaap.

This is a very quick, easy and simple recipe. Keliche kaap are made by peeling and cutting raw banana, coating them in the mixture of besan (chickpea) & rice flour along with basic spice mix and shallow fried. These kachya keliche kaap are crispy from the outside and perfectly soft from inside. They taste amazing as a side dish with sambar rice or with plain varan bhat.

Ingredients

4 nos. Kachi Keli (Plantain, Raw Banana) Medium Size
5 tbsp Besan (Chickpea Flour)
3 tbsp Rice Flour
2 tbsp Coriander Powder
1 tbsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tbsp Garam Masala Powder
1 tbsp Chaat Masala
Salt to taste
Oil for Frying
4 cups Salted Water to immerse the banana slices

Method

- To peel and cut the banana, first apply little oil on your palms. This will make sure that your hands won’t get too sticky when cutting and peeling the raw banana.

- Cut the edges of the banana. Using a potato peeler or knife remove the skin.

- Cut banana length-wise (vertically), do not cut the slice very thin.

- Keep the banana slices completely immersed in saltwater immediately after cutting.

- Now in a mixing bowl add besan (chickpea flour), rice flour, coriander powder, red chilly powder, garam masala, chaat masala & salt. Mix everything well. Check for seasoning.

- Now take a slice of banana and coat it with the spiced chickpea (besan) & rice flour mixture and pat the slice from both sides so that the mixture sticks to the slice evenly.

- Likewise, coat all the banana slices and keep them aside.

- In a thick bottom skillet heat oil. Shallow fry the banana slices on low to medium flame from both sides till golden brown. These hardly take 2-3 minutes to cook.

- To check if keliche kaap are cooked, use a toothpick or tip of the knife and press it in the middle section of the slice. If it goes easily without resistance then kaap / slices are perfectly cooked.

- Keliche Kaap – Kelyache Kaap are ready. Serve hot as a side dish for a meal or as a snack.