Plantain fritters definitely fall in my category of comfort foods. It brings back memories of those far and few train journeys of my childhood from our hometown on the Southeastern coast of India to my father’s village in Kerala, on the Southwestern coast. The monotony of the more than 30-hour train journey was broken as soon as we entered the lush green coastal landscape of Palghat – the first stop in Kerala. This is where you would hear cries of ‘pazham pori, pazham pori’ from vendors selling steaming hot plantain fritters wrapped in plaintain leaves. My father who otherwise was strict about not feeding us kids anything that was not home made, would give in to our sullen looks and we would all look on in anticipation as he purchased a few of those golden nuggets. Big chunks of plantain fritters and greasy palms were the one saving grace of that otherwise never ending journey!
