NendraBanana | Healthy cooking with Mitha

Hello dear readers.. I am back after yet another break but this time after a huge life change, having shifted permanently from Qatar to India.. Been close to two months here in Udupi and one month in my kitchen which I had planned so eagerly as it’s my favorite place in the house.. ❤️

As you all know I love cooking for my family and now it’s not only for my husband and kids, but also for my parents and brother. I am so happy to share whatever I cook with them and it feels soul satisfying to see them relish my dishes.. ❤️

Along with that, I have been making nostalgic dishes which I missed in Qatar all these years, some due to lack of ingredients and some having forgotten about it.. This Nendrabaale kele Gojju or a spicy sweet delight of a side dish is one among them.. ❤️

Having lived many years in Kerala, this banana was a common ingredient in our house and apart from Pazhampori or kele phodi, Amma always used to make this gojju.. Being a sweet and spicy lover , I used to relish this gojju as it is after my main meal.. Even now, after all these years, when I made this gojju and enjoyed it post my meal, it brought back all my childhood memories.. ❤️

Feels happy to share this nostalgic recipe with all of you and what could have been better than this as a first post from Udupi. Dedicating this to my Amma and thank you Amma for being the kindest, sweetest and my moga Amma always. Love you so much.. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

2 overripe Nendran Bananas

3 Green chillies

1 Tbsp Jaggery

Salt to taste

For seasoning:

1 Tbsp Ghee

1 tsp Mustard seeds

A sprig of Curry leaves

2 Red chillies, cut into little pieces

Step by step recipe:

Peel off the Nendran Bananas and make pieces of it using hands. Add to a mixer jar. Also add chopped green chillies, jaggery and salt.

2. Grind to a smooth paste adding very little water ( just a spoon or two) to aid grinding. It should be thick consistency. Add to a bowl.

3. Now heat ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add curry leaves and red chillies. Fry till it turns crisp. Now pour over the chutney.

4. Mix well. Enjoy with rice or as it is like me 😍

Notes:

Always best to use overripe Nendran Bananas for this gojju as it will blend easily and taste is more delicious too..
You can adjust chillies, jaggery and salt as per your taste.
Add very less water while blending as we don’t want a watery gojju.
I usually pair it with rice, rasam and a simple upkari or stir fry and it tastes heavenly with its sweet spicy notes.
I make two other recipes with Nendran Bananas. Sharing them below:
Nendran Banana Halwa
Nendra pazham nirachathu

Click on the image to save the recipe on Pinterest

It’s a special weekend day today as my daughter Ashritha’s half yearly exams are finally over and it really feels like my exams are over too. 😅 Teaching her for her second standard exams was not less than my engineering semester exams for me. 😁

Planning her lessons, teaching her, preparing notes, asking her questions while I do my work, then finally heaving a sigh of relief when she says the exams were easy… All of these were my last two weeks in short. 😄 So since yesterday, I have been making her favorite dishes to celebrate “freedom from exams” and today was the day to give freedom to these fast ripening Nendran Bananas too. 😍

Nendran Bananas are her favorite and apart from slicing round, frying in ghee, I also make this Nendran Banana Halwa when the bananas turn overripe. I also learned to make this Nendrapazham nirachathu last month which she loved a lot. So I decided to make it today with these bananas and took some pictures to add on the blog too.

This is very easy to make and tastes so delicious for words, specially if you love Nendran Bananas. Hope you all try it too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { For two stuffed bananas }

Two Ripe Nendran Bananas (should not be very soft or over ripe)

4 Tbsp Freshly grated Coconut

2 to 3 Tbsp Jaggery powder

1 tsp Ghee + 1 Tbsp Ghee

1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

Step by step recipe:

1. Heat 1 tsp Ghee in a small pan and add freshly grated coconut and jaggery powder.

2. On medium to low flame, fry the coconut- jaggery well in ghee for a minute.

3. Remove from flame. Add Cardamom powder. Mix well.

4. Take the ripe Nendran Bananas. If they are very soft, we can’t use it as it will break when we fill and fry it. Just see that they are ripe yet firm.

5. Peel the bananas. Make a small slit with knife in the center leaving the ends as shown. Don’t make a very deep cut too. Just slit until 3/4th depth of the banana.

6. Now stuff the bananas with the coconut jaggery mixture using hands. Divide the mixture between the two bananas.

7. Now heat 1 Tbsp Ghee in a pan and roast all three sides of the bananas till they turn slight brown. Do it on medium to low flame, else they can burn.

8. Done. Slice into three to four pieces and serve. Enjoy! ❤️

Notes:

* If you have very soft or over ripe bananas, you can make this Quick Nendran Banana Halwa that I make regularly.

* This recipe requires the bananas to be ripe yet firm to hold.

* While frying the bananas, be careful while turning and see that you do so on medium to low flame, else the stuffing can burn as it has jaggery in it.