Raw Plantain/ Banana Preparations

The other day J came back from vegetable shopping with a surprise item- Raw bananas. I was delighted. Somehow raw bananas have always fascinated me. I love having them cooked in various ways- be it in traditional oriya Dalma, or just fried after marinating it in turmeric, salt and some red chilly powder, or even having it just boiled and dipped in some yoghurt chutney. All these preparations are better if the veggie is raw Plantain rather than raw bananas. In parts of the world, where plantains are not available, raw bananas can be taken as an alternative.

Plantains are starchy, mostly used as a vegetable, looks longer than the bananas, have thicker skin, resemble bananas but could be green, yello or black. . In India, I have found Plantains are only available in Kerala. In rest parts of India, you can try looking for it in kerala stores if they have any. Its called "Ethayka" in Malayalam.

One of my favourite preparations of the raw plantain/banana is from my mom’s kitchen. She used to tell that the dish was usually served to women after “Prasavam” (Child birth in Malayalam) in Kerala. So we used to call it “Prasava Curry” at home. It was funny especially when my brother also wanted “Prasava Curry” at times.

So, I tried making a Prasava curry here in Hargeisa and would like to share it here. I was especially inspired to share as recently it came handy to my one of my close friends in Singapore when she was confused on what to cook. We were chatting over google talk and I happened to share this recepe with her. She went ahead and prepared it and appreciated it.

So, coming to the point, let me try to put together what possibly can be done to make an authentic “Prasava Curry”.

Ingredients

1. Raw Banana/Plantain (peeled) – 3 Nos

2. Onion- 1

3. Garlic- 7-8 slices

4. Cambodge (this is a kind of sour dried fruit which Malayalees usually use in their fish curry. If you are a non- malayalee, you could go and knock the door of your Mallu neighbour and ask for “Meen Puli”. If you donot have a Mallu neighbour, then alternatively you could use Tamarind. I used Tamarind as I didn’t have Cambodge or there’s not a single Mallu in Hargeisa (except me, off course!).

5. Turmeric- ½ teaspoon

6. Red Chilli Powder/ Cayenne Pepper/ Paprika (depends on how hot you want it to be)

7. Coriander powder ( 3 teaspoons)

8. Black pepper powder ( ½ teaspoon)

9. Curry leaves

10. Salt to taste

11. Oil (Refined sunflower oil could be used , Mallus can go for Coconut oil for the authentic taste)

Cut the Raw Banana/ Plantain into thick and longish slices. Soak it for 10 minutes in water adding some salt and turmeric powder to it and then clean it well. This is done to reduce the stickiness which is found in raw banana when it is cut.



Sliced Banna soaked in water with salt and turmeric

 Take 2 cups of warm water and soak two thin slices of Cambodge/ or a pod or two of tamarind. Squeeze out the tamarind into the water.

cut the onions and garlic into long slices.

Put a pan on the stove with oil and fry the onions and garlic and curry leaves just for half a minute and add turmeric, red chilli, coriander and black pepper powders into it, add some salt and fry a half a minute more. Then, add the banana slices and fry for 3 minutes.

Now add the tamarind/ Cambodge water into it and after stirring, close the pan and let it cook for 7 minutes. Open the pan and stir again lightly taking care not to break the banana slices too much. Once the gravy turns thick , put off the stove. ( Again if you are a Mallu and want the authentic flavour of Kerala, pour a teaspoon of virgin coconut oil on the top and cover the pan with a lid till the serving time). Others can heat a tsp of oil in a different pan, splutter some mustard seeds and curry leaves and pour this seasoning on top of the preparation).

This is preferably eaten hot with Plain Rice and some Plain yoghurt on the side. Enjoy your meal and let me know how it was.

Usually when my mom cooks it this looks really red as the chilli powder is used liberally but in my cooking I couldn’t make it so as I had to think of my kids who aren’t trained to take hot stuff yet.