IS IT PLANTAIN TIME OR IS IT BANANARAMA? :D

I would like to thank each and every one of you my dearest foodies, who participated in RCI Karnataka, cooked and took time to send me various and delicious Karnataka dishes from Mangalore, Mysore, Dharwad, Iyengar style, Havyaka, Madhwa, Bangalore style and a Coorgi dish(YAY!) to this event to make it a spectacular success!
Please know that I appreciate each one of you and your entries although I cannot list all of you here. You know who you are!:)
I am proud to have hosted my first ever and the LAST event for my state of Karnataka.I have more than 350 entries from you and I have added few of my own authentic dishes of Karnataka to the round up, so when people stop by for Karnataka cuisine here, (there will be 4 jampacked posts!) they will get ALMOST everything in one place. THE BUCK SURELY STOPS HERE at Foodie's Hope for Karnataka cuisine!!:D
I appreciate all your enthusiasm and I specially thank few brand new bloggers who sent me their entries and Arun Shanbhag, who is not a foodie like us but allowed me to take beautiful photos of Dharwad style Thali served on a traditional Banana leaf etc from his great blog, Raaga, Namratha, Suma who cooked many dishes for me and Latha N and Lakshmi from "The yum blog" who made sure to cook just for me as I "demanded" few dishes from them even though Latha was getting ready to leave for a trip! Thank you all!:)

Now, I will be happy to hand over "Regional Cuisine India" to Viji of "VCuisine", and off we go to state of Tamil Nadu again for some "Tamil Festival food" this time!! Let's have some festival fun!:)

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These are my entries or just one of these if she likes one single entry, for JFI-Banana, being guest hosted by Mandira of "Ahaar" this month, an event started by Indira of "Mahanandi". Thanks to both of you!:))




Plantains:

Green Plantains are cooked like Potatoes(and they are NOT green Bananas), are used as starchy vegetable rather than eaten like fruit and used for cooking unlike Bananas.They are highly nutritious, good source of potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin A,and vitamin C and high in carbohydrates, a energy booster. Most popular snack in India are made with these are salty golden delicious Plantain chips!

Balekai Bajji (Plantain fritters):
I made these Bajjis with one Plantain and saved one plantain for Pakodas and two for Koddel. Bajjis are served with chutney while Pakodas can be eaten on their own. Enjoy.

To make these: 1. Pound 2 cloves, 1/2" cinnamon, 1 tsp each coriander seeds,cumin seeds, fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp ajwain(Carrom) seeds to a fine powder and keep aside. Heat 2 tbsp oil until smoking.Take off the heat.
2. In a bowl, add 1 cup Besan/Chickpea flour, 1 tbsp Cornstarch, 1 tbsp Semolina/Rava(optional), salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp chilli pd, mix well.Add 2 tbsp HOT oil, all the powdered spices, minced cilantro and 1/2 cup water to make a thick batter like Idli batter, thick enough to coat the plantain slices.
3. Adjust salt,keep aside for 10 mins. Meanwhile, heat oil to deep fry to 350F. Peel 1-2 Plantains, cut it half and slice the half into several thin slices to 1/8"-1/4" thick lengthwise.Keep them immersed in water to prevent browning.
4. When oil is hot,take out 4 plantain slices,shake off the water or pat dry,dip in the batter until thickly coated and gently drop in the oil.Fry both sides until golden.Drain on paper towel.
5. Serve with spicy thin coconut chutney for dipping.

Balekai(Plantain) Pakoda:
Sometimes when Plantain slices are over and you are left with the above batter, you can quickly add additional veggies to make these crispy Pakodas!

1. Slice up some onion to small pieces, 2-3 chopped green chillies, few curry leaves, grated 1/2 tsp ginger and finely cubed 1 Plantain to mix with the batter to make it thick sticky dough,taste for seasoning.Add more Besan/Chickpea flour if too thin.
2. In the same hot oil, drop small balls of batter and fry until golden, drain on paper towel and serve.
3. These Pakodas are crispy and delicious to as a side dish with rice and Sambhar or Kichadi too.

Mangalooru Balekai Koddel for Chapatis:
Koddel is a Managalore dish made with various vegetables thinnish like sambhar to be eaten with rice and I made it thicker with cubed Plantains for my Chapatis. Tastes fabulous!

You need: Two Plantains, peeled, cubed and soaked in water, 1 tbsp tamarind juice, salt, 1 tsp jaggery, 1/2 tsp Turmeric, cilantro to garnish.
To grind the masala:
1/2 cup coconut, 2-3 red chillies, 2 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 garlic, small piece of onion, few curry leaves.
Seasoning:
1/2 tbsp oil, 1/2 tbsp ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, 1 red chili, 2 garlic, chopped, 1 small chopped onion.
To make Koddel:
1. Cook plantains with 2 cups water in a pressure cooker until soft. Add turmeric, salt, tamarind juice and jaggery.
2. Heat oil in a big pan, add all the seasoning ingredients, fry until onion is reddish. Add cooked plantain mix, let it cook for 10 minutes. Turn down the heat.
3. Add coconut paste, adjust the salt, simmer for for 10 mins uncovered.
4. When the sauce becomes thickish, garnish with cilantro and serve.Tastes great next day with Thatte Dosa, akki rottis or Chapatis.

Bananas:

Bananas are fruits to be eaten as they are and used in various desserts. They are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6. They also have large portion of the calories which mainly come from sugars. So watch out if you are Diabetic!!

Spiced Banana and Coconut Raita for Poories!
Here is an excellent spicy raita, easy to make and tastes great as a side dish for Poories or Parathas. Makes refreshing snack when chilled too.


This is how you make the spicy and sweet Raita:
1. In a bowl, add 1/2 cup plain Yogurt,salt,1/2 tsp sugar, beat well until smooth. Chop 2 ripe Bananas into thickish circles, add to yogurt, mix gently.
2. Place this on a serving plate, sprinkle chopped cilantro, 1/8 tsp each chilli pd, cumin pd, Chaat pd, 1/2 Garam masala and 2 tbsp of plain or toasted grated coconut on top.
3. Serve immediately or keep it in the fridge. Tastes great with Poories or on it's own chilled too.

Baked Banana with Toffee sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream:
Why eat a Banana as it is! Boring, right? Bake, dress it up and serve with Vanilla Ice Cream!! Believe me, it tastes Heavenly!!:)
Recipe adapted from Four Ingredient cooking by Joanna Farrow.


Here is how to make the dessert:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Put 2 unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until the skins are dark.Take them out,let it cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup light brown sugar in a pan with 3 tbsp of water, and boil until the sugar dissolves.
3. Turn down the heat and add 2-3 tbsp of heavy cream and cook until you get thick toffee colored sauce. Remove from the heat.
4. Transfer the baked bananas in their skin and split them lengthwise, each into two with a serrated knife.
5. place them on a plate, pour some of the toffee sauce over the bananas.
6. Serve with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. You can sprinkle some toasted walnuts on top as well. To eat, scoop the cooked Banana with a spoon along with some sauce and Ice cream and enjoy!:))

See you all next Wednesday with the RCI K first post of the round up. Let me work on creating all the 4 posts in next 15 days. Have a fun weekend buddies, Fall is here at last but if only it rains here too!:D