Banana Halwa - Recipe to surprise your sudden visitors.

A simple and easy to make sweet when there are excess bananas available at home.


Ingredients:
Banana - 6 nos (ripe)
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Cashews - 8 nos

Method:
Mash the bananas thoroughly (If needed can also be blended in a blender without adding water).

In a hard bottom pan add the mashed bananas, 4 tbsp of ghee and sugar and stir constantly till mixture bubbles and turns to a nice brown colour. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Add the remaining ghee and when the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and when it is able to roll into a ball, it can be removed from flame. Spread on a ghee smeared plate and let it cool. Cut into square or diamond shaped pieces.

Heat 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts. Decorate each piece with one fried cashewnut piece.

Vazhaipazha Pachidi (Banana Pachidi)

Ingredients:
Fully ripe Banana - 2 nos
Sugar - Pinch
Salt - To taste
Thich curd - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green Chilly  - 1 no
Curry Leaves - a few

Method:
Mash the bananas thoroughly. Add salt, sugar and mix thoroughly. Cut the green chilly into pieces. In a frying laddle, add oil and when hot add mustard. When it splutters add the green chilly. Sprinkle the curry leaves on banana and pour the tempered oil on top of it. Mix thoroughly.

Beat the curd and add 1/2 cup of water to it. Add the beaten curd to Banana. This makes a great pachadi for virunthu samayal.

Bananas - How to select them and store them

It is always better to choose Bananas that are greenish yellow which will ripe in a few hours, rather than choosing the fully ripe yellow ones. If one wish to choose bananas to keep for 2 or 3 days better get the greener ones. Bananas whether it is the greener ones or the ones that is semi ripe should be firm. The skin should be bright and the peel should not be crushed or soft or cut. Never buy bananas that have their stems or tip cut. Though the size of the bananas does not really matter much, when it comes to certain quality of bananas one should be conscious enough.

The semi ripe or the green bananas should be stored in a place where they will not be affected much and where they will not get crushed. The green bananas should be stored in the room temperature untill they ripen completely. (The greener bananas should not be stored in fridge as they will not help in ripening). But the ripe bananas can be refrigerated.Though the skin will get browned up, the banana will not get mashed or crushed. Once it is removed from fridge, keep it in room temperature before eating.

To store bananas for longer, for more than 2 months, it is better to keep them in ziplock bags. To prevent the pieces from discolouration, it can be sprinkled with lemon juice.