Author Notes: Green banana being a classic starchy vegetable can be treated like potatoes for many a dish. One such example is a South Indian ‘Podimas’ where the cooked green banana is crumbled and stir fried with a simple blend of spices.
Most Indian grocery stores these days carry a fat starchy variety of banana (NOT Plantains which are a distinctly different specimen) , but in a pinch, completely unripe green cavendish bananas work just as well —Panfusine
Serves: ~ 2-3 cups
Ingredients
-
5-6
green and unripe banans
-
2
tablespoons oil
-
1
teaspoon mustard seeds
-
1
teaspoon split urad dal
-
1-2
red arbol chiles
-
1
pinch asafetida powder
-
1
sprig curry leaves, torn
-
Salt to taste
-
Juice of 1 lime
Directions
- cut the green banana into two pieces and boil in enough water until the starchy part appears to separate from the peel . remove from the water, allow to cool , remove and discard the peel (although dicing and sauteing it in the same style also makes for a delicious side dish). Cool and crumble the cooked bananas and set aside
- In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil and add the mustard, Urad dal, and the arbol chili. once the mustard pops, the urad and the arbol chile turn color, add the asafetida and curry leaves followed immediately by the crumble bananas. Add salt and toss to coat uniformly, allow the bananas to ‘roast’ on high heat until they stard to brown slightly. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with the lime juice.
- Serve as a side with a simple rice and plain dal.
