Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Homemade BANANA CHIPS,answer to GUESS THIS and some AWARDS!!!

Banana chips , usually made in Kerala, and known locally as 'upperi', is fried in coconut oil. Both ripe and unripe bananas are used for this variant. Sometimes they are coated with masala or jaggery to form both spicy and sweet variants. It is an integral part of the traditional Kerala meal called sadya during weddings and traditional festivals such as Onam.
To avoid confusion, it may help to understand the difference between banana and plantain. In Kerala, contrary to commonly accepted definitions, plantains are the small sweet fruits and bananas are the large fruits. So in Kerala, unripe bananas (the large fruits) are used to make salted and sweet chips. Partially ripe plantains (the smaller sweeter fruits) are also fried into chips.(Source - wikipedia)


My dad used to buy these fresh chips from a local shop where they prepared the chips right in front of you and pack it.Hmmmmm....so yum and crispy.They were one of my favorites.But now that i am in usa i dont get the chance to eat fresh ones anymore unless i make it at home.So when i saw the raw plantains(big fruit) in the supermarket i grabbed my oppurtunity and fried it on the very same day.They came out just perfect :).
This my 3rd post to the Recipe Marathon.


INGREDIENTS

Raw banana/plantains/big fruit - 4-5 nos

salt water - to season the chips(a tsp and a half salt in 1/2 cup of water)

oil for frying

METHOD

Slit the banana skin along its length 3 -4 times and give a short twist to help loosen it.Using ur knife carefully loosen it's edges and remove it.After removing its skin soak it in water until u r ready to fry otherwise it will turn brown in color.Heat oil in a deep vessel.Wipe off the water using a paper towel and slice the banana using a slicer.It should be sliced very thin as it helps in the crispiness.When the oil gets hot drop the chips and fry for a minute.Pour a couple tsp of salt water.Its important to stand back while doing this as bubbles start to form and as a precaution to avoid the splashing on hand.You can also use latex gloves to help with this.Ones the chips get slightly brown remove it and keep it on a paper towel to remve the excess oil.Let it cool slightly before eating.Serve with coffee or tea and store the rest in a dry container.


Well now on to the answer for the guessing game.First i thank each and everyone for playing along.I had so much fun and i hope the same with all of u too.

I knew my fellow konkani bloggers will guess instantly.Some of u came very close while some did not.First one to respond was ~nm who guessed it correct right away :).Thank u ~nm.Then as expected my dear cousin roopa of rvkitchen treats guessed correct.The others who were also correct are nanditha prabhu,suma , purnima,aparna and 2 anonymous ppl.The ones who came very close to guessing are cham,uma,sagari and kamala.Sukanya, lakshmi,Jamie,meera,thought it as potatoes ,yam or bittergourd.Asha didnt even have a clue ;).

The right answer is BANANA SKIN.One can use the skin of banana in any curry that they make with raw banana itself.They have mild and nutty flavor and tastes fantastic.I made a simple upkari using mustard seeds,turmeric,red chilli pdr and salt.Have it with rice and methi dal (recipe coming soon ) and u r in heaven :).



For the past couple of days i have been been very very lucky.I received 4 awards and i am so happy and touched :).I thank you gals for thinking of me:)..i am really grateful to u all.I hope i can keep upto this.

The first award is "you make my day award" from sukanya ramkumar of hot n sweet bowl.It's one of the sweetest thing one can say to another.You really did make my day :).Thank u sukanya.I will cherish this award for ever.!!

I would like to pass this onto

roopa of rvkitchen treats

suma of suma's cuisine

nanditha Prabhu of satvika

JZ of tasty treats

I hope u guys enjoy this as much as i did receiving it.Congrats girls.

The 2nd award i received is from purnima of fantasy cooking and Trupti of recipe center.Thank u so much purnima and trupti for this rocking girl blogger award ..i am really happy :).


I would like to pass this award to my marathon buddies siri,DK,srivalli,raaga,swati,arundati,lakshmi,divya, and bhags.Girls u rock....i am really having fun running the marathon with u all:).Congrats and enjoy!!!.

MY 3rd award came from swathi of chatkhor.Thank u so much Swathi

“Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”


I would like to pass this award to

Roopa of rvkitchen treats

madhuram of eggless cooking

cham of spice club

suma of suma's cuisine

nanditha prabhu of satvika

asha of aroma and foodie hope

divya of easycooking

uma of essence of andhra

divya vikram of dil se

shubha of chutki bhar pyar

madhavi of recipes from my fav.place

Sukanya Ramkumar of hot n sweet bowl

Congrats girls.Enjoy it as much as i did:).

My 4th award is from JZ of tasty treats.This is my 2nd yummy blog award.Thank u so much JZ.I am really happy and thrilled to have received it again:).Roopa of rvkitchen treats started this category of award to appreciate and recognise so many talented bloggers and their recipe.Thank u so much roopa.

"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".


According to the rules i have state my yummilicious desserts and also pass it onto 4 other bloggers.

My favorite desserts:-

gulab jamun

my mom's carrot halwa

black forest cake

lemon meringue pie

I would like to pass this onto:-

Roopa of rvkitchen treats

suganya of tasty palettes

Zlamushka of spicy kitchen

suma of suma;s cuisine

nanditha prabhu of satvika

congratulation to all of u .Enjoy!!!

This post is not over yet!!!Be sure to check what my marathon buddies are also up to.

DK - Fried Herb Mozzerella

Swathi - Authentic Punju ALOO GOBI

Bhags - Spanakopita

Divya Vikram - Carrot rice

Lakshmi - Mango Fool with Nutmeg

Srivalli - Andhra Mutton Pepper Fry

Arundathi - Bell Peppers

Siri - Hash Brown Melt

FINALLY!!!i can publish thisYYYAAAAAAAAAAYYY:).

30 comments:

Nanditha Prabhu said...

ranji!THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH.........so many awards ......!!!
Let me first congratulate you on your awards....and its so sweet of you to pass it on to bloggers whom you have bumped on recently...
your kelya baalook looks great....i would prefer to have your kelya saali ukkeri though!

Shubha Ravikoti said...

Wooooooo... So many awards ranji... U deserve it girl....:) Thanx for passing the award to me... Thanx dear...:) You really made my day...

That banana peel bhaji looks awesome....yummm need the recipe.. soon...:P

And the banan chips look awesome.. did u make it with normal banans or nedrankay
where did u get the plantains here? hehehe Lovely crisly and yummy....:P Did u use coconut oil for frying too:P I remember the chips my aunt used to get from Kerala.... yummmm

Uma said...

the banana chips looks so tempting, ranji! you made curry with banana peels, wow good!

Congrats on all the awards and thank you very much for thinking about me, dear!

Unknown said...

Hey Ranji Thank uuuu :) Congraaaats !! So many awards!! I am very happy for you :) Hugs!! Hey and I am glad to see that it was Kela sali ukkeri:) I never prepared it , but mom used to prepare it at home:) Kelya balook looks super!! Thank you so much for mentioning my blog:)

Sum Raj said...

ranji...congrates on ur award....and thank u so much for presenting to mee ..although i have just started this bog few weeks back,i really dont had any idea of receiving awards...still am in shock and surprising mood...thanks again

Cham said...

Wow, an award galore :) Those who are in marathon really derserve the awards, girls u are really impressing with recipe in each and evry day.
About guessing, i thought raw banana, because i make it Puttu with.. Banana peel i never thought making it...
About Chips Ranji, the banana should be firm (green or little ripe (yellow), i always get the doubt.. Could u clear me... The way of adding salt in oil is a traditional keralite method...
Thank u dear to pass it and think about me.

Anjali Damerla said...

Congrats on your awards.

I have never heard of any dish with Banana peel. Have so many friends from Kerala but still no one ever mentioned this to me. Hmm.... I have to try this soon.

Unknown said...

LOve anything with banana..looks great girl..Thanks for the award..and congrats on all the awards

Beyond Curries said...

Congrats Girl! So many awards, good good. I missed a lot of your posts in the past couple of days, going one by one now. Even I have not heard of banana skin curry, it looks very good. On sunday I tried plantain chips in the oven as per Jai and Bee's instruction it came out very well Ranji. No doubt the traditional one like yours is very very tasty (i'm an addict of these chips). Whenever my relatives/friends go to kerala, they don't forget to get me these chips.

FH said...

Ranji, you forgot to mention the one who couldn't guess at all! ME!!:D
I threw all the skins away y'day, never thought I could cook with it. It smells bitter, thought it tastes bitter too. I will try this next time.
Enjoy all the award, you deserve it and thanks for thinking of me too!:)

Suganya said...

Hi Ranji....
Congrats on ur awards. Thank u for passing it to me. That chips rocks...

ranji said...

Thank u nanditha!!u very well deserved ur awards:)...even i prefer kellya salli ukari to balluk..love it that much:).

@shubha
thank u so much.it was a pleasure passing it to u ppl :).
i used the hard raw plantains(not the small sweet ones but the large and fat ones) that i got from super stop and shop.Not every supermarket has it i think coz even i see it only sometimes here.In kerala they fry using coconut oil but i used a healthier oil-canola!!u can use vegetable oil also.But coconut oil gives the authentic flavor.

Thank u uma,roopa,suma,..u gals very well deserved it..congrats and enjoy:).

@cham
thank u so much..u can use hard ones or slightly softer ones.the softer ones will be much sweeter than the hard ones.So it depends on how sweet u like ur chips..u can use both.

@ anjali
thank u so much..usually keralites dont use banana peels they simply throw them after peeling.I am a konkani and i have seen only the our community use it.Thats why probably u never heard ur friends mention:).

@divya,madhuram,sukanya
thank u so much..u very well deserved ur awards:)..

@asha
i will add u right away:).hope u dont throw them next time...

Siri said...

Banana chips are my favorite chips of all and I easily manage to gobble up a bag of chips..:D.. and Hearty Congratulations on the awards Ranji and Thanks for passing on to me!

Siri

Archy said...

Banana chips looks similar to shop bout one!! genious Ranji !!

Congrats on ur Award!! Enjoy Dear!!

Jamie said...

Banana Skin...I would have never guessed! Congratulations on all your awards! :)

DK said...

Banana Chips! what will I not do for a hamdful of them right now! Yum.

Congrats on your awards dear and thanks a heap for thinking of me :)

@the_whisk_affair said...

wow, ranji!! congrats on all ur awards! and thank you sooo much for making my day or rather my evening!! i was away the whole day, so i cudnt reply earlier...thanks a lot for thinking of me!

@the_whisk_affair said...

and BTW, the chips look perrrrrfect!

Hetal said...

A big congratulations for so many awards,its really gr8!!!keep it up..
Love banana chips,these look very yummy..

Swati Raman Garg said...

wowy ... so much in a daily post... thus proves u deserve each n every one of those awads.. congo...
and ur banana chips looks so professional... andi guess even i guessed this anyhow.. u r going great ranji...

zlamushka said...

wow, you got some awards here. Congrats, lady, well deserved. You passed one over to my blog? :-) I am thrilled. I am goign to amend my post :-)

Arundathi said...

thank you so much for the award - that was very nice of you.
the marathon really is so much fun! :)

Suganya said...

Ranji, thank you very much for the award. Much appreciated :)

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Congrats on all those awards.
I recognised it right away'cos this and the chips are the only way I like raw bananas cooked!

Purnima said...

Ranji, kelya kachri looks scrumptious! CONGO 4 ALL UR LOVELY AWARDS!!

Anonymous said...

I saw banana chips being made in the street stalls in Kerala when i was there earllier this year. I didn't get to try any, unfortunately, so was so glad to read your post.

What wonderful links you have provided. All worthy of your awards. I love looking at the blogs that other people love.

FH said...

HeHe! Thank you! I needed the World to know that even I don't know some stuff! ;D

Looking for Naan!

Meera said...

Those banana chips look so perfect!! My favorite!! & you say plantain is small fruit & banana is big one! You are confusing this already confused soul!:-D

Ok, ok, I guessed it bittergourd - but see, i played safe when I said it's some upkari!!;-)

so cool, using banana skins. Way to go!! I am going to try it for sure.

Unknown said...

Too good Ranji dear, They look so pro.I love to try out soon.

R said...

Ranji,

Congrats on ur awards.... Chips looks awesome and Thanks for the recipe!