Banana Halwa

Recipe No: 129
I have this very close friend of mine in Philly who, at times, call me and ask  what to do with  over ripened Bananas. Well… this happens to all of us at times... most of the family members ignoring the Bananas whose skin is getting black...Even though its skin is black the inside  will be perfectly good...What I do with these Bananas vary with the amount of Bananas on hand. If there are only two or three of them, then I prefer Banana cake or Bread but if there are more I’ll go for Banana Pradhaman, Varattiyathu or Halwa.

This week the Bananas that I bought somehow started turning black pretty soon, which gave me an excellent opportunity to make Banana Halwa. When you make these in small quantities you will never feel it that hard which is very good as, you will be able to taste that homemade deliciousness, even though it will disappear in a matter of minutes!!!

Ingredients

• Ripe Bananas Mashed………….2 heaping cups (Around 6 big Bananas)
• Grated Jaggery……………………1 ½ Cups
• Sugar………………………………...1/4 Cup
• Ghee………………………………....2 Tablespoons
• Broken Cashew Pieces………….1/4 Cup
• Fresh Cardamom Powder….….1/4 Teaspoon

Method of Preparation

1. Melt together Jaggery and Sugar with ¼ Cup of water.
2. In another wide pan on medium high heat melt the Ghee and add the mashed Banana and stir till the it dries up a bit.

3. Add the melted Jaggery through a strainer into the Banana mixture; stir and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until most of the water is evaporated.
4. Add the Cashew nut and cook for a few minutes till the mixture comes together as a mass and forms peaks when you lift your spatula and Ghee starts to ooze out. (Note the consistency in the picture)
5. Add the Cardamom powder; mix well and move the Halwa to a greased container. Flatten the top with the back of a greased spoon.
6. Cut and serve, once completely cooled.

Notes:

• I used both Jaggery and Sugar for a particular reason. Jaggery gives the best taste for the Halwa, but it will take a long time to get to a stage where we can cut the Halwa into pieces. On the other hand with Sugar, you don’t have to cook so long as Sugar will harden up more once cooled, but at the same time it won’t give that signature taste and color of Banana Halwa. So to get the best of both worlds, I used a major portion of Jaggery and a small portion of Sugar.
• The Bananas that are very common is US is the Robusta type, which is used in this recipe too.
• It is not necessary to stir it all the way through at first but do stir like every 3 minutes, but towards the end it is better to stir throughout. Take care not to burn the bottom.
• This whole process will not take more than 25 minutes.

 




Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and 
serve it to your family with love…