Creating a blog was out of the question for a long time for me, as measuring everything in the kitchen was like biting into an eggshell. I enjoy cooking and don’t want to waste even a slightest bit of enjoyment in that small world of mine. But little did I know that everything will change, when my husband came home with the Oscar nominated film ‘Julie and Julia’( a real life story) where Julie Powell (part played by Amy Adams) challenged herself to make all the 524 recipes from Julia Child's cook book ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and blogging all her experiences (The Julie/Julia Project). It was an inspiring movie. A few days later when we were discussing this casually with a friend of ours over tea…everything changed dramatically…..” How about you making at least half of it in one year? Not French but your own. 262 recipes that will inspire others and present it as a blog?” For a minute my mind traveled faster than light… With an experience as a helper in my mother in laws kitchen for 6 years followed by a three year everyday struggle to satisfy the palate of my foodie husband, if I cannot do it then why should I cook? But on the other side with an experience in English literature extending no more than expanding outline stories in English grammar class when I was 18 and two small kids that come in handy at times, will a commitment for the next one year work? Anyway my ‘cook's ego’ didn’t allow me to say no...

So my friends …here I am opening my recipe book, trying to perfect and present 262 recipes in the coming 365 days….A Challenge that will of course tastes good. Come.. Have a walk with me along my journey.. Cheering and inspiring….Forgiving and tolerating…Testing and tasting….for ‘A Tasty Challenge’

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Thursday, November 25, 2010

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…

8 comments:

Raga said...

This is really intresting Receipe Asha....I always throw ripen bannans..Now I can try this. Thanks for the good post.

CakeArtGallery said...

I will try this and let you know soon

Unknown said...

Banana halwa came out really good.It almost tasted like 'Chakka Halwa'(took me back to the old days...) but had the taste of banana.Thanks for this recipe.

Asha said...

Sowmya... This was the exact comment I made when I tasted it for the first time....Thank you for trying out....n keep posting your comments....

Sangeetha Nambi said...

Yum yum recipe and mouth watery :)

http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com

Amy said...

came out really well,as previously said it reminds of chakka varattiyathu..thanx a lot

Unknown said...

banana halwa became hard. Any solution?

Asha said...

Mary,
You might have cooked it too long.... Reduce the cooking time...

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