Kela Sukke (Raw banana in a coconut masala)

I was never too fussy with my veggies even as a child. I liked most of what I ate and it was a rule at home, that we couldn't waste anything. We had to finish what we were served on our plates.
A friend once noticed that my brother and I had always managed to finish what we had on our plates (or leaves) when we once sat together at a traditional Kannada wedding lunch ('madhuve oota'). I am hoping its the good childhood habit that surfaced more than the greed !!



Raw bananas were not made that often at my mom's place, but TH's family seemed to use it and like it a lot. Pakodas, dry curries, kuzhambu, lots of different things are made from raw bananas at their place. I have started using it quite a bit too now and this is one of my favourites...
Sukke in konkani means 'dry', here its more like a thick gravy.
This goes best with some hot rice and dal

Recipe adapted from Rasachandrika, an excellent book on Saraswat cooking

What you need -

3 medium sized raw bananas
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
4-6 red chillies
a handful of chana dal / bengal gram
1 small ball of tamarind
1.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp grated jaggery
1.5 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal / black gram dal
1/4 tsp fenugreek / methi seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
a few curry leaves

What you do with it -

Soak the chana dal in water for 4-5 hours
Scrape the skin off the bananas and cut it into broad and long pieces
Keep the pieces dipped in water to prevent them from darkening
Cook the soaked chana dal in a vessel with enough water to cover the dal
Once its cooked, add the banana pieces, salt and jaggery
Allow the banana pieces to cook well
Fry the coriander seeds, urad dal and methi seeds in a tsp of oil
Grind the grated coconut, turmeric powder, chillies and tamarind to a coarse paste
Add the fried ingredients and grind to a paste
Add the masala to the cooked bananas and bring to a boil on a low flame
Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves and pour over the banana curry