Monday, September 14, 2009

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 !!

Kela sukke

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

12 comments:

A_and_N said...

I'm so glad you understood what I meant, Arch. A lot of people assume I 'want' comments. Frankly, I'm happy without any. But, just no fakeness :) Thanks for sticking with me!

And - you can use cracked wheat instead of bulgur ya. Similar stuff, I've heard.

About this recipe - I will try this tonite itself. I have 2 bananas rotting in the fridge and I've been wondering what to do with it!

Vani said...

That sukke looks delicious, Arch! You'd finish the maduve oota as a kid?! How cute!

Sushma Mallya said...

Looks delicious...even i make it almost the same way...

A_and_N said...

ok we didn't make this tonite. but tomorrow, for sure. Will post it if I have the patience to take pics :P

SJ said...

This is what N kept saying " I am making Arch's bana dish" I just make balekai fry :| Next time when I get this will be on my menu! This Rasachandrika book is in English ?

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

we had similiar rule about eating all veggies... I still dont eat loads of them ... This looks lovely... Raw banana is one I would eat though, especially now...

Cham said...

My mom gave no choice to us so we finnished the food in our plate, but now my son is totally opposite :( The raw banana recipe is simply tasty with coconut and tamarind!

Miri said...

Love sukke with any veggie in it - yummy!

Chitra said...

Looks delish and a new dish with raw banana, must try :)

lubnakarim06 said...

Very new to me....never tried this combo...gravy looks spicy and yum....

amna said...

ooh very interesting! i only ever make thoran or stir fry raw plaintain

indosungod said...

Thanks for this recipe. I tried it out and it was delicious.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin