About Plantain
Known by different names such as Aratikaya in Telugu, Kache kela in Hindi & Vazhakkai in Tamil, Plantain is a kind of banana that is used in cooking. These are used for cooking purposes when they are still unripe, firm and green. These plantains are different from the regular bananas and are distinguished by their usage. Plantains are always cooked, mostly consumed unripe while the skin is still green. But the regular bananas are always eaten ripe when the color of the peel changes to yellow. These can be eaten uncooked or cooked. Here is a picture of the plaintain. Plantain also known as “Cooking Bananas” or Raw bananas are a popular vegetable cooked often in the South Indian homes, especially in Andhra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These are used to make various dishes such as curries, stews, kootu, snacks and stir fry. Semi-ripe cooking bananas are also used to make fried snacks. This is a vegetable that’s available all-round the year and are best consumed early after harvesting. They taste best when tender, young and firm. Plantains can also be refrigerated for about 2 weeks beyond that they begin to turn softer.
About Plantain Curry
In this post I am sharing a traditional way of making a curry with plaintains, the way my mom made it. Albeit there are numerous ways to make a raw banana curry this one is our favourite. I can say it is flavorful, spicy and the raw bananas taste delicious. In the past, non-hybrid raw bananas were grown very commonly in India and a lot of people also would grow these in their backyards. The Non-hybrid kind are harder and take longer to cook just like any other Non-Gmo foods. So traditionally raw bananas were parboiled first before adding them to curries or stew else the acidic ingredients like tomatoes and tamarind will hinder them from cooking faster. Even more they may never cook well! I have shared the same traditional way of making this dish where the plantains are parboiled or steamed until al dente and then added to the masala. Though you can add them directly to the gravy I can’t guarantee if they cook well. I have been there a lot of times with hard undercooked plantains.
3 Ways to Prepare Plantains
There are 3 ways you can prepare the plantains for this curry. You won’t over cook the plantains but just until cooked or slightly under cooked is fine. We usually peel the bananas with a knife and not a peeler. Grease your knife before you peel so it is easy to clean up the sticky residue.
First way is to peel and chop them. Transfer them to a steam basket. Steam them in a steamer or a pot until al dente.Second way is to cook the whole raw banana in a pot of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and then simmer until the peel discolors. Pierce it with a fork to check, you know when it is tender. This is the easiest way to cook as you don’t need to peel them.Last way is to boil the peeled & diced plantain in a pot of water. Use some of the stock to make the gravy so you don’t lose the flavors.
More Plantain RecipesAratikaya CurryRaw Banana FryVazhakkai FryBanana Bajji
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