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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Raw Green Plantain Side Dish (Kele Upkari/ Kelichi Bhaaji)

Raw Green Plantain is a rich source of Iron and is often prescribed for women's dietary supplement. I love this vegetable a lot for the simple reason that its a rich source of Iron and Fibre. This recipe has a seasoning of Garlic which adds the extra punch. The Banana to be used for this Side Dish is unripe and bright green in color.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Serves: 2-4 individuals

Ingredients:
Plantain or Raw Banana (cubed) - 3 cups
Red Chillies – 2-3
Garlic (crushed) – 8 flakes
Coconut Oil
Salt – as per taste
Water

Method:
Peel the skin from the Raw Banana and chop them into pieces of ½ inch each. Immediately add to tap water and allow the wax to get washed away with water. Discard the water and keep the chopped pieces aside. Take utmost care while chopping the Bananas. Sometimes, the wax (deek as called in Konkani)sticks to your hand. I used hand gloves while chopping to prevent the wax from sticking to my hands.
In a pot, heat oil and add the crushed garlic and sauté till the color of garlic changes to reddish brown. Add the chopped Banana and fry till the garlic gets evenly distributed and mixes well with the chopped bananas. Once mixing is done, break the Red Chillies into bits with your hands and add to the pot. Add enough water and cover for cooking. Since Bananas are hard, water would serve as a catalyst for the banana pieces to cook. Turn over the heat to low flame. Simmer on low flame for 10-15 minutes or till the vegetable is completely cooked. Garnish with grated coconut and serve warm.

2 comments:

  1. Ashwini - Congratulations on this wonderful Konkani food blog! Wishing you the very best!

    btw, where are you from and what do you do now?

    And thanks for the tips on the Raw-plaintain. I did not realize they were high in iron! see, I learn something new everyday!

    I love Plantain - Phodi! One of my favorites and M makes it often.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Thanks for your wishes Arun. There is so much with Konkani food that more is certainly less. I belong to Bangalore and am employed with an MNC here.
    We prepare Plantain upkari, phodi, koddel. I love the upkari of all.

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