Raw Green Plantain Side Dish (Randayi Kele Talasaani)

Talasaani is a popular Konkani style of making side dish by searing vegetables. The method is just like Batate Talasaani/ Batate Bhajjunu Upkari but tasty nevertheless. On a rare day, I had two Raw Green Plantains (Randayi Kele in Konkani) which needed my attention. I made Randayi Kele Talasaani, the taste was delicious. This can also be a good substitute if you like deep fried/ shallow fried version of a vegetable. This preparation takes less oil, you could roast and add more oil to make it more tasty.

If you further conscious, use squirts of Pam Cooking spray instead of adding oil with a spoon. In last few years, my parents have made lot of changes to their diet and I have begun right away. Replacing regular flour with whole, adding salad/ fibre component to diet, eating fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible instead of binge eating, portion control, checking on meat consumption, lots of water intake and including some form of exercise in your daily routine and last but not the least positive thinking rewards lot of benefits. Believe me, in the long run it does make a difference to your overall health and well being. I like to pair this dish with Dalithoi and cooked rice. 

~ Randayi Kele Talasaani ~

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Raw Green Plantain (cut into 1/4" strips) - 2 cups

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.

Salt

Coconut Oil

For Seasoning -

Red Chillies (Byadgi) - 2

Garlic Jumbo pods (crushed lightly) - 2

Method:

Wash and rinse the raw green plantain and peel off the skin (just one layer). Cut them into thin strips of 1" size and keep aside. In a frying pan, heat at least 3 tbsp. of oil and season with crushed garlic. Once garlic turns light brown, add the red chillies split into two. Lower the flame and add the plantain strips, add turmeric and red chilli powder. Increase the flame to medium now and roast the vegetable. Add little oil if the vegetables are going dry. Sprinkle water couple of times, the vegetables cook quickly (I sprinkled two times with a gap of 5 minutes). Toward the end once the vegetable is cooked, add little oil and roast well. Turn off flame. Serve with warm cooked rice and Dalithoi.

Note - Chop the vegetables into 1/4" narrow strips, so that they cook faster and evenly. For best results, use Coconut oil.
 

Plantain Curry in Spicy Coconut Paste (Kele Koddel)

A simple Konkani curry for simpler afternoon lunches. Plantain Curry In Spicy Coconut Paste or Kele Koddel has been my childhood favorite. Time and again, I used to insist this dish to be cooked just because I loved eating the spicy cooked Plantains.

I used the short, green plantain variety which has a thick bark. It can be stored in fridge for few days is you wish to push the ripening process. If the skin goes black, don't bother,the plantain can still be used after stripping off few layers of the skin. Its a simple curry with no jazz and loads of nutrition. Best tastes if fresh grated coconut used and not the frozen variety. The Garlic seasoning offers the much required aromatic closure to this dish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Unripe Green Skinned Plantain (sliced into 1/4th " thickness pieces) - 2 or 3 cups sliced
Grated coconut - 3/4th cup
Red Chillies - 6-7
Tamarind juice - 2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - 1/3rd teaspoon
Water - For gravy consistency
Salt - as per taste

For seasoning -
Garlic (crushed) - 5-6 pods
Oil - For frying

Method:
Trim the head and tail end of Unripe Plantains and strip off the first layer of thick green skin on the surface. This leaves with a starchy and stringy layer which needs to be retainedon the vegetable. Further, slice the plantain into pieces of 1/4th" thickness and boil in water with 1/3rd teaspoon turmeric. Boil till Plantain gets cooked completely. If using Indian Plantains, you could cook them directly in gravy and skip this step and Indian plantains cook faster.

Roast red chillies in oil, allow to cool. Grind with grated coconut, tamarind juice and salt. Add enough water for grinding consistency. Boil the ground paste and add boiled plantain pieces. Bring to boil and simmer on low flame for 10-15 minutes. Once completely cooked, turn off the flame. In a small deep dish saucepan, heat couple of spoons of coconut oil and saute crushed garlic in them till they are browned. Pour this seasoning on the curry. Serve hot with warm rice as a side dish.

Suggestion: Crushed Garlic oozes the oil which offers the much required seasoned aroma to the curry. Retain the skin of the Garlic if you wish to for more flavour. This is my granny's tip.

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.