Recipe: Red Bananas with Cardamom

Red Bananas with Cardamom

Elaichi Kéla
4 servings

Red Bananas with Cardamom This recipe stirs in highly aromatic cardamom for that quintessential flavor associated with many an Indian dessert.

4 small red bananas
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup jaggery chopped, or 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Juice of 1 medium lime (2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds (removed from pods), ground
1 quart vanilla ice cream

1. Peel bananas and cut lengthwise in half, set aside.

2. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook brown sugar in butter, stirring gently, until sugar is dissolved.

3. Stir in bananas, lime juice and ground cardamom; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bananas are tender.

4. Scoop ice cream into 4 bowls. Spoon bananas with sauce over ice cream.

From the Chef

Red bananas are available in some large supermarkets. Choose ripe firm ones that are unblemished. If unavailable, use unripened yellow bananas with green skins. Cut each banana crosswise in half, then lengthwise in half.

1 Serving: Calories 585 (Calories from Fat 245); Fat 27g (Saturated 16g); Cholesterol 90mg; Sodium 120mg; Carbohydrate 82g (Dietary Fiber 2g); Protein 6g. % Daily Value: Vitamin A 20%; Vitamin C 10%; Calcium 20%; Iron 4% Diet Exchanges: Not Recommended.

Buy the Book!

Betty Crocker's® Indian Home Cooking
Recipes by Raghavan Iyer
Hungry Minds, Inc., May 2001
Hardcover, $23.95
Full-color photographs throughout
ISBN: 0-7645-6315-7
Recipe reprinted by permission.