Banana Stew

I can hear you say "stewed bananas?" - oh, I am not sure about that!!!!!  Stewed Kerala bananas are a "thing" - people.  Except I do not get Kerala bananas here.  So the next best thing is 3/4 ripe Cavendish - and they are not too bad.  Definitely not as good as the original, but enough to satisfy the homesickness and craving for home food that goes hand in hand.

Ingredients:

3 medium 3/4 ripe Cavendish bananas, sliced in circles about a centimetre thick.

3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

200 ml water

200 ml coconut milk

3-4 cloves

3-4 pieces of cinnamon

a tiny sprinkling of nutmeg for garnish

Method:

In a saucepan, heat water with the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and bananas.  Let the bananas cook until just done - and they do not lose their shape or go mushy.  At this stage add the coconut milk, test for sweetness and let the stew boil just once.  Turn off the flame and garnish with a tiny bit of freshly scraped nutmeg.

Serve hot with bread slices or puttu (Kerala steamed rice cakes)

In Kerala we make this with the Nendhran variety of bananas and I did find it in the freezer section of the Indian store.  This is what it looks like when stewed.  It is a great combination with puttu shown in the picture below: