Isn’t it seemingly plausible to say that men who are in a wholesale business never know how to purchase anything in low quantity? Yesterday when I sent my husband, (who’s also in a wholesale business) to the Indian store to buy vegetables, he came home with 3 pounds of beetroots and a dozen green raw bananas. I asked him, “What should I do with so many raw bananas? I can at least use the beets in juice or salad, but these bananas?” He replied, “Oh, these are nothing! Just prepare some sort of a nice curry, and they’ll be over in no time!” Hmm, I’m sure he does such things on purpose, simply so he gets to eat all his favorite dishes! For our family of five, three bananas are more than sufficient to make the curry or fry, for both lunch and dinner. What to do with a dozen of them now, I thought. And I came up with a solution: ‘Raw Banana Kebabs.’ I’m so glad that I tried this dish posted by Chef Ranveer Brar a few weeks ago, which tasted super sumptuous. I didn’t follow his recipe as it is, as the South-Indian in me wanted to have it in a slightly different style.

 

 

Kebabs are super easy to make appetizers that are absolutely delicious and satisfy any palate. Whether the kebab is vegetarian or non-vegetarian, it’s everyone’s choice at fine dining Indian restaurants. I agree that meat lovers have more of variety in kebabs than vegetarians, but being a little innovative would definitely increase our options in kebabs and that’s how I prepared these plantain or raw banana kebabs.

When I made these kebabs for the first time, I played a game with my family by asking them to guess the key ingredient of these kebabs. All their assumptions were wrong, and they couldn’t believe it when I said, “It’s just the raw banana!” Once the plantain is mixed up with spices and fried, it takes on a whole new depth of flavor and almost makes you feel like you are eating a potato kebab, except without all the carbs that potatoes usually have! It pretty much makes an excellent substitute for all things, simply because it is not as fatty! I’ve always wondered how nice it would be to have my favorite food without having to worry about the massive intake of calories, and now I finally can! A plantain kebab tastes just like a well-cooked potato– just not as fatty!

 

 

The outer crispy texture achieved by rolling the patties in bread crumbs leads you to the buttery soft boiled banana inside, that is flavored and well balanced with Indian spices. I must say, you will be left content for trying out this new variety of kebabs. And please don’t forget to share your feedback with me when you try it 😀

Check out the recipes for other Appetizers, salads, main course, chutneys & pickles, quick meals and desserts on my blog!

Plantain Kebabs Recipe:

 

 

Wash and peel the raw bananas or plantains. Cut them into cubes.

 

 

Boil them in some water till they become mushy. Add salt and turmeric while cooking. I cooked the bananas in the pressure cooker, up to 1 whistle. Drain the water and let it cool down. Use a potato masher or spoon to mash it into a purée. Do not use the blender.

 

 

When the plantain is boiled and still hot, it will be very mushy, but as it cools down, it becomes stiff and hard. Then it is going to be easy for you to make the kebabs. Add some red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, Garam masala and amchur powder. Combine the spices evenly into the boiled plantain mix.

 

 

Check the seasoning and add salt and spices as needed. Mix it again.

 

 

Add some freshly crushed ginger-garlic, using the mortar-pestle. You can also use ginger-garlic paste if that’s what you prefer.

 

 

Add some cornflour or rice flour, to get the right consistency.

 

 

Also, add some bread crumbs for some crispy texture and combine well. Take a small portion of the plantain mix and shape them into round balls. Then press them gently to make them look like round patties.

 

 

Roll them in bread crumbs to coat the outer part of the kebab.

 

 

Repeat the procedure with the rest of the plantain mixture until you are done with it.

 

 

You can also shape them into long kebabs and keep skewers to hold them on. Be creative while making the shapes and choosing different methods of frying.

 

 

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the patties over medium to low heat. Fry them till they are nicely golden in color. Flip and cook them on the other side too. Add oil as required.

 

 

You can also deep fry the patties if you want. I generally deep fry them, when the quantity is high. That makes cooking easy and fast unlike standing for longer hours and shallow frying slowly. Go with your choice, while frying them. You can also use air-fryer or grill them if you want to keep it low in calories.

 

 

 

Drain them on a paper towel and transfer them to a serving plate. Drizzle some chaat masala on top and serve it with ketchup or green chutney.

Click here for the recipes for appetizers on my blog!

 

I wanted to eat them in a chaat style, so I added some tamarind chutney, green chutney, and yogurt, sprinkled some chaat masala and chili powder on top along with some sev,  garnished it fresh coriander and onions by the side.

You can also cut these kebabs roughly, and pan fry them with some boondi mixture, onions, tomatoes, green chutney, tamarind chutney, yogurt, chaat masala and a dash of lemon and serve it as a ragda chaat. Like I said before, be creative in making different versions! 😀

I prepared these kebabs in my last visit to India when I invited some foodie friends home. They all enjoyed this new variety of kebabs. The admin of our foodie group had tried these kebabs with white rice (hot) and ghee, and he thoroughly enjoyed eating them that way. Seeing my friends indulging on my dish gave me immense happiness, and I couldn’t wait anymore to share my recipe with y’all! Hope you will also try and give me your feedback 🙂

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