Green Banana Curry - 4 No Onions & Tomatoes (Reeta's)
Kachche Kele Ki, Bina Pyaz-Tamatar Ki Sabji
Reeta Kumar
Not from Mamta: This recipe comes from my late, little sister Dr. Reeta Kumar, who was a doctor and Phd. of Mathematics, a subject I was really bad at! She often cooked curries without onions. Every curry sauce does not have to take the onion-ginger-garlic-tomato route. In India, many, many everyday curries are made without them.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
2-3, approximately 250 gm. green bananas (not plantain)
2-4 tbsp. full of natural yoghurt or dahi , lightly beaten to make it smooth
1 tbsp. cooking oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
A pinch of hing or asafoetida powder (omit if you don't have it)
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated, roughly 1 tsp. (optional)
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp. chilli powder, adjust to taste
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
A handful of chopped coriander leaves for garnish.
Instructions
Measure out/prepare all ingredients.
Wash and peel bananas. You can take the skin off the bananas in whole strips. Keep the skins in a bowl of water to stop discolouration.Skins can be sliced like beans and made into a separate vegetable dish by themselves; Green Banana Skin Bhaji/Sabji
Slice the peeled bananas into 2-3 cm chunks. .Keep the slices in a bowl of water until you are ready to cook. Otherwise they will discolour.
Place in a microwave suitable container with a couple of tablespoons of water. Steam on full power for 3 minutes. If still too firm, steam for a few more minutes. Take out and allow to cool on a plate. Otherwise they will continue cooking and will get too soft.
Heat oil in a pan.
Add cumin seeds. As soon as seeds crackle, turn heat down and add turmeric, ginger-if used, coriander powder, salt and chilli powder.
Beat yoghurt lightly with a fork and add to the spices. Stir fry for a minute or two. You will see a little oil shinning at the edges.
Add sliced bananas, stir for a minute to0 coat the bananas with it.
Add water according to how thin/thick sauce you want. Turn heat up.
Bring it to boil it boil and simmer briskly for 5-6 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and garam masala over it and close the lid.
Serve hot with Chapatties/Plain Paratha.
