Nenthra Pazham Nirachathu (Sweet Stuffed Kerala Bananas)

Name: Nenthra Pazham Nirachathu (Sweet Stuffed Kerala Bananas)
Total time: 720 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 3 Ripe Nenthra Pazhams; 1/2 cup Fresh grated coconut; 1/2 cup Jaggery; 1 tbsp Almond powder; 1 tbsp Cashewnut powder; 1 tbsp Pistachio powder; 1 tsp Cardamom powder; 1/4 tsp Salt; 2 tbsp Homemade ghee

Pooja M. Pandit @pan_poo_

#shivratri
NENTHRA PAZHAM is a specific type of Kerala banana. Nenthra is the name of this variety and pazham means banana. This banana has a different flavour from the regular ones and it is equally delicious. I was lucky to get this from a shop selling only Keralite products. I bought them completely raw. They took exactly nine days to ripen.
In Kerala, Pazham Pori, a famous dish is made from the Nenthra bananas. It is basically a banana fritter. Here I have made Nenthra Pazham Nirachathu which is basically a banana fritter with a delicious sweet stuffing made using coconuts. Generally a all purpose flour slurry is used to coat the stuffed Nenthra Pazhams and then they are shallow fried in pure ghee. I have avoided using the slurry and to make it more nutritious I have added some dry fruits.
I have this memory from my childhood where my mom would make this with the regular green bananas. Hence, I thought of making the same using these special Kerala bananas.

Pooja M. Pandit @pan_poo_

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Ingredients

10-12 min

4 servings

3Ripe Nenthra Pazhams
1/2 cupFresh grated coconut
1/2 cupJaggery
1 tbspAlmond powder
1 tbspCashewnut powder
1 tbspPistachio powder
1 tspCardamom powder
1/4 tspSalt
2 tbspHomemade ghee

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Steps

10-12 min

1

To make the Nenthra pazham nirachathu, first we need to prepare it’s stuffing. In a heavy bottomed pan heat together the grated coconut and jaggery, stirring till the jaggery melts. Add the cardamom powder and dry fruits powder and mix well. Set aside until use.
2

Peel the bananas and cut into three equal pieces. Here you can avoid cutting the banana and use it as it is. Make a vertical slit in each piece or the whole banana, leaving about a centimetre at the end.
3

Stuff about one to two teaspoons of the prepared mixture into each and set aside.
4

For cooking the pazham, heat a pan and add ghee to it.
5

Add the stuffed bananas to the pan and shallow fry on low flame. Cover and cook on one side, then remove lid and flip the banana to cook the other side as well.
6

Here you can opt to coat the bananas in an all purpose flour slurry and then cook if it is not prepared for fasting but is prepared as a snack.
7

Serve hot as a dessert or just add a dollop of Vanilla Ice-cream by the side for that extra flavour.
8

For fasting, serve these Nenthra Pazham Nirachathu along with some delicious and crispy Sabudana Wadas! Check out this delicious recipe: Sabudana Wada https://cookpad.wasmer.app/in/recipes/7472492-sabudana-wada?via=androidsharesheet&shared_at=1551762183

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Pooja M. Pandit @pan_poo_

on March 05, 2019 05:04

I am a home cook, and I like to cook traditional as well as fusion food. Learnt to cook by trial and error and lots of experiments, reading cook books and watching cooking shows whether Indian or from abroad! I like to be perfect in my work, and the same applies to cooking as well! I have a blog on WordPress.com https://tastyrecipesfrompooja.wordpress.com/ where I share the recipes of my home cooked food!