Dec 13, 2010

Unnakkaya / Kayada (Banana sweet pocket fritters)





              Bananas have always been part of the culinary culture in Kerala.. especially in Malabar. Houses with out a couple of plantain trees were rare in the gone decades and hence there are many out standing Malabar recipes made with ripe as well as raw plantains.. The ripe plantain which is quite different from the various kinds of bananas seen world wide, is used both cooked and uncooked in preparations.. Those who are familiar with Malabar cuisine wouldn't need an introduction to Unnakkaya, the widely popular and delightful delicacy. It has lured a lot of loyal fans to it in the past and still rocks..

              Thinking about banana's nutritional extravaganza, no health nut can ever resist it. More than being a good source of fibres, potassium and vitamin C, it has all the 8 amino acids our body cannot produce itself.. Musing about the yum yum dish, I think I would rather have these amino acids every day even it be in excess ;) I should say my family shares my views.. ditto :)

             The only thing which push me into a dilemma is how to keep the banana adequately ripe for the dish. The recipe needs medium ripe bananas, that is.. with the skin just yellow and a little brown with no traces of green. It should not be over brown or over ripe too. If it is, you are sure to have a cooking disaster. If the banana is adequately ripe for the recipe, it would work like butter.




            When I got bananas with the 'so said' qualifications from the market last day, I had to give it a try immediately or it would go naughty right under my noses... Good thing that US Masala is hosting the Veggie/ Fruit a month event with banana , this time, earlier conducted by Priya.  I think I am luckily on time. So this Malabar delight goes off to the Veggie/Fruit a month event.

                                                      

Things you need:

     Makes 10 Unnakkayas..

3 medium ripe plantains
1     egg
25 g of cashew nuts, sliced into small pieces
25 g of raisins
2 tbsp of grated coconut
4 tbsp of sugar
4 tbsp of pure ghee/clarified butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp of cardamom powder
1 cup of vegetable oil



Method:

    Cook the ripe plantains with a little water or by steaming. Drain it properly.  Peel, seed and mash it with a pestle or potato masher until a smooth pulp is formed . Kneed it with hands until dough like with no lumps and keep it aside. Heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and raisins until brown.Add the coconut and 1 tbsp of sugar to it and saute in medium heat until the coconut becomes crisp. Remove from heat and keep aside. Beat the egg with the rest of sugar. In another pan heat coconut oil and scramble the eggs in it. Add cardamom powder to it and mix with the cashew raisin filling. Now oil your palm lightly and take a small portion of banana dough, about the size of a lemon and flatten it on your palm. Put a teaspoon of the filling on the middle of it and roll the dough into the shape of unnakkaya as shown in the picture. Smooth it out. Now heat a kadai with vegetable oil and deep fry the Unnakkayas until it turns brown. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve hot or cold.


                                                                                                 

36 comments:

  1. Looks absolutely delicious and superb clicks,drooling.

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  2. mmm...mmmm I can actually feel them melt in my mouth,love the use of all the ingredients,excellent pictures,I can actually tell the wonderful results you have achieved by looking at the inside of that crispy outside:)

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  3. Lovely unnakai my favorite....wish I could grab some.

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  4. OMG! I want this now, very very tempting.

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  5. This looks amazingly good. I got to learn something new today, will definitely give it a try...
    Thanks a lot for sending this awesome dish to my event:)

    US Masala

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  6. Wow amazing...have tried it only once but my bannas were very ripe so sticky...urs have come out so nice

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  7. looks so good, especially luv the sweet and nutty flavors of the filling.

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  8. Delicious! I would love to make this without the raisins.

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  9. Woww wat an authentic dish, looks super tempting..

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  10. Aww!! here's yet another young blogger who posts yummilicious malabar food!! :)..
    I have tried Unnakaya made by one of mom's friends and it tasted great!!!..we love anything with bananas, right?

    You already have a fantastic space with a good collection of recipes, esp the traditional malabar picks!
    Rock on , Girl! :)..Thanks a bunch for following me, dear :)

    Hugs!
    Happy blogging
    Bharathy

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  11. Looks so yummy. Never seen banana used as the upper dough. Fantastic..

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  12. Been seeing lot of banana recipes lately... This looks so yummy! Never seen this before but its a must try!

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  13. Looks superb and the recipe is also new to me .Do drop by my space when u find time

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  14. Love the stuffing and these are so yummy! Thanks for the step by step method dear..

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  15. Thanks for your visit to my blog!!....I like your recipes very much!!....I will follow you to know other delicious recipes....Abrazotes, Marcela

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  16. I am drooling too mush to read the entire recipe. I will read it when I am not so hungry at least block the images when I am reading! the y are absolutely fabulous!!

    Could you tell me how you put your blogs name and dish name on the pictures. I cannot and all the help in in Picassa is greak and Latin to me!
    Thanks

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  17. How tasty fritters! I've never tried something like that, but looks really really yummy!

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  18. nice clicks...mouthwatering recipe..

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  19. Very interesting and yummy recipe..never tasted these fritters..looks awesome.

    Also thanks for stopping by my blog, following you back.

    Aaha Oho

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  20. Looks really delicious and temptin:) Beatuiful clicks too.

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  21. thanks everybody...
    @Aipi, you r most welcome..
    @Biny, better luck next time..
    @Melissa, do try it and see hw it turns out
    @Bharathy, yes, that's right
    @Padhu, sure!
    @Archana, you could easily write the name on picture by opening the picture in 'paint' and selecting the 'text'option in the tool bar. Then you can type the name where you like it.

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  22. That looks wonderful with coconut filling .I make banana fritters too but mine are totally different from yours..hope to post some day and share!

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  23. Hi dear..there is something waiting for you in my blog..please do stop by :)

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  24. thank you :)
    delicious different from how we make it I love the filling

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  25. thank you :)
    delicious snack filling with coconut sounds fabulous

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  26. Wow! I super like this recipe & it is explained & clicked quite well.
    thanks for dropping by at www.relishdelish.blogspot.com :)

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  27. Wow, those are beautiful! yummy!

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  28. omg...Very very tempting...I want this..Sorry dear,Now only i saw ur post and am totally in love with this one for sure..awesome

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  29. This looks good! This would make a great tea-time snack and would be great as an after-school snack. Thanks for sharing this lovely treat!

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  30. Wowo I have never had anything like this and how i wish i could grab one and taste them, they look absloutley delicous.

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  31. wow. these banana fritters are looking very delicious. Pictures are very nice. Bookmarked :)

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  32. Never heard of those but they are amazing..

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