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.