Stuffed Bananas

Ok, so we haven't done sweet in a while and so today I thought we would make something yummy, sweet! Wanted something exotic and not the everyday cookie, so I ended up making these flavoursome, most definitely sweet stuffed bananas.  I admit its not an everyday treat, but on those days when you feel particularly exotic or wanna surprise your guests with a luxuriant dessert, this is the way to go. Very few ingredients required but the product is particularly lovely.

Here are the things you need,

Medium ripe bananas - 3-4
Grated coconut - 1 cup ( I prefer freshly grated coconut to the desiccatied variety because the juices from the freshly grated ones impart such a different flavour to the dish)
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Granulated Sugar - 3 tbsp
Broken Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup
Raisins - a handful
Butter - 2 tbsp
Oil - For frying

Steam the bananas until tender, but not overtly tender and then mash it.

Divide the mashed bananas into fist size balls and keep aside.

Heat the butter and toss in the nuts and raisins and roast them.

Then add the cardamom powder and the coconut and fry it until the coconut loses more than half of its juices.

Turn off the heat and then add the sugar. Combine it well.

Now, take a banana ball and flatten it using your palm, scoop in some of the coconut mixture to the center and seal off the edges.

Then fry it in oil until lightly brown

I've chosen to do a missile like style while shaping the banana balls, though you may chose the style you like.

Fried Prawn Patties

So, this recipe is finger licking good. The good thing about this  is that its versatile. So, while I've used prawns here, the recipe lends itself fabulously to chicken, meat and even vegetarian options. You surely must try it out now. No excuses!

Here are the things you need,

For the patties:

Rice flour - 1 cup

Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Water - 1 1/2 cups

Salt - 1 tsp

For the filling:

Cooked prawns - 250 grams

Onion - 1 (Finely diced)

Garlic - 3-4 cloves (Finely diced)

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil  for deep frying

In a blender, mix together the grated coconut and fennel seeds thoroughly.

Bring the water to boil in a large bowl.

As it boils, add in the rice flour, the coconut-fennel mix, salt and mix well.

Remove from heat and knead the mix into a soft dough.

Make fist sized balls of dough and keep aside.

Heat a little oil in a pan and add the diced onion and garlic and allow it to saute.

Then add the salt, turmeric and chilly powder to it till the raw smell of the spices disappear.

Now, quickly add the prawns to the pan and mix well.

Since the prawn is already cooked, we only need to keep the pan on heat until all the spices and prawns are well mixed.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed dish. The oil must be really hot so that when we fry the patties, it does not soak up excess oil.

While the oil is heating up, spread a little oil in you hands and flatten out the dough balls into approximately a pancake size using your hands. 

Scoop a little of the prawn mix into the center of the dough and bring the edges of the dough together. Seal the edges well by pressing on it hard, so that no oil gets inside the patty as we fry it.

Now, drop the patty into the oil and fry it until it turns nice and golden brown.

Serve.

While, I've chosen to do a half moon kinda shape for the patty, you could mold them into balls, squares or basically any shape that you fancy. The key here however is that no matter what shape you choose, remember to seal the edges cause otherwise oil will enter the filling and your patties will become soggy.

Stuffed Bun

 Here is another easy snack. A svaoury snack this time. Easy and quick to make, though there is not much baking involved unless you decide to bake the bun yourself, in which case, the recipe turn not so easy. :)

Things you need:

Buns
Onions - 1 (Finely diced)
Garlic - A whole head (Finely diced)
Ginger - a small piece
Chopped Beef - 500 grams
Salt- to taste
Egg - 1 (to coat the buns)
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Place the beef in pan and add salt, chillie powder and turmeric powder and leave it on fire until well cooked. Alternately, you could use a pressure cooker and cook the beef until tender.
Once cooked, place the beef in food processer and finely mince it.
Now heat a pan and saute the onions in butter/oil until they turn translucent.
Then add the diced ginger and garlic and saute them till they turn brown
Now, add the minced beef to the pan and gently fry it.
You can also add a bit of cilantro or celery to give it some extra flavour. .
Keep Aside until to cools down slightly.
Now slit the buns 3/4ths way to enable stuffing the beef.
Pack the buns tightly with the fried beef mince and press the buns between both your palms to keep it firm.
Then brush the buns with a whisked egg.
You can now either fry the buns lightly in oil or can place in on a baking tray and bake for roughly 10 minutes at 150 degree Celsius.

The advantage here is that the stuffed bun (before the baking/frying stage) can be made and stored for a few days. Its a great snack and its very filling too.

I know. the pic doesn't look it but trust me, those buns were delicious!!