Nendrabale Kele (Banana)~Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls) Payasam.

“Nendrabale Kele~Sabudana Godshe / Ripe Banana~Tapioca Pearls Payasam” … a lovely Payasam with the strong aroma of Nendrabale Kele / Bananas prepared during festive times as Naivedyam … Yumz  ..... 

** As all of you are familiar, Nendrabale bananas are large sized cooking bananas found extensively in southern parts of India. These are famous among south Indians and in Konkani Saraswat Cuisine it has a admirable place of its own. Banana halwa prepared out of these are world famous and those available in Mangalore are the best out of all. I have prepared and posted these deep brown colored bananas that are loved by one and all. Next are the chips that are prepared from them when they are raw and are famous again worldwide and are a joy to relish upon. Then comes the bajo / bajias where in they are cut into roundels and deep fried after dipping in besan batter. Again, in many homes they are just steamed and eaten along with other dishes for breakfast. They are many more dishes like addition of the same into curries and payasam too. But all the recipes are inclusive of cooking them. These bananas are not eaten as it is like other bananas as they are supposed to be cooked for easier digestion. 

** My Mom mostly prepared halwas and chips out of these bananas though bajos and fritters too were relished often. But she almost never added them to curries while she frequently steamed them and served them during breakfast with some upma, usli or pova chutney with chane upkari combo. Those days recipes were not so easily accessible as now nor, did they have friends circle or access to modern technology like us. They were so busy attending to household chores that they never found the time to venture out beyond the created boundaries. My Mom did read magazines and followed some recipes that were published there but by and large they relied exclusively on word of mouth from relatives and neighbors. I had a few friends who always were discussing recipes, but those days when in my teenage I was not so much interested in knowing them. But I do vaguely remember eating some payasam from my friends dabba / lunch box that was prepared from nendrabale bananas. 

** Again unlike now, there was no mobile phone or network facility, so once our college days were over all got settled and there was actually no contact between friends, and if there was on initial days, they usually fizzled out in time. After reading a few recipes on blog and thinking and trying to visualize the dish, I came up with this recipe that is almost close to the one I relished decades back. Again, what I had eaten had no sabudana in it, but somehow addition of just only bananas did not appeal much to me so thought of adding on the same. Rest is before you, I guess, I have to give some more tryouts to get that recipe, but this payasam tasted good too. This one is for those who like the aroma of nendrabale banana coz. the dish has strong taste of the same. This time I have added on milk for the dish, but the next time round I would like to make some variations and add on more or other ingredients and give some variations and try the same. Till then enjoy this payasam with your family and friends. 

** Here is the simple recipe for “Nendrabale Kele~Sabudana Godshe / Ripe Banana~Tapioca Pearls Payasam” … My Style which I came about on my own …. 

** Wash one cup of large sized sabudana / tapioca pearls and put them in a bowl with 2 cups of hot water. Cover and keep it aside for an hour or so to get swollen into large size on its own. Add in 2 cups of water and cook on low heat till the sabudana is cooked and has an glossy look. You can also cook it in microwave in a glassware dish for easier method. Remove and keep it aside ready. 

** Peel off the skin one one large or 2 medium sized ripe nendrabale kele / bananaa and cut them roughly into pieces. Mash it well with a fork or put it in mixer grinder and grind to a smooth paste. Remove and keep this ready aside. 

** Heat a thick bottomed kadai with 2 tblsp of ghee, when hot, lower the heat to medium, add in 10-15 cashew nuts and fry till they are evenly light browned. Remove and put it on a plate and then add in handful of raisins into the ghee and fry till they blow like small balloons and are browned. Remove and add them to the fried cashews and keep them ready aside for garnishing. 

** Now add in another tablespoon of ghee to the kadai and add the ground / mashed banana. Now on low heat fry the banana paste. In between add another tablespoon of ghee to the mixture and continue frying for say about 4-5 minutes. Now add in about 200-250 gms of grated jaggery depending upon how sweet you want the payasam to be. Keep mixing till the jaggery has melted and begins to erupts forming bubbles on surface. 

** Note : You should always use clean jaggery without any dust particles in them. If in doubt melt them in little water separately on heat, sieve and then add to the dishes, that way you know you have a safe jaggery. In Mumbai, we get good well formed organic jaggery, that has absolutely no dust or other particles in it, so the sieving job is not necessary. 

** Once the mixture is done, add on the cooked sabudana / tapioca pearls and mix well. Let cook for 3-4 minutes on low heat. Now add 2-3 cups os boiled and slightly cooled full fat milk an mix well. Once again cook till you see bubbles appearing. Check the consistency, if too thick you can add in some more milk and if thinned out cook for another few minutes. It will thicken on cooling, so don’t worry. 

** Remove from fire and add in the fried cashew nuts and raisins. All add in ¼ tsp of cardamom powder and mix well. Now cover and keep the payasam aside for a good hour. This tastes good when slightly cooler than hot, so give it proper resting time. Also the sabudana too will become still larger in size and turn out like transparent pearls with time. 

** “Nendrabale Kele~Sabudana Godshe / Ripe Banana~Tapioca Pearls Payasam” is done and ready to be served. Serve it at room temperature after offering it as Naivedyam to God during festive season and then distribute among family and friends or serve as dessert with other dishes. I prepared this for Vijaya Dashami Festival Thali as Naivedyam and my friends like it. Again I would like to mention here that you have to have a liking for this particular banana as the flavor is very dominant of it. 

** Do try out this recipe and enjoy with your family and friends. And before you try to ask me if you can use any bananas, the answer is NO. You need bananas that can be cooked and that which holds heat and nendrabale bananas are supposed to be always consumed by cooking. I have yet to try with others, as I am skeptical of its outcome and do not wish to do so. You can also check out the various dishes posted before using these bananas using search option. 

** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" where in you will find many more recipes by members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….