“Harve Keleche Chakko (Raw Banana Semi Dry Curry)” … chakko is a delicious aromatic dish from Konkani Saraswat Cuisine by and large prepared with kadgi (raw Jackfruit) … though I have always prepared it with bhendi when kadgi is not in season … this time I gave another twist and tried out with raw bananas and they turned out totally fantastic … you can serve it with dalitoy- rice, though I preferred to relish it with chapati/ roti … Yummilicious …
** Kadgi Chakko is something I am sure every amchi/ GSB Konkani Saraswat has relished and we all love it very much. Traditionally this semi dry curry is prepared with Kadgi/ Raw Jackfruit when in season that is somewhere between the month of February to May and is a common dish both during festive times, at home and at functions too. I have often prepared this dish with bhenda (bhendi/ lady’s finger/ okra) when jackfruit is not in season and that tastes lovely too especially when served with roti/ chapati/ parathas.
** I always love trying out our own traditional dishes in varieties by adding on either different veggies or pulses and most of the times they have turned out delicious. Harve Kele ie Raw Bananas are used extensively in southern parts of India and we prepare many types of dishes with them like koddel, bhaji, podi etc. but chakko is unheard of using the same. I had purchased lots of these raw banans intending to try out some new dishes but my heart is always set in amchi curries, so thought why not try our own chakko.
** When I tried out this delicious chakko using raw bananas for a change, trust me I was not at all worried, coz. I could visualize a lovely outcome of the same and it did to my pleasure. I just washed and cut the raw bananas into 3 pieces skin intact and pressure cooked them after which on cooling I peeled off the outer skin, mashed it roughly and cooked it in the ground and kept chakko masala after which I seasoned it. Very tasty indeed when relished with chapati though you can serve it as side dish with rice and dal/ saar too.
** Here is my recipe for “Harve Keleche Chakko (Raw Banana Semi Dry Curry)” … My Style …
** Wash and cut of the edges of three medium sized Harve Kele (Kacha Kela/ Raw Banana/ Raw Plantain). Cut the bananas horizontally into 2 pieces retaining the skin intact. Now put it in a pressure cooker pan with enough water say to the level of the height of the banana pieces and pressure cook on medium heat to two whistles.
** Let the pressure in the cooker fall on its own after which open the lid and remove the bananas onto a plate and let it cook a little bit. Peel off the skin gently and then put the cooked banana into a thick bottomed kadai and mash it roughly either with the back or spoon or fork. Do not mash it smooth, but see to it that they are about pieces of ½ inches.
** For the Masala to be Ground : Heat a small pan with 1 tblsp of oil (tel/ tela), when hot add 1 tblsp of urad dal (black gram dal) and fry till slight colour changes, now add 2 tsp of coriander seeds (dhani/ kothambari) and fry both till light brown, here you can add ¼ tsp of methi seeds (fenugreek) if desired, though it is optional. Lastly add in 7-8 Kashmiri red chillies (Byadgi Mirchi/ Kumte mirsanga) and fry for few minutes.
** Remove cool a bit and add the fried ingredients into mixer grinder along with 1 cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal/ tengina kayi) along with a small marble sized piece of tamarind (Imly/ chinchama). Grind all to a smooth paste with as much water as necessary only. The masala need not been ground to a very fine paste, but the consistency should remain thick textured, so use water sparingly while grinding.
** Note : You can add in ambado/ hogplums to this curry which are in season now while cooking, in which case do not add tamarind while grinding the masala. The tart taste of the ambado imparted is enough for the curry. I did not add as they were not available to me here now in Mumbai due to the pandemic situation.
** To prepare the Chakko : Add the ground masala to the coarsely mashed cooked banana in the kadai and mix well. Add little bit of water and salt to taste (namak/ meeta) and let cook on low heat mixing often to prevent it getting burnt at the bottomed. If you find that, the curry is too thick you can add in some water as the dish gets thickened on resting time too. Once the curry is thoroughly cooked, you will see bubbles appearing on surface of the curry. Now go ahead and prepare the seasoning to be added to the curry.
** For Tempering/ Seasining/ Pannaka : Heat 1 tsp coconut oil (narlel tela/ nariyal tel) or any oil, in a small pan, when hot add 1 tsp of sasam (rai/ mustard seeds), when they begin to splutter add 8-10 curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and fry a bit for a few seconds. Pour this immediately on the cooking chakko, mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes and the harve kele chakko/ raw banana curry is done.
** Remove from fire, cover and keep it aside for about 10-15 minutes for the seasoned flavor to seep into the curry. This curry usually dries up and thickens on resting as urad dal is added while grinding. In case you find that the curry has thickened and dried out a lot then add in little by little hot boiling water to the curry and keep mixing to get the desired consistency.
** “Harve Keleche Chakko (Raw Banana Semi Dry Curry)” is done and ready to be served as side dish with any dish of your choice. Traditionally for raw jackfruit chakko is served topped with a teaspoon of coconut oil over it which is optional nevertheless tasty. Tastes best served with chapatti/ roti/ parathas or as side dish with our own amchi Dalitoy (spiced tuvar dal)/ tomato saaru (saar) along with sheetHa (rice).
** Definitely a wonderful dish with raw bananas that you should try in your own home and relish with your family and friends. We south Indians consume a lot of raw banans in variety of dishes it is very healthy veggie and has been used in Konkani Saraswat cooking for generations now. If they are available in your vicinity do give it a try, you will like it for sure. I am also enclosing the original raw jackfruit chakko link below.
** Sharing a common link to all “Chakko” recipes included in the Blog. Also sharing link to traditional chakko prepared with raw jackfruit, do browse through the same, they include step by step pictures of pressure cooking methods etc.....
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