Going Bananas as eateries dole out exciting, lip-smacking recipes

To go bananas requires a special affection for this fruit and herb. For those who want an excuse to indulge in them, here's one - September 21, is marked as International Banana Festival day, giving you a reason to OD on bananas. We also tell you where to go in the city to relish banana desserts and how to prepare one at home. Also, read on for more fun facts.

Banoffee pie at Mocambo Cafe, Fort

In the words of a popular character from the sitcom Friends, "What's not to like about this dish." Fresh banana slices, whipped cream and toffee come together to give you one of the most indulgent English dessert pies you can find in the city. While we love the one served at Mocambo Cafe, it has a close competitor in the one served at Cafe Churchill in Colaba.

COST: Rs 150

Toffee Banana with vanilla ice cream at Royal China, Fort

Even if you are not a banana lover, we recommend you head here just for the Toffee Banana, The hard sticky toffee coats the bananas inside and gives way as you spoon it, paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it's the perfect ending to a royal meal.

Cost: Rs 375

Banana and caramel pie at Indigo, Lower Parel

Craving a boozy, decadent treat? Then the banana and caramel pie is your best bet. The triple layer cake comes with a topping of chopped bananas in a caramel and brandy sauce with a generous layer of cream sandwiched in the middle and rum-soaked chocolate mousse at the base.

Cost: Rs 365

Walnut and hazelnut tart with rum and coke ice cream and toffee Banana
This one is quite a mouthful, and is a great option for those who are not too fond of bananas but don't mind a bit of it. The dessert is served with a slice of caramalised banana which adds a tad of sweetness and perfectly compliments this nutty treat.

Cost: Rs 390

Banana and me
Ranveer Brar, Senior Executive Chef Novotel Mumbai shares a recipe you can try at home. He says, "Two places have taught me a lot about banana and plantains are Kerala and Guatamala. Kerala from my travels and Guatemala from Carlos, my dishwasher in the US. The amount of sweets and snacks that are made with banana in Kerala are overwhelming. My favorites are sweet banana halwa , Ethaka Appam and Pazham Podhi. My most memorable pazam podi was made by a friends mom stuffed with jaggery and coconut. Latin Americans in general and Guatemalans in particular use banana peel a lot. I remember Carlos used to clean his teeth with banana peel and salt. He would also use the peel on burns. And at time he would scrape the white of the peel and dry it in the oven with sugar till crumbly for an amazing taste. My fave banana trick is - If a recipe asks for a ripe banana, pop some in the freezer for a couple of hours, defrost and use for the same texture and consistency."

Kerala-style plantain and coconut cake

INGREDIENTS

75 ml coconut milk

105 gms icing sugar

100 gms ripe bananas

105 gms refined flour

2.5 gms baking powder

2.5 gms baking soda

75 ml oil

5 gms cardamom powder

For garnishing

100 gms chopped pistachio

100 gms white chocolate ganache

Method
Blend all the ingredients together in a processor. Divide the mixture into the prepared molds. Bake it at 160 C for 20 – 25 minutes. Garnish with chopped pistachio and ganache.

PS If you want to prepare the ganache at home, you need 50 gms fresh cream and 150 gms melted white chocolate. Boil the cream and pour it over the melted white chocolate.

Did you know?

Fruit and herb Banana has the rare distinction of being a fruit and a herb. It's a fruit because it develops from the ovaries of flowers, and has seeds. However, it's also a herb because like all herbs it's a plant whose stem does not contain any woody tissue. Hence, banana is both a fruit and a herb.

Difference between bananas And Plantains

Banana are generally consumed raw, while plantains are usually cooked and then consumed because they tend to be more starchy. Although plantains and bananas look alike, plantains are generally longer than bananas, and have a much thicker skin. You can consume raw bananas, use them to make chips or prepare desserts with them.

Healthy snack Bananas are a fave with athletes because they are a good source of potassium and are also rich in vitamin B6, vitamin C and fiber. They are generally grown in tropical countries and shipped all over the world.

Decadent dessert: Head to Mahim, to get your hands on Moira bananas. They are typically long, fat and yellow and red in appearance and very sweet. The best way to prepare them is to fry them when they are overripe, Slice and fry in home-made ghee.