Raw Banana in Mustard Sauce/ Kadugu Vazhaikai/Avapindi Aaratikaya

I used to enjoy this dish whenever my grand mother made it. My mom never used to cook this. Though I've not eaten it many times in my life, the excellent taste of it always lingers in my mouth, bringing the memory of my Grand Mother to whom this blog is dedicated. You can read about her here.

I made this dish today solely to participate in two blog events, Think Spice - Mustard and JFI - Banana. One shot, I mean one dish to hit both.. Honestly I have been so busy that this is a last moment entry. I did'nt even have time to click some good pictures. Please bear with me for these poor pictures. I've never taken so bad ones. Hope to replace them when I cook this another time. Today, finished work and reached home not to rest for a moment. I had to cook so many dishes, cause we were expecting our God Parents and their family for dinner. It was our God mother's B'day. This is the b'day Swiss Chocolate Cheese Cake.




With all this mad rush, still I manage to cook this dish.



Though I guessed the recipe of this dish just to confirm it I made a qiuck long distance phone call to my other Grand Mother(my Father's mother) and got the right recipe.



Before we go into the making of this nutritional side dish, lets see the benefits of the two main ingredients used - Mustard & Banana

Mustard:


Mustard is a member of the Brassica family of plants which bears tiny round edible seeds as well as tasty leaves. Its English name, mustard, is derived from a contraction of the Latin mustum ardens meaning burning wine. This is a reference to the spicy heat of the crushed mustard seeds and the French practice of mixing the ground seeds with must, the young, unfermented juice of wine grapes.

At first, mustard was considered a medicinal plant rather than a culinary one. In the sixth century B.C., Greek scientist Pythagoras used mustard as a remedy for scorpion stings. One hundred years later, Hippocrates used mustard in a variety of medicines and poultices. Mustard plasters were applied to "cure" toothaches and a number of other ailments.

Prepared mustard dates back thousands of years to the early Romans, who used to grind mustard seeds and mix them with wine into a paste not much different from the prepared mustards we know today.

The mustard seed is a prominent reference for those of the Christian faith, exemplifying something which is small and insignificant, which when planted, grows in strength and power.

Pope John XXII was so fond of mustard that he created a new Vatican position - grand moutardier du pape (mustard-maker to the pope) - and promptly filled the post with his nephew.

In 1866, Jeremiah Colman, founder of Colman's Mustard of England, was appointed as mustard-maker to Queen Victoria. Colman perfected the technique of grinding mustard seeds into a fine powder without creating the heat which brings out the oil. The oil must not be exposed or the flavor will evaporate with the oil.

We all know that losers and quitters can't cut the mustard (live up to the challenge). And perhaps the reason ballpark mustard is so popular is because pitchers apply mustard to their fastballs to get those strike-outs. The disabling and even lethal chemical weapon known as mustard gas is a synthetic copy based on the volatile nature of mustard oils.

Now Banana:

The Good
This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6.

The Bad
A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.
This food contains carbohydrates, which may increase blood sugar levels.

A short story:
Banana-plants can grow up to 15 m. but most plants vary from 3 to 9 m. and have very big leafs that can grow to 4 x 1 m.
Wild forms of the banana plant come originally from the Indo-Malaysian area and are now cultivated all over the tropical and sub-tropical continents.

Bananas are delicious eaten with one's fingers after peeling off the skin. Depending on the type of banana unripe bananas are also cooked, fried or deep-fried a lot. Bananas are the basic food in many tropical countries.

Types
At this moment there are five different types of bananas common on the market:

Red bananas: have a green/red peel and pink fruit flesh. They taste the same like yellow bananas. The redder a fruit, the more carotene it contains, so maybe they are healthier than their yellow colleagues;
Fruit-bananas: are the normal, yellow bananas, 15-30 cm.
Apple-bananas: are smaller, 8-10 cm., and ripen faster. They are also yellow;
The baby-banana (pisang susa): is yellow as well and measures 6-8 cm. It is the sweetest of the banana family;
Baking bananas: are 30 to 40 cm. large and are green, yellow or red-like. They cannot be eaten raw. They fulfill the role of the potato in the tropical countries.

Peculiar characteristics
Is the most well known and eaten (tropical) fruit;
In Eastern Africa you can buy banana beer. This beer is brewed from bananas;
Tropical fruit is usually picked unripe and has to ripen in the land of arrival. To make this process go faster bananas are treated with ethylene-gas. Normal bananas also ripen through ethylene -gas but exposing it to additional gas accelerates the process;
Is the (only) fruit that for some people can work fatting because they contain a lot of starch (more starch than sugar). Those people shouldn't eat too many bananas a day;
Eat at least one banana a day, they are said to contain everything a human needs and they contain all the 8 amino-acids our body cannot produce itself. For more see the energy in fruit.
Bananas are a good source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C;
Red bananas are often dried and converted to meal which is used in many ways;
Red bananas contain more vitamin C as yellow bananas (the redder a fruit, the more nutritious elements it contains);

Calories:
A small sized (peeled) banana contains about 80 calories.
A medium sized banana contains about 100 calories
And a large banana contains about 115 calories.
An entire pound of peeled bananas contains about 260 calories.

Diet Tip: Slice a banana into tiny slices and spray with a bit of lemon to prevent browning. Place on a sheet of waxed paper OR a freezer-proof dish and pop into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Be sure that your banana slices are flat on the plate and not all staked on top of one another so that they will freeze well. Remove and dip into Splenda for a darling diet treat that contains very few calories.
A small sized red plantain banana contains about 115 calories.

Although plantains look similar to bananas, you should cook before use. They may be baked, sauteed, steamed, boiled, roasted or broiled. Choose black skins for sweetest fruit.

Diet Tip: Slice plantain into strips. 'Fry' in non-stick cooking spray (butter flavored works best). You'll never miss your french fries!

Many individuals feel that bananas are one of the high calorie fruits that should be avoided while dieting. However, bananas will stick with you and help satisfy a sweet tooth. As for the calories in bananas, an 80 calorie banana looks a lot more attractive to a dieter than that slice of banana cream pie.

Nutritional Benefits - Bananas & Plantains are Good Sources of: Fiber,Low Sodium Low Fat,Potassium

For other information about bananas check out the site of Turbana corporation.

With so much info lets get into the recipe of this dish.


Ingredients:

To boil :
Raw Banana - 2 ( Skin peeled and cut into small cubes)
Tamarind -Small Lemon size, soaked in water and juice sqeezed
Tumeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

To make paste:
oil - 2 tsp
Mustard - 2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp

For Tamlinpu/Tadka/Tempering:

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dhall - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 3 - 4
Curry leaves - Two reems
Hing/ Asafoetida - a pinch

For Garnish :
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Procedure:

In a deep sauce pan combine all the ingredients to boil and cook till the raw banana is almost cooked.
Mean while make a fine paste with the mustard and other ingredients mentioned with enough water.
Add this paste to the cooked raw banana. mix well and cook for another 3 - 5 minutes.
In a kadai, heat oil and add mustard seeds.
After they splutter, add all the ohter ingredients and fry well.
Now add the cooked banana curry to the tadka and mix well for 2-3 minutes till the thick gravy sets.
Add half of the corainder leaves and give it one last mix.
Remoave from heat and garnish with remaining Coriander leaves and lemon peices.

Serve with hot rice, with a hint of ghee or rice with sambar.



This is my entry for Think Spice - Mustard, hosted by sunita's World



also this goes to JFI - Banana , hosted by Ahaar



The sauce made with Tamarind juice and Mustard paste really lifts up the taste of this dish. If you don't mind the sour taste and flavour of the mustard you can go generous on them and enjoy every bit of this dish.