Banana Appalu/Aratipandu Appalu

Banana Appalu / Aratipandu Appalu

I always stock up on fruits in my house. They are very healthy snacks and I usually rely on them for a snack break for my kids or an evening snack for myself. The must-have fruits in my kitchen are bananas and apples, apart from the seasonal fruits. Bananas 🍌have a short shelf life due to which they tend to become dark black on the outer skin and very soft in the inside. No one dares to touch those kind of bananas in my family including me. But then, I cannot

throw the bananas owing to their high price. Hence I try to come up with innovative ways to use up these overripe bananas. One such idea was whole wheat banana chocolate cake. I also prepare banana pista cake, banana kheer with the overripe bananas. I will post these recipes soon.

Today`s recipe is banana appalu. Appalu is a delicacy of Andhra cuisine which is served as Naivedhyam to God on various religious festivals. Banana Appalu is served especially on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanthi.

As the festive season is ahead, I wanted to try out these banana appalu which is healthy and very tasty too. The actual recipe calls for rice flour and the process is quite tedious and a bit difficult. Hence, I am posting a recipe with wheat flour and jaggery which is very easy to prepare. This is a no-fail recipe and can be tried  on any occasion. You can also view my other festive recipes :

Lemon Rice
Paneer Kheer
Mango Rice
Daddhojanam
Kalakand
Sweet Kova
Spongy Rasgullas

Poornam Boorelu

I also consider these banana appalu as healthy because they are made with whole wheat flour. Again, the actual recipe suggests it to deep fry these appalu in oil. But I shallow fried these banana appalu in ghee which made them all the more tasty. The addition of cinnamon powder enhances the flavour of these banana appalu. My daughter simply loved them and this is a recipe to keep. This is another best way to use up the over-ripe bananas after choco banana cake.

Preparation

Take the over ripe bananas and mash them well such that there are no lumps. You can take the help of a blender if you wish. I mashed them with my hand as they were very soft.

Add cardamom powder and cinnamon powder to this mashed banana pulp. Mix well.

Now add grated coconut, grated jaggery and wheat flour.

Add ghee and bring everything together as a dough. Do not add any water. The moisture present in the jaggery itself will help to bind the dough.

Now divide the dough into equal portions. Make into patties and shape them. Keep aside.

Now take a pan and add ghee to it.

Allow to get it hot. It should not be fuming hot. If you drop a small piece of the dough, it should start bubbling. At this temperature, place these patties carefully in the ghee. Allow them to cook for a while.Do not over-crowd the pan with the patties. Let there be space between each of them so that it will be easy for you while flipping to the other side.  

Flip them to the other side. Cook them on both sides until well fried. Once they become brown, remove and transfer onto a tissue paper to remove excess ghee.

The whole cooking process is done on low to medium flame and not high flame. Serve as Naivedhyam to God and enjoy with your family and friends. These banana applau stay good for upto 2 days without refrigeration in not-so-hot climates.  The texture of these banana appalu is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.

Ingredients 

Bananas 2 ( small )

Wheat flour 1 cup

Grated Jaggery 1 cup

Grated coconut 1/4 cup

Ghee 1 tbsp.

Cinnamon powder 1/8 tsp ( OR 2 pinches )

Cardamom Powder 1/4 tsp ( OR powder of 3 pods )

Ghee / Oil for shallow frying

Method  

Peel the skin of the bananas and mash them such that there are no lumps.

Add cinnamon powder and cardamom powder and mix well.

Add wheat flour, grated jaggery and grated coconut.

Add a tablespoon of ghee and mix well.

Bring everything together to form a dough.

Divide into equal portions and shape them as patties. Keep aside.

Heat oil / ghee in a pan.

Place these patties in the ghee carefully and cook them on low to medium heat.

Flip to the other side and cook.

Remove onto a tissue paper or a paper towel to remove excess ghee.

Offer as Prasadam to God and enjoy with your family and friends.

These banana appalu stay good for upto 2 days without refrigeration.

Notes

Addition of cinnamon powder is optional. But it will give a great flavour to the bananas. Cinnamon powder always goes well with bananas.

You can also deep fry these banana appalu in oil / ghee.

The actual recipe called for dry coconut. But I used fresh grated coconut and the recipe was perfect for me.

The texture of the banana appalu is similar to that of a cookie which is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.