Dates - Banana Rasayana

Rasayana is a sweet dish, which is normally prepared using Banana or Mango or both together. It is one of the traditional quick dish, and can be eaten with dosas , neer dosas, idli, poori and chapatis. Some people call this as Shikarane also. There are many ways to prepare this Rasayana.

Normally Dakshina Kannada people (Udupi , Mangalore or Malenaadu ), We take a fresh coconut, grate it and grind it with little water to get its fresh coconut milk, then add jaggery and cardamom, mix it well and serve with holige (Pooran Poli), Kadubu, Neer Dosa, Shavige (Home made Rice Vermicelly) and even it goes well with Uddina Dosa. During the mango season we add ripe mango pulp to fresh coconut milk and prepare Mango Rasayana. We can use ripe banans also instead of mangoes or use both the fruits and make it more delicious. Believe me this is the way how the Traditional Rasayana prepared in our homes.

Now a days  it should be quick, easy and bit of on the healthy side dishes are more famous and good for office goers and the house wives too.This dish can be prepared easily if you have ripe banana and the normal fresh boiled and cooled milk. Eating sugar one has to think twice.

Adding jaggery that is what I prefer but this time used Dates and Honey instead of jaggery. It is still easy, you do not have to think whether the jaggery melted and combined with the Rasayana well. Think of preparing when you have lot of  well ripened bananas. Children and even all age group will love to have this " Dates -Banana Rasayana ", and 100 % healthy and do not have to worry about the sweetness.
Lets see a few benefits of eating Dates in our diet.
Dates are one of the most popular fruits packed with essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are required for normal growth, development and overall well being. Fresh dates are soft, easy, digestible and simple sugar. When eaten they replenish energy and revitalize the body instantly. The fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which prevents LDL, cholesterol absorption in the gut. They contain anti oxidants, anti infective, anti inflammatory. They are moderate sources of vitamin A. Dates are excellent source of iron and potassium. Date fruits are also rich in minerals like calcium, manganese, copper and magnesium.

Here is a recipe of Simple, Easy, Quick and Tasty  "Dates Banana Rasayana"  recipe which will fit into all age group taste and health.

Things Needed :

Bananas : 4 to 6
Dates : 6 to 8
Honey : 2 Table spoons
Cardamom : 3 to 4 pods.
Milk : 1 to 2 Glass  (Boiled and Cooled).

Method 

 1.Remove the skin of cardamom and powder it. Keep it aside
2. Cut dates in to small pieces and keep it aside.
3. Remove the banana skin and cut the fruits into small. Put them in a big bowl.7.

4. Pour 1 table spoon of honey on the top of banana. Put cut dates and add milk.

5. Mix all the ingredients nicely with the help of a big spoon or use hand. Squeeze bananas and dated in hand and let all the mixture mix it nicely.
6. Add cardamom and mix once again and shift  Dates - Banana Rasayana to a serving bowl.

7. Serve with the main dish you have prepared.

 

8. We had " Dates - Banana Rasayana " with Neer Dosa.

 Note : 

You can use more bananas. Use of jaggery or sugar instead of honey and dates also an optional. You can add dry nuts to Rasayana.You can add grated coconut to the  Rasayana mixture. ( It adds to the taste). You can prepare Banana Dates Milk Shake with this mixture. Use boiled and cooled fresh milk.
Time : 10 Minutes.
Serves : 1 to 2.

Banana - Rava Guli Appa

Guli Appa or Gund Pongalu or Paddu is a healthy dish, usually prepared with rice, urid, beaten rice and little methi (Fenugrik seeds). There is a little twist, This Guli appa is prepared with medium size rava, coconut, jaggery, banana, sesame seeds and is a sweet dish.

Rava (semolina) is digested slowly and helps you feel full longer and prevents you from over eating. Semolina improves kidney function. It contains potassium. Semolina is a good source of two vital vitamins like E and B. These vitamins are essential for good immunity from disease. Semolina is a quick and nourshing source of energy. Semolina contain minerals like phosphorus, zinc and magnesium which are beneficial for the health of your bones and nervous system.

Jaggery is a great remedy for anemia, astama, joint pains and menstrual pains. It also aids in digestion, purifies blood and keeps the skin away from problems such as acnes and pimples. It is a great energy booster and provides us lots of energy.

Bananas are one of our best sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. Bananas have antiacid effects that protect against stomach ulcers and ulcer damage. Bananas protects the eyesight, help to build the strong bones. Fresh bananas provide adequate levels of minerals like copper, magnesium and manganese.

Here is a recipe of Banana - Rava Guli appa. Banana guli appa is a sweet dish, and You can have them for breakfast or as snack or even for dinner.
You need a Guli appa pan to prepare Guli appa or prepare Banana dosa with same dough. This is a healthy and easy dish which all age group people will love to have them.

Things Needed :

Rava (Semolina) : 2 Cups (medium sized)
Ripe Bananas : 2
Jaggery : 1/2 Cup
Coconut : 1/2 cup
Sesame Seeds : 2 Table spoons
Oil : 4 to 6 Table spoons.
Salt : to taste (use very little quantiy since jaggery contain salt).

Method :

1. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
2. Grate jaggery or powder it.

3. Roast sesame seeds.

4. Now grind Bananas, coconut, cardamom pods and jaggery together.

5. Take a big bowl. Add rava, Sesame seeds and ground coconut and jaggery mixture.

6.  Mix it well and leave the dough for 5 to 10 minutes.

7. Add 1/2 Tea spoon of Eno salt and mix it well.

8. Keep guli appa pan on the fire. Heat and sprinkle oil to each mould (guli) in the pan.
9. Now take a spoon and put a spoonful of dough in each guli (deep area in the pan).

10. Cover the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
11. Remove the cover and put little oil on each guli appa.
12. Turn guli appa and cook the other side for 10 to 20 seconds.

13. Repeat the same with remaining dough.
14. Serve Guli appa with any side dish you have prepared. Put little ghee on the top before serving.

Note : 

Mix the dough thicker than dosa dough consistency. Prepare Guli appa on medium and low flame. Add jaggery according to your taste.(more or less).

Time : 30 Minutes 
Serves : 3 to 4 

Banana Rasayana

Banana Rasayana or Banana Payasa is very famous dish in Dakshina Kannada. (Southern Part of Karnataka). It is also called as Seehikarane (Sweet dish).

Bananas, coconut milk, jaggery and cardamom is normally used to prepare this Rasayana. A little twist in this recipe is, using honey instead of jaggery and fresh milk instead of coconut milk.

Fresh, delicious bananas are available year around and also it is one of the cheapest fruits. 
Banana fruit is one of the high calorie tropical fruit. It contains good amount of health benefiting anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins. The fruit contain a good amount of soluble dietary fiber that helps normal bowel movements and helps to reduce constipation problems. Fresh bananas provide sufficient level of minerals like copper, magnesium and manganese. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells and Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening. It is also rich in pottasium which helps to control heart rate and blood presure.

Honey is a healthier substiture to sugar. Its a source of energy. Good for digestion and is known to be useful for the skin because of its moisturizing and nourishing properties. The wonderful healing qualities of honey have been known since ancient times. Honey is an excellent first aid remedy as it is has natural antiseptic qualities. Honey helps to reduce cough and throat irritation. It works as Anti-bacterial and anti fungal. Honey reduce ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders. Honey is remedy for burns and cuts.

Banana Rasayana can be used as a desert too. This sweet dish is a side dish, goes very well with Dosas, Neer dosas (Dosa prepared with raw rice and little coconut or without coconut), Chapati or even Poories.

Things needed :

Banana : 4 to 6
Honey : 2 to 3 table spoons
Fresh Milk : 1 Cup
Cardamom : 3 to 4 pods
Fresh Coconut : 1 Table spoon
Cashew Nuts : 2 Table spoons

Method : 

1. Powder the cardamom and keep it aside.

2. Remove the skin of bananas and cut it into small pieces. (According to your wish).

3. Now take a big bowl. Add cut bananas, honey and coconut.

                                 

4. Add milk and cardamom.

5. Mix all the ingredients nicely and shift it to a serving bowl. Top up with cashews.

6. Serve with dosa or chapatis or pooris.

Note :

Do not add water. No need to add ghee or any other oily stuff. You can also add honey according to your wish. (more or less). You can also add dry fruits to this mixture. You can also prepare Banana milk shake with same ingredients. (Do not add coconut if you are preparing Banana milk shake).
Time : 10 minutes.
Serves : 2 to 3 

Recipe for Neer Dosa:

Wash and soak 2 cups of raw rice (dosa rice) for 4 to 5 hours and grind it nicely with very little water till paste. Remove from the jar add 4 to 5 cups of water and salt to the dough and mix it nicely and prepare Neer dosa. (Sprinkle oil before you put dough on the pan). 10 to 12 Dosas can be prepared.

Note : 

Must add sufficient water. Do not spread the dough with the spoon. Put a spoonful of dough and turn the pan little round. Since the dough is watery it spreads like dosa. Cover the lid and cook on medium flame.No need to turn the dosa. Must cover since it gets the white patch other wise.
Time : 20 minutes
Serves : 3 to 4

Raagi - Nendra Bale Halva

Ragi ( Millet ) - Nendra Bale Halva 
Halva is a sweet dish prepared using Raagi/Finger Millet and jaggery. It is one of the healthy sweet that you can enjoy at any time of the day.

Nendra bale/Nendra banana is one of the healthy banana and mostly used in South India especially in South Canara and Kerala. Nendra banana is loaded with healthy properties and in Kerala it is one of the staple food. Even for breakfast they cook and eat this banana. It is full of nutrients.
We normally use this banana for making halva and podis or even just roast it on tava and eat.
Let us see the recipe of Raagi -Nendra Bale Halva. Nendra bale should be well ripen to make halva.

Things Needed : 

Raagi : 2 Cups
Nendra Bale Hannu : 1
Jaggery :  3/4 Cup
Ghee : 1/2 Cup
Coconut : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Cardamom : 5 to 6 pods
Water : 1  cup.

Method :

1. Roast Raagi flour for 2 to 3 minutes and put it in a bowl.
2. Keep jaggery on the fire and put little water and heat. Let it turn into liquid. Now take a stainer and staine jaggery liquid into a bowl.
3. Powder cardamom and keep it aside. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
4. Smash Nendra Bale and put it with raagi flour and add cleaned jaggery. Add grated coconut.
5. Keep a pan on the fire and put the raagi mixture in the pan and start stirring. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee.
6. Stir this mixture util it starts leaving the frying pan. Stir for another 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Now add remaining ghee, cardamom powder and mix it nicely and pour it to the tray.
8. Cut Raagi -Nendra bale halva according to your wish when it is slightly cool.

Note : 

You must stir the mixture continuously so that it does not get burnt. You can add more ghee if you wish. Add water when you are preparing jaggery syrup. Coconut can be  roasted and then added.  You can grind coconut with little water and then add.
Time : 20 minutes.
2 to 25 pieces can be made.

NENDRA BALEHANNU -ALMOND HALVA

Nendra balehannu is a kind of banana which contain lots of carbohydrates and other minerals. Normally Dakshina Kannada people make variety of sweet dishes out of Nendra balehannu. People of Kerala use this banana in their regular diet. They just steam Nendrabale hannu and eat for breakfast. Dakshina Kannada people make halva, bajji, even Tava fry with ghee, and a fry-dip this in sugar syrup like jamoon.the list goes on. Here is a recipe which is sweet.  People love to have this sweet any time of the day I am sure, and its 100% yemmy. Even you can pack some pieces to kids in their lunch box for the munching after their food. It melts in the mouth and goes down to tummy as you enjoy this sweet.
Things Needed: 
Nendra Bale hannu: 3 to 4
Almonds: 1 Cup
Sugar: 1 1/2 Cup
Ghee : 3/4 Cup
Cardamom : 5 to 6
Cashew Nuts: 2 Table spoons.

Method : 
1. Remove the Nendra Balehannu skin and steam the fruit in the pressure cooker for 6 to 8 minutes. Leave it for cooling.
2. Powder the whole almonds in a dry grinder along with cardamom till powder and keep it aside.
3. Now take the steamed banana and smash it nicely.
4. Keep a pan on the fire and add smashed banana, sugar and powdered almonds and mix it nicely and cook on low flame.
5. Add ghee littie by little inbetween while stirring. Stir continuously till the banana and almond mixture starts leaving the pan.
6. Add the remaining ghee and mix it nicely and pour it to the tray. Put Cashew Nuts on the top.
7. You can even cut this halva in to pieces when it is cool.
Note: The whole process should be on the low flame. Do not add any water or milk. You can drain out the extra ghee coming out of the halva slowly just before you shift  the halva to a tray or plate.
Time : 30 minutes
20 to 25 pieces.

Nendra Baale and Wheat Spicy Dosa

Nendra Bale and Wheat Spicy Dosa can be eaten for breakfast or as an evening snack. It is good to have hot Nendra Bale dosa. 

This is one of the quick, easy and healthy way of preparing Nendra Bale Dosa. Traditionally raw rice is soaked in water for at least 2 hours and then ground with little spices and dosa is done as soon as you prepare the dough.
Instead of using rice I have used Wheat flour and a very little quantity of rava/semolina.
Nendra Bale is one variety of banana, we do use this banana for preparing sweet dish and bajjis (Fried fritters). Here I just tried this Nendra bale for Spicy dosa and it has come out yummy.
Remember you should use well ripe Nendra bale to prpeare any of the dish or it turns savoury and you might not like it. We can prepare Halva, Jamoon, sweet fritters and even payasam.
Lets see the recipe Now "

Things Needed :

Nendra Bale : 1
Wheat Flour : 2 cups
Medium size Rava/Semolina  : 2 Table spoons
Jaggery: 2 to 3 Table spoon
Fresh boiled and cooled milk : 1/2 Cup
Spices :
Rasam Powder : 2 Tablespoons
Ingh /Asfoetida : a Picnch
Salt : to taste
Ghee/Oil : 4 Table spoons.
Water: Required water.

Method:

1. Take a big bowl and put wheat flour, rava/semolina, salt, rasam powder, ingh and jaggery.
2. Add 1/2 cup of milk and required water. Prepare dosa dough. Keep it aside.

3. Remove the skin of Nendra bale and cut the fruit into circle shape. (thin).

4. Keep a dosa pan on the fire and heat. Spread little oil on the hot tava.
5. Dip each piece of banana in the spicy wheat batter and arrange them on the tava. (Circle shape).

6. Sprinkle little oil on the top of dosa, cover and cook on low flame. Let it cook nicely.
7. Now turn the other side and cook till they turn golden brown. ( 1 t 1 1/2 minutes).

8. Remove it from the tava and serve hot Nendra bale Wheat spicy dosa with little ghee on the top of hot dosa.

9. Repeat the same with remaining dough and bananas.
10. You can also prepare this dosa with  Yalakki banana. It taste very nicely. Cut them into pieces and dip in the same batter and arrange them on the tava and cook. (Same procedure).

Note :

Do not add more rava. Just 2 Tablespoons of rava will do. Or it turns hard and chewy. Adding more jaggery is optional. Adding grated coconut is optional. I have not added. Cooking banana dosa in ghee is optional. I have used cooking oil. Powder jaggery before adding. It takes longer time to dissolve. Consstency of dough should be like idli dough. It is easy to dip the banana and arrange it on the tava. No need to add any cooking soda or baking powder. You can use sugar instead of jaggery, but using jaggery in our diet is a good aspect. Use of any brand rasam powder is optional. . (Home made is always best).
Time : 30 Minutes
Serves : 2 to 3 (According to the size).

NENDRA BAALE GULAAB JAAMOON

Nendra baale jamoon is a sweet dish and I have used honey instead of sugar syrup and it is one of the simple healthy, easy and quick dish, I can assure you. We normally shallow fry nendra banana slices on the dosa tava (pan ) and sprinkle sugar. I have done that in my earlier recipe.
Lets see some benefits of having ghee in our diet. 
Ghee has full of nutritional benefits and medicinal qualities. Ayurveda recognizes ghee is an essential part of a balanced diet and considered it to be the best fat that one can eat. Ghee contain Omega 3 and Omega 9 essential fatty acids along with Vitamins A, D, E and K. and numerous other minerals are present in ghee.
Ghee helps to control eye pressure and is beneficial for who are suffering from glaucoma. Ghee is said to be stimulate the secretion of stomach acids and helps with digestion. Ghee is rich in antioxidants. It also contain anti viral properties. It is good for treatment of burns and helps in learning better and helps in memory retention. Ghee is a premium cooking oil celebrated for its taste, nutritional benefits, and medicinal qualities. Ayurveda, the ancient medical science of India, recognizes ghee as an essential part of a balanced diet, and considers it to be the best fat one can eat.
This Nendra Baale (Nendra Banana Fruit) Gulab Jamoon is purely my style a healthy and yummy sweet dish having a healthy concept and it will be liked by all age group and every one I am sure. 

Lets see the recipe now.

Things Needed:

Nendra Baale fruit : 1

Ghee : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Honey :  3 to 4 Tablespoons

Cardamom : 2 to 3 pods
Almonds powder : 2 Tablespoons  ( 8 to 10 Almonds)

Method :

1. Dry roast almonds and remove the outer layer of cardamom and dry grind cardamom seeds and almonds. Keep it aside.
2. Remove the skin of the nendra banana fruit and slice them into circle (very thin slices).

3. Keep a pan on the fire. heat. Sprinkle some ghee on the tava and keep banana slices in a circle shape. (Low flame).

4. Spread little ghee (Half Tablespoon) and let it cook on low flame and turn little golden colour.
5. Now turn the other side and spread another half tablespoon of ghee on top. Let it turn golden brown on the other side.

6. Now remove the banana slices and place on the plate. Pour honey on the top and then turn the other side.
7. Pour honey on the top again (a tablespoon will do on each side).
8. Sprinkle almonds and cardamom powder on the top of honey.

9. Nendra Baale Jamoon is ready to serve.

10. Repeat the same with remaining banana slices.

Note ;

Should be done on the low flame to get the good result. You can add more almonds. You ca also prepare sugar syrup and dip shallow fried bananas in the sugar syrup. I have used Honey instead of sugar syrup. Add honey to nendra baale when it is completely shallow fried and removed from the pan. Honey should not be cooked since it looses its good properties in high temperature.
Time : 15 minutes. (Total time)
Serves : 2 to 3