Raw Banana Stir Fry (Kele Upakari Recipe)

Raw Banana Stir Fry (Kele Upakari Recipe)

Raw bananas are made into delicious stir fry, called upakari in Konkani. Quick, easy, nutritious side dish for a meal. They're called kele upakari in Konkani. Flavour of asafoetida or garlic along with coconut oil & grated coconut makes it taste delicious. 

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium sized raw bananas
  • 2 green chillies
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon of grated coconut (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder
  • 1 twig of curry leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon urad dal seeds
  • 1/4 mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon of oil

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5-7 minutes

Preparation Method:

1. Peel bananas using a peeler. Add them to a bowl of water with turmeric powder. 

I like to peel them such that there's a thin layer of peel remaining on the banana. Only the green outer hard peel of the banana is removed.

2. Add peeled bananas to a vessel with water & turmeric powder.

3. Chop them into matchsticks of equal size & thickness. Don't make them too thick nor too thin. If they're thin they'll break on overcooking soon, if they're thick they'll take more time to cook & may remain raw. 

So, please make sure they're of equal thickness. 

4. Keep the banana pieces immersed in water with salt & turmeric so that they don't brown.

5. Heat up a wok, add in oil. Add in mustard seeds, allow it to splutter. 

6. Add in urad dal seeds, allow them to start to brown. 

7. Add in slit green chillies, curry leaves, allow them to sizzle. 

8. Add in asafoetida powder, a pinch of turmeric powder, mix well.

9. Add in raw banana slices & 2 tablespoons of water. 

10. Mix well. Keep closed for 2 minutes. 

11. Allow to cook on medium heat. Saute every once in 2 minutes so that they don't stick to the bottom of the pan. 

12. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water as required. 

13. Cook closed on medium heat until they're cooked through & soft.

14. Add grated coconut on top & mix well.

15. Serve hot as a side dish for lunch or dinner. 

P.S; These bananas are soft while they're hot, they become a little hard on cooling down. 

Tip: You can make this upakari with garlic tempering instead of mustard, urad dal tempering. Fry smashed garlic cloves in oil & carry on with the rest of the steps. 

Tastes great with both temperings. Try them. 

Privacy Policy