Aethekka Upperi/Raw Banana Chips.

Wish you all a very Happy Onam!.

"Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam
Manusharallarum onnu pole
Kallavumilla chathivumilla
Ellolamilla polivachanam!."

The Slogan for Onam, I learned as a child;commemorating the Great Asura King Mahabali/Maveli's Golden Era, his honest rule contributing to the unity of his people, the kingdom with no burglers, no liars and no cheats!!.He visits his beloved subjects, every year, who in turn welcome him with all the pomp and celebrity.

Upperi or "banana chips", a simple snack, is a must served one for the Ona Sadya.This salty crunchy yummy snack takes its seat humbly in the left corner of the plantain leaf or the Thoosan ila, but believe me, he holds one of the primary positions among the items of the Sadya!!.

Remove the green outer skin of a few raw bananas, immerse them in cold water with 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder.Dissolve a tsp of salt in 1/4 cup of water and keep aside.

[Do not discard the skin.Chop them finely to make Aethakka tholi mezhukkupuratti/Banana peel fry OR tholi thoran/ peels with coconut and whole green grams; the traditional dry dishes of Kerala.]

Heat 2 cups of coconut oil, till it 'just' smokes up, in a kadai.

Shake off the excess water and slice the banana, using a slicer into the hot oil.This needs a little expertise.The water content might make the oil fizzy for a while.If you find it uneasy, slice them and slide one by one into the hot oil,separating individually with your fingers.Turn them gently over to facilitate an 'even' frying.It is very imp to check the heat of the oil every time.It should neither be too smoky nor dull. A number of 6 bananas were done in 4 batches.The oil might require some time to heat up in between these batches as well.

When the chips turn to a golden yellow colour, sprinkle a little salt water directly into them.At this point the water content would turn the oil bubble up with a loud fizzy noise.Keep away; turn again gently until the noise and the bubbles settle down. Sieve them out of the oil using a perforated ladle, before it changes into reddish colour, as in the picture.:)..

Line a flat tray with any sort of oil absorbent paper so as to drain the excess oil if any and spread the chips to let them cool.

This goes to Hima of SnackORama for her very own event of WYF-Snacks.


Fresh chips, ready to take its place on the Sadya ila :)

P.S-The above snack is made of Raw Banana(Nenthran Kaya) and Not raw plantain(Vazhakkaya).Both belong to the same family and it is quite important to avoid confusion while selecting the ingredient.Click here to make Vazhakkai/Plantain Chips.