This is a labour saving broadcast on behalf of the mini chopper…
The multitude of curry and pasta sauce dishes require chopped something or other – onions and garlic usually being top of the list. If these dishes feature abundantly in your weekly menu repertoire, do yourself a big favour and invest in a mini chopper; they do the job quick/fast, are small and compact to clean, and will set you back less than twenty quid. I use mine at least four times a week and after two years it is still going strong. A bargain!
Really, I should now place an add here, where you can buy a mini chopper and I will earn 50p out of each sale! Though I will resist – go online and find your own. ;)
On to the recipe…
The sun is at last shining, the kitchen is warm… The bananas that I purchased with healthy virtuous intentions were going brown. Like many, I’m trying to tackle and eliminate waste, though the thought of banana bread did not thrill me!
So what else can you do with overripe bananas? The options usually veer towards the sweet end. If you are more of a savoury fan here is an option for you – curry!
There are quite a few ingredients/flavours that work well with banana – cardamom, cinnamon and coconut being key players. This recipe I made up utilises all three flavours with your bananas and some gentle spice. I made the curry with chicken, although I reckon it would be very good with fish too, and I shall definitely try it with duck. A light, spicy, fruity summer curry…
- 4 chicken thighs, skinned, boned & cut into bite size chunks
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 thumb of ginger, chopped
- 1 green birdseye chilli, chopped
- 8 cardamom pods, seeds removed
- 1 piece cinnamon bark
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 can (400g) coconut milk
- Juice of half a lime
- 2 tbsp oil, groundnut or vegetable is good
- Mash bananas and mix with lime juice, this will stop them turning brown – a mini chopper is great for this job!
- Heat oil In a large pan. Add chopped onions, garlic, ginger and chilli. Reduce heat to low and sweat for 10 minutes, or until onions are soft and opaque.
- Turn up heat to medium and add the cardamom seeds, cinnamon, coriander and cumin powder, stir and cook for a minute or two until the spices become pungent. Then add the chicken pieces. Cook until the chicken is sealed and very lightly coloured.
- Add the banana/lime mixture and pour in the coconut milk. Whack up the heat until the mixture starts bubbling, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes take off the lid and stir in the garam masala, leave uncovered and simmer for another 15 minutes to reduce slightly.
- Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and serve with rice or breads.
