A Vegetarian Recipe of Green Banana
Bananas are originally of green colour until they ripen and turn to yellow at the tree. Bananas for sale in the markets are picked down green.
In North America, the green bananas shipped from the plantations are often treated by ethylene gas to accelerate the ripening.
Thus, the bananas for sale in the supermarkets are usually of yellow to greenish yellow colours. Recently, some supermarkets offer ungassed banana
of unripened and thus untreated bananas. Bananas without any cover will ripen slowly at room temperature in about 1 to 2 weeks.
Though, when bananas are ripening, they generate ethylene themselves naturally. At home, the ripening time can be shortened by covering the green bananas
by other fruits or by putting them inside a brown paper bag. The bananas that ripen slowly at home often carry a more flagrant taste than the gassed bananas.
In an American TV show (Rachael Ray Show of cooking and health), a guest introduced a new way to eat the ordinary banana. The bananas were boiled to
make a potassium-rich tea; he also said the peels of the cooked bananas were edible and eatable - an unknown fact to many.
Because of this hint , the following recipe is to experiment the Jamaican cooking on green bananas.
Preparations to Cook the Bananas
1. Wash the ungassed green banana thoroughly in hot water.2. Cut out the stem and the other end of the banana.
3. Make a light cut in the peel sideways between the two ends.
4. Put the unpeeled banana in a pot filled with fresh water.
5. Let the banana cook in the boiling water for about ten minutes.
6. Pour out the water (the water can be saved to take a tea).
7. Cool the banana a bit, and pull the peel out gently from the banana (the peel can be eaten).
8. Put the peeled banana aside for further cooking.
Green Banana with Vegetables
2 large green bananas, boiled and peeled2 medium Crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium Karella (Indian bitter melon), sliced
2 small Indian eggplants, sliced
1 small red sweet pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 tbsp (60 ml) olive oil
1 tps sea salt, ground black pepper and sugar to taste
1. Heat oil in a saucepan to a high temperature
2. Simmer the garlic in the oil for a minute
3. Lower the temperature, place the onion in the saucepan
4. Then add the eggplant, the bitter melon and the mushroom, one by one
5. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or when the eggplants and the bitter melon well cooked
6. If the vegetables become too dry, add some tablespoons of water to the pan
7. Finally add the sweet pepper, salt, sugar and black pepper
8. Stir everything well in the pan; continue to cook for a few more minutes
9. Place the bananas on a plate and place the vegetables aside the banana to serve
Make one serving
Comments
[1] Boiled green bananas have a starchy texture and taste like potatoes.[2] Health benefits of green banana - lowering of high blood pressure, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
[3] Nutritional values: a resistant starch, a source of dietary fibre, high content of potassium, low sugar content,
no fats and no cholesterol.
[4] The recommended potassium intake is 4,700 mg/day for 14 children to adult (average male and female).
[5] Potassium per serving: 1 medium banana - 422 mg, 1 large tomato - 300 mg, and 1 medium potato - 655 mg.
[6] A small amount of the residue of ethylene on treated banana is considered food safe.
[7] No data on banana peels, as nobody eats them in the West because of the unpleasant bitter taste;
but after cooking, the bitter taste of the peels will disappear.
[8] East Indians have many recipes of banana peels:
i. Stew with Cumin, chilly and coconut; ii. steam with rice like a Polish cabbage roll.