Banana Payasam / Banana Kheer

Prep Time: 2 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins | Total Time: 17 mins + 10 mins (cooling time) | Serves: 2 – 3

I made this Banana Payasam / Kheer for this year Navarathri. Both my kids don’t prefer eating over ripe banana’s. The over ripe banana’s were staring at me from the fruit basket. This year for Navarathri, I decided to make one savory (mostly Sundal) and one sweet dish for Nevidhyam. So, I decided to quickly whip up the Kheer. My daughter tasted it and said me that it tasted like vanilla, she was not aware that it was Banana Kheer. I guess this would be one of my go to recipes when I have extra over ripe banana on hand. I know many of us use ripe banana for making Appam / Appe, so, this kheer was similar to that in taste. If you haven’t tried this kheer yet, do try and let me know how you liked it in the comment section below. I am delighted to share this recipe as a guest post to Pavi’s Kitchen Food Blog.

Hope everyone had a great Navarathri this year!

Ingredients

Banana – 2 (over-ripe)

Jaggery powder – 1/4 cup

Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp

Ginger Powder – 1/4 tsp

Boiled Milk (Cooled) – 1/2 cup or as needed

Toasted Coconut slices – 2 tbsp (optional)

Orange Food Color – a pinch (optional)

Ghee – 2 tbsp

Chopped Cashew nuts – 1 tbsp

Raisins – 1 tbsp

Method

1. Take two bananas in a blender and make it into a puree. Do not add any water to make the puree.
2. Heat ghee in a pan. Once hot add chopped cashew nut and fry till golden brown. Remove it from the pan and keep it aside.
3. Add the pureed banana to the same pan and saute well for 5 mins until it bubbles.
4. Stir in the jaggery powder and mix well until it combines. Allow this to boil down for another 5 to 7 minutes. Make sure the jaggery is melted completely.
5. At this stage add cardamom powder, ginger powder and give it a good mix. I have added a pinch Orange food color to enhance the color of payasam. Adding food color is totally optional. Add the fried cashew nuts, toasted coconut slices and raisins.
6. Switch off the stove and allow it to cool. This would take around 10 to 12 mins. Add the fried cashew nuts and raisins. Once it cools down, stir in milk and mix well. Payasam is ready to be served.

Notes

1. Increase or decrease jaggery depending on the sweetness of Banana. The amount of jaggery mentioned was perfect for our taste buds.
2. Alternatively you can also use brown cane sugar.
3. I used store bought coconut slices. So, I added it directly to the payasam. If you are using fresh coconuts, you can chop them into small pieces and toast it in ghee until golden brown. This gives a nice bite to the payasam.

If you like this recipe and tried it, leave a comment below to let me know how you liked it 🙂 Follow me on Instagram and Facebook