Banana and curry!

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Just wondering if anyone has sliced banana and peanuts on a curry? My wonderful grandmother would always serve her homemade curry with little bowls of peanuts and banana on the table for sprinkling on top. I’d forgotten all about it until my sister reminded me, but I’ve never seen anyone else serve it in this way.

DH has reminded me Rani restaurants (round London) offer banana methi and he always get its (that and the methi roti).

www.rani.uk.com/menu.html

My mum used to make curry like this in the 70s and 80s - Sharwoods medium curry pasteto make the base of the curry sauce, then rice (long grain rather than basmati) and served with little dishes of sliced banana, dessicated coconut, finely sliced and chopped onion, tomato and cucumber in french dressing, raisins - all to help yourself. Plus a jar of mango chutney and large pile of poppadoms that she bought and had to fry herself. If we went out for a curry (very rare treat) then there would be similar little dishes of everything apart from bananas to add to your curry and there would also be a delicious raita dip for the poppadoms that had a hint of sweetness and maybe mint and was slightly pink that I’ve never been able to buy from the supermarket - their raita/poppadom sauce has always been much plainer yogurt and cucumber even though most Indian restaurants seem to serve it still.

My aunt lived in the Far East then returned to live in London - when we went to stay with her the local little Indian restaurants served up amazing curries thatnot only we’re made of other meats but that had names like korma and Baltimore and vindaloo and rogan josh with not a banana to be seen apart from occasionally as banana fritters for desert. There were also a couple of fab Malaysian restaurants that did wondrous satay dishes. And coconut ice cream wrapped in small green pancakes. Happy memories!

After dad died she eventually started to see another man who was British but had grown up in India where most of his care had been by his ayah (sorry not sure of spelling) who amongst other things taught him to cook the food she ate and to speak Urdu and a couple of other local languages. He made the most amazing curries with all sorts of wonderful things he would travel up to southall for authentic supplies - he was horrified by mum’s ‘curry and bits’ so she hasn’t made them again.

Must admit I still have a fondness for all the bits if I do have a curry. And I like the tossed salad mix of fine cucumber, tomato and onion plus vinaigrette and sliced banana as a salad without curry which dh thinks is strange.

Now really craving a stack of poppadoms with a big pool of Indian restaurant raita to dip them into!

Regarding people who'd had exposure to Indian cuisine. My parents, rural Cornish -persons, who probably thought putting carrot in a pastie was practically Michelin star- 😂

I think there was a surprisingly big influence of grunt-workers in the Empire. My Cornish dad was an 'operative', really; engineer in the Tanganyika Police, circa 1957/8 to 1964. With his wife, mum. Mum's (conservative) exposure to forrin food came from there. She learned how to cook an 'Indian curry' from a nearby (Indian) lady who was taught, by mum, in exchange, how to knit left handed!

I never saw those 'Indian curries' of my Essex later childhood replicated; but I see on here, that the 'bananas on curry' was a thing!

wibdib that curry sounds amazing. Spot on!

taybert crushed crisps are, apparently, 'pretty close' - to a crushed popadom!

I had to check that with my DB, regarding family curries, Essex, circa 1965+, post parents in East Africa!

His recollection of stuff is crap , but he recalls the exotica of curry night with its individual bowls of extras!

Raw green Banana (and coconut malai / oil) gives some types of sabzi a similar sweetness and creaminess to cream, only it doesn’t go off as quickly. This idea of subbing that with yellow banana in spicy dishes doesn’t really make sense to me - it would be far too sweet.

Yellow banana is bearable by itself as a standalone sabzi that is served with something else bitter, but to be honest I prefer using their skins.

My mum used to sometimes put a bowl of chopped pineapple in the middle of the table when we were having curry. Quite nice and refreshing with a spicy curry.

crushed crisps are, apparently, 'pretty close' - to a crushed popadom!

Papad / poppadum is made from a deep fried mixture of rice, spices, and often lentils. My relatives, from Kenya, only used it as ‘back up food’ (to replace roti and sabzi). So for example it was served with khichdi and yoghurt soup / curd rice / or something else equally as plain to add a spicy hit.

In the UK that’s why they were served with starters - because in the 70s most Indian restaurants / pubs only did starters or mains. Mains came with roti and / or rice. Starters came with papad.

Adding a 200-300 cal papad to a full Indian meal is something I only used to see at weddings when I was a kid.

Yes! I was just telling ds2 about the accompaniments today curry in the ‘70’s this week. He was incredulous

I was introduced to banana in chilli when I was in Canada 20 years ago.

Who else remembers that other 70s favourite: curried baked beans?
It was indeed a tin of baked beans heated up with a teaspoon of curry powder and a handful of sultanas. Amazing with sausages.....