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One of my fondest memories in Vietnam is walking down a road, hungry and looking for a restaurant that served decent veg food (I do eat a bit of non veg, but then we entered a restaurant, saw glass cases with snakes, frogs and other creatures and just ran out, traumatized… this on a hungry stomach!) and then finding a cart full of something interesting-looking.\u00a0We gingerly approached the seller, afraid of what we might suddenly find, only to stare in disbelief – this was vegetarian!<\/p>\n
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We tried a few things but one of them won our hearts – banana steamed in a coating of rice and coconut, subsequently grilled on charcoal. We were delighted to find that when we ordered it, the seller placed it in a bowl and topped it up with with sago pudding!<\/p>\n
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It was one of the most divine things we’d tasted, probably enhanced by the fact that we were starving. I still love making this, especially when I have to finish over-ripe bananas.<\/p>\n
Time taken: 30 min
\nServes 4<\/p>\n
4 small bananas (or 2 big ones cut in half)
\n1 \u00bd cups cooked\u00a0rice
\n\u00bd cup rice flour
\n\u00bd cup grated coconut
\n2 tsp sugar
\n3 tbsp sesame seeds
\nBanana leaves\/ Pandan leaves or Turmeric leaves (optional)
\nSesame oil for shallow\/ deep frying<\/p>\n
\u00bd cup sago (tapioca pearls), soaked in water overnight
\n250 ml coconut milk
\n\u2153 cup sugar (brown or palm sugar can also be used)
\na pinch of salt<\/p>\n
Grind the cooked rice in a bender until it is a bit pasty. You can add a little water if it is too sticky.<\/p>\n
Mix in the coconut and\u00a0enough\u00a0rice flour to bring it to a consistency of a coarse dough.<\/p>\n
Coat each banana with this rice dough, roll in sesame seeds, cover with a leaf if you have any, and place it in a steamer.<\/p>\n
After 10 minutes, turn the bananas over and let cook for another 5 minutes or so or until they look done.<\/p>\n
They can be served as it, or grilled, or shallow or deep fried in sesame oil before serving.<\/p>\n
Boil the sago with\u00a0coconut milk, sugar and salt, stirring continuously for a few minutes and then cooking covered until transparent, about 10 minutes. If you haven’t soaked the sago, it may take 15 min to cook.<\/p>\n
Slice the banana into 4-5 pieces, pour the sago pudding on top and serve warm<\/p>\n
Note<\/strong>: The dish in the top-most picture is a quicker version. It isn’t roasted or fried, and is served with a very quick coconut sauce made by boiling coconut milk with a little sugar and a pinch of salt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of my fondest memories in Vietnam is walking down a road, hungry and looking for a restaurant that served decent veg food (I do eat a bit of non veg, but then we entered a restaurant, saw glass cases with snakes, frogs and other creatures and just ran out, traumatized… this on a hungry … Continue reading Banana in Coconut & Rice<\/span>