Unnakaya / Stuffed Plantain Fritters

A Tea Time Tasty snack from Malabar. Often eaten during the Iftar  that's when Muslims break their fast in the evening , as its a rich snack , with nuts , coconut and egg if to make it extra rich.
Am glad that we have all religion and caste in India living with harmony and peace. In Alleppey other than Muslims , Christians and Hindus , there are some other prominent groups; who are the Konkanis , Reddiars and Gujarathis.Lucky to have them around in my school and college , we enjoyed mixed language and food and also helped us much  to get a glance of their unique culture and traditions.
And that's how I got to know about Unnakaya my Friend Navi used to bring these to college. Now a days we get these in the bakery shops too.

Ingredients

 Ripe Kerala Banana's (Ethaikka) - 2 no's
Ghee - 1 table spoon
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Cardamom crushed - 2 no's
Sugar - 2 to 3 table spoon (Adjust to your choice)
Raisin's - few (Optional , I didn't use these)
Nuts - few Crushed I used Cashew Nuts)
Oil For frying (I used vegetable oil)
Can add egg and Poppy seeds - these are optional.

Method

* Steam these plantains after running a knife through its skin , to mark these length wise.

* Steam these almost ripe Plantain till they are soft (steaming time depends on the ripeness , normally it takes 15 to 20 minutes) Do not use overripe Plantains.

* Heat ghee in a pan , add in the grated coconut , crushed cashew nuts , crushed cardamom , raisin(if using) , poppy seeds (if using), roast these for a few minutes.(about 5 to 7 minutes in medium heat, stir continuously).Switch off the heat and keep aside to cool. 

* Remove the skin of Plantain and also try to remove its seeds and mash it nicely without any lumps without adding any water , to make it a dough consistency.(If is seems to be over soft and watery , add little rice flour to help shaping these) 

* Rub your palm with a little oil and make lemon size ball's from these mashed banana and flatten it and  place 1 table spoon of the coconut filling to the flattened mashed banana dough in your palm.

* Close the edges and roll them nicely to make oval shape. 

* Do the same with the rest of the mashed banana dough.

* Heat oil in a Frying pan and fry these , turning its sides so that it gets golden brown to brown color uniformly. I shallow fried these , usually its deep fry , wanted to save some oil ;)

* Transfer the fried Unnakaya to a paper towel.

And Serve........Hope you will enjoy this sweet snack.......

Cheers
TN