Bananas in Kerala can be seen growing all over this state in South India. The green leaves of the banana plant are a soothing sight and on Kerala tours with Kerala Backwater, you will see banana trees in courtyards of houses, in groves and being used to decorate the entrance venues of religious ceremonies. It is not only the banana fruit, which is eaten in Kerala, but parts of the banana tree - its flowers and the soft inner trunk - are also eaten as vegetables. The leaves of the banana tree are used as disposable plates, for ceremonial meals, weddings and on festive occasions like Onam in Kerala. You can enjoy eating traditional Kerala cuisine on a banana leaf plate, while on Kerala tours with Kerala Backwater.
Bananas in Kerala are an important part of the food and cultural life of Kerala. Whether fried as chips, cooked as a sweet dish, made into a vegetable curry, or eaten fresh, bananas are an important part of the cuisine of Kerala.
Bananas in Kerala Cuisine:
Bananas in Kerala are a favorite with young and old. A very nourishing fruit, mashed bananas are fed to young infants as a wholesome food. Bananas in Kerala form a part of favorite dishes such as puttu (steamed rice powder and grated coconut eaten with fresh or steamed bananas), banana halwa (a hard jellylike sweet), and shakaruperi (fried banana chunks coated with jaggery and powdered ginger).
Traditional Kerala cuisine is incomplete without the pleasant taste of Bananas in Kerala. You can taste the delicious cuisine of Kerala, of which Banana is a wholesome part, on tours of Kerala, with Kerala Backwater.
Banana Trees in Kerala:
The Banana tree (Musa sapientum) and its near relative the Plantain (Musa paradisiaca) cover a significant part of the Kerala countryside, as you will see when you travel to Kerala with Kerala Backwater.
The Banana tree is actually a giant herb. The tree rows to a height of 10-20 feet and consists of a false trunk made up of the sheaths of the long leaves that spread out from the top of the tree. The leaves can be up to 10 feet long and over 2 feet wide, with fine parallel lines extending to the edge of the leaves from a central rib. The fruit grows in a large bunch of 50-150 elongated green fruit, which turn yellow when ripe. The delicious fruit of the banana plant is 75 % water, and contains sugar, potassium and vitamins A and C. Bananas are valued as a source of energy and due to their pleasant taste are also added to desserts, custards and ice cream sundaes.
Every part of the Banana tree is used in some way. The shoot of the banana plant arises from an underground stem. The inner portion of the shoot is eaten as a vegetable, the fruits are either eaten fresh when ripe, or cooked as vegetable curries, sweet dishes and snacks. The purple flower of the banana tree is eaten as a vegetable and the green leaves are used as plates. The banana plant itself is considered auspicious and is used to decorate the entrance of venues for religious ceremonies such as weddings. Bananas in Kerala, are more than just a green addition to the landscape and a delicious addition to Kerala cuisine, Banana trees are essential to the traditional lifestyle and livelihood of the people of Kerala, as you will see when you travel on Kerala tours with Kerala Backwater.
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