Sarkkara Upperi / Varatti / Puratti – Jaggery Banana Chips is a snack usually made during festival season in Kerala like Onam and Vishu as part of a Sadya meal.
To make this snack you will need raw banana and jaggery. I found some at my local Indian grocery store; so I thought of making the absolutely delicious Sarkkara Upperi / Varatti / Puratti – Jaggery Banana Chips. It is sweet, spicy, and crispy but still super healthy. You can store it in an airtight container for up to a week without having to refrigerate. You can also check my other Onam recipes here.
If you try this recipe out, please hashtag your photos with #MozisMenu on Instagram and tag me with @MozisMenu. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!
I have a bite-sized video to show you how to make this recipe.
Ingredients
- Raw (unripe) Banana / Plantain / Nendram Kaaya / Ethakka – 2, peeled & chopped
- Dry ginger powder – 1½ tbsp
- Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
- Granulated sugar – 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
- Rice flour – 2 tbsp (if you have Idiyappam flour, you can use that as well)
- Coconut oil (or) any cooking oil – to deep fry
Jaggery Syrup:-
- Jaggery – 200 g
- Water – ½ cup
Instructions
- Take the raw bananas and peel the skin by inserting the knife a little (not too deep and don’t touch the banana) as shown in the photo below.
- Soak the banana in water to avoid darkening.
- Then cut the banana lengthwise and chop it into equal sizes (don’t chop it too thin).
- Again soak it in water for 10 minutes.
- Heat a pan, add the rice flour.
- Stir it continuously for 1-2 minutes or till it becomes slightly warm. Transfer it to a bowl and keep it aside (if you have Idiyappam flour, then you can skip this step).
- Take a deep bottomed pan, add jaggery and ½ cup of water.
- Boil it till it melts completely. Wait till it slightly thickens (like Honey’s consistency).
- Then strain it with a sieve to remove impurities and keep the jaggery syrup aside.
- Use a sieve to drain the water from the chopped banana pieces before frying.
- Keep it aside for 2 minutes to drain the water completely.
- Heat oil in a deep bottomed heavy pan over medium flame. Add the banana pieces.
- Fry it till it becomes light brown (it should take about 20 – 30 minutes to fry).
- Transfer it to a plate and allow it to cool down.
- In another pan, add the jaggery syrup.
- Once it starts to boil, add the fried bananas and sauté well.
- Add cardamom powder, and cumin powder.
- Then add 2 tbsp of sugar and mix it well till the bananas get coated completely.
- Now add dry-ginger powder and mix it again.
- In a bowl, take 1 tbsp of sugar, roasted rice flour together and mix it well.
- Add this mixture little by little (as needed) to the jaggery coated bananas and mix it till it changes to a dry consistency.
- Then keep it aside to cool down completely. Then store it in an airtight container and keep it up to a week.
Sarkkara Upperi / Varatti / Puratti – Jaggery Banana Chips is now ready to serve!
Notes
- Fry the chips till it becomes crispy and golden brown (otherwise it will become soggy).
- Make sure the Jaggery syrup becomes slightly thickened (like honey). If it’s watery, it won’t coat the banana properly.
- Soak the chopped bananas in water (otherwise they will darken).
