Banana bread is a time-tested American classic, perfect for making in advance for picnics, gifts and for using up ripe bananas. And given it’s all-American status, it’s a perfect way to start (or end) July 4th.
Here’s a variation with an Indian twist — cardamom, which often grows next to bananas in Kerala. In small amounts, cardamom has delicate floral and eucalyptus notes, which brings out the best in more traditional ingredients in banana bread and makes for a fragrant treat.
Like many Indians, I add jiggery for sweetness. It is an unrefined sugar made from the sap of date palms or sugarcane. It has a deep caramel flavor to it, a cross between molasses and fudge that adds a richness and great color to the bread. Jaggery can be found in cakes or cones at Asian food stores or online, but if you can’t find it, it can be substituted for Muscovado sugar.
This recipe makes for a moist bread with lots of flavor. The only thing you’ll need to remember is to leave a little room for dessert.
The best bananas to use are ripe bananas that have black speckles on them and are soft to the touch. They’ll be sweeter and more flavorful. This banana bread can be eaten as is, or served with butter, yogurt or whipped cream.
BANANA BREAD WITH CARDAMOM AND JAGGERY
Start to finish: 1 hour 20 minutes (20 minutes active time)
Servings: 10
1 stick butter, unsalted
1 cup jaggery, grated (or substitute Muscovedo sugar)
2 cups white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas, plus 1 banana for decoration
Nutrition information per serving: 310 calories; 92 calories from fat; 10 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 68 mg cholesterol; 165 mg sodium; 53 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 29 g sugar; 4 g protein.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.