BANANA CAKES
Soft, steamed banana cakes made from a thick paste of flour or powdered rice, ripe bananas, milk, sugar, and cardamom, cooked in a covered pan with ghee or oil. A simple and fragrant traditional Bengali sweet cake from the Luchi and Pitha family.
Ingredients
- 1.5 powa (approx. 180g) flour (or powdered rice) (Plain flour or finely powdered rice can be used interchangeably as stated in the original recipe.)
- 1 powa (approx. 120g, peeled weight) ripe bananas (Use well-ripened bananas for natural sweetness and easy mashing.)
- 1 powa (approx. 120ml) milk (Whole milk is recommended for a richer paste.)
- 0.5 powa (approx. 60g) sugar (Regular white or raw cane sugar both work well.)
- 1 pinch (powdered) cardamom seeds (Remove seeds from green cardamom pods and grind finely using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder before use.)
- 1 little (approximately 1–2 tablespoons total for cooking) ghee or oil (Ghee gives a richer flavour; neutral cooking oil is also suitable. Use just enough to lightly coat the pan for each batch.)
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Instructions
- 1Peel the ripe bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl. Mash them thoroughly with a fork or your hands until no large lumps remain. Add the flour (or powdered rice), milk, sugar, and a pinch of powdered cardamom seeds. Mix everything together vigorously until you have a smooth, thick paste with no dry pockets of flour. The paste should be thick enough to hold its shape when dropped from a spoon — if it seems too runny, it will not set properly during cooking.
- 2Place a round-bottomed pan (such as a wok or kadai) over medium heat. Add a small amount of ghee or oil — just enough to lightly coat the base of the pan. Allow the fat to heat until it shimmers and is hot but not smoking. Tilt and swirl the pan gently so the fat coats an area large enough for your cakes.
- 3Using a large spoon or ladle, drop 2 or 3 tablespoons of the banana paste into the hot pan, forming small rounds. Do not spread or flatten them — let them settle naturally. Immediately cover the pan completely with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the cakes to cook undisturbed for about 1 to 1½ minutes. You will know they are ready when they appear solid and set on top, pulling away slightly from the pan. Carefully remove the lid (watch for steam) and lift the cakes out with a spatula.
- 4Add a little more ghee or oil to the pan as needed between batches to prevent sticking. Repeat step 3 — adding 2 or 3 tablespoons of paste, covering the pan, cooking for 1 to 1½ minutes, and removing the set cakes — until all of the paste has been used. Keep the cooked cakes on a plate while you finish the remaining batches.
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