I am a huge fan of banana chips, especially when they are seasoned with Indian-style spices. They are quite different from the traditional Spanish or Jamaican-style ones that you find everywhere, which I also love, by the way. If you ever get a chance to get them homemade, you are in for a real treat.
I've tried the banana chips from India also and I must agree that they are awesome. I actually had the chance to watch it being made and that was some fun too. I thought using green bananas would perhaps taste like the stained, gritty look from the raw bananas but there was none of that. The spices gave a nice mix of salty and sweet without letting you forget the banana as the main ingredient. Lovely.
This is something I will have to try. I've tasted the packaged ones that you buy in the store, and I think they're great. I'm assuming they were the Jamaican version, though. What are the Indian ones seasoned with?
In Kerala I had banana chips flavoured with masala, but I've had the sweet type too. Now I want to find the kind that is covered in chocolate, because nothing could beat that magical combination.
I've never had them homemade, but my local health food store sells them. They're pretty good! I prefer other dried fruits more-so over dried bananas, but they're yummy and a good healthy snack to have when I'm out and about.
Isn't Marsala sweet? Or maybe I may be confusing it with something else. I am sure banana chips could be covered in chocolate, too, as I've had plenty of frozen chocolate-covered bananas, which are delicious.
My health food store does have chocolate, carob and yogurt covered banana chips in addition to the usual plain ones -- so they definitely exist! I haven't tried those variations yet...trying to be healthy and all that...but they certainly look tempting!
Thank you, amelia88. I haven't seen any of those. I will have to make a stop at a specialty store to find these. There is a Whole Foods store not too far away that I might just check out, because they sound delicious!
I never thought of that before. Never at all. I know chocolate goes well with basically everything and I'm sure spicy chocolate could be a good hit. I've had masala and the blend was very mild and flavorful, not the hot one that requires water or cool drink like I've heard about. Once it does not overpower the banana chip and I can still taste that part of it I'm sure it should be very nice.
I've only had dehydrated banana chips the way they are made here in America. I think they are either dehydrated plain, no seasonings added, or dehydrated with a bit of sugar. Are spiced chips popular in India? If so I will definitely look out for them!
If you've only had plain banana chips, you may have found them boring. Although, I've never really seen 'plain' ones. I suppose you can get them in a health food store. The packaged ones that I always see are salted and have a little bit of garlic seasoning. They are pretty good. It's just that in India, they use different seasonings, and make them homemade.
I love banana chips but never realized they could come in so many flavors. Some of the ones mentioned in this thread sound wonderful!
We do not have banana chips in Serbia but we have something called dried banana slices. It is like candied banana to be more precise. It doesn't have any spice on it and I love spices. Do you have any good photos to post here. It would be great if someone has some kind of recipe for these. I can google but I like to interact with people when it comes to recipes. I am trying to connect any spice known to me with banana and how you make it into a chips. I guess it is dried. But I would really like to know more about this.
Here in America, you slice the banana into thin rounds and then dehydrate them in an oven (or a special dehydrating machine). Once enough moisture has been removed, they become crunchy like chips. You can season them however you like but I've only ever had them plain or with a bit of sugar.
I've never had the dehydrated kind before so I'm on the lookout for those. The ones I've had, even the plain ones, were deep fried in vegetable oil and lightly salted. Sometimes garlic powder is use to kick the flavor up a notch. The dehydrated version sounds good so I shall see what they are all about.
OK. Thanks. It is basically the same but I need to make them because those bought in the stores are without seasoning and I would like to try your way. It still sounds funny to combine this, even though I tried ham and pineapple and similar combinations, nevertheless, I am going to make these as soon as possible.
I like this forum very much because in few posts I learned several things. Now, I have seen dehydrated fruit before but we never called it chips. Although bananas in this way resemble a lot. The new thing for me was seasoning. However, I have never heard of frying bananas. Not with salt or garlic. I wonder if they would fall apart. Can you tell me for how long you fry them and if they come out too greasy? I ask because I am not a fan things soaked in grease or oil.
@djordjem87 No they won't fall apart as the bananas your selecting are the green ones so they're really sturdy. once you get through the peeling part with the stains and all that you're good to go. They are cut into thin slices (but not so thin that you can see through them). Soak them in salted water for about half an hour in the refrigerator or counter top. I think they taste saltier when left on the counter, for some reason. you will only a need about quarter cup of vegetable oil as they don't need to be immersed. Drain the slices after the half hour and simply fry them in hot oil and keep turning them until golden brown, using a basic frying pan. Here's how to keep the grease down and the flavor up: When they're done frying and you take them out lay them onto a plate lined with paper towel or napkins to absorb excess oil. I lay off the garlic as I think it makes it too spicy. Soaking in salted water for half hour should give enough flavor. I think the key is to try to keep the taste of the banana in the picture. I have never tried using ripe bananas before so that's an experiment in the waiting.
Banana chips covered in chocolate sounds fantastic. I'm not a big fan of the packaged ones you can buy at home. I find they taste like artificial banana flavor as opposed to the real banana flavor. What other types of spices do they put on the banana chips?
This is off subject from banana chips but I thought some of you might like it -- another banana 'treat' common around here (southeast U.S.) is chocolate/granola banana pops. You take a whole banana, dip it in melted chocolate and then dip it in granola (or nuts, anything crunchy), spear it with a Popsicle stick and then freeze it.
I have never tasted banana chips before. What type of spices do they use on them in India? Do you have a recipe to share?
@Jackie well that sound simple enough but absolutely amazing. In my mind I started eating after dipping the chocolate banana into the granola. I never saw the freezer part coming. It sounds like a treat I would definitely try. I wonder if it's unique to India, as I've never heard of it anywhere else before. Very interesting. Thanks.
@Laeticia I think it follows the basic recipe I added in an above post but the spicy type I had there basically had tumeric powder and hot peppers, like chilli peppers, grounded or powder form. They soaked them in some tumeric powder after cutting them into tiny, bite sized pieces. The hot pepper powder was added after they were done frying. Just put the chips in a container, add pepper to your own taste and shake that container until the chips are covered. Enjoy.
I am generally quite open-minded when it comes to food, however dried banana chips I simply cannot stand. I think the problem for me is the texture, it just makes me shudder! Perhaps it's just the way they're made here - maybe other countries do them better, I don't know.
I'm also not terribly fond of those dried banana chips. I'm lucky to get even a hint of banana taste after a whole bag (yes, I still finish the entire pack even when I don't like the taste of something - I'm incredibly dedicated, haha). @RBean is right, it does taste like artificial banana flavor, which is really off-putting.
I know the feeling and honestly I've never had it. I'm assuming you're referring to the dehydrated kind of chips. I imagine a rubbery/plastic taste with the 'essence' of banana flavor to bring it off. I think I get this feeling too because I tried beef jerky once and I never liked it. Ever since I have not been a fan of dehydrated stuff. Also assuming beef jerky is dehydrated. I'm opened to corrections
I'll be honest with you, for me the only format of banana that I'd be happy to consume is when it comes in liqueur form...and even then I have to mix it with a hefty dose of something else to make it tolerable.
This sounds delicious. I love bananas and here on the islands we dry our own bananas. I have never tried banana chips before with India seasoning on them. I can wait to try some of these. I am planning on visiting there this spring.
There are two types of Banana chips - Salted and Masala. I like eating Banana Chips a lot. It can be easily purchased from any grocery store or general store and you can also prepare it at home.
My granie used to make banana chips. She would slice ripening banana and let it dry in the sun. When it dried, she would store in a air tight container and gives the dried banana to munch once in a while. Years ago, when I was in south India, I was introduced to banana chips.The taste was very different to my Grannie's dried banana but I liked the taste. Sliced banana were dried and then fried in coconut oil and seasoned with various spices. I have not been to South India again and I have not tried banana chips since years
Banana chips are delicious. I have never tried them seasoned before. This does sound delicious and could prove very interesting. I wouldn't mind trying some seasoned banana chips.
I have made these banana chips at home. You need special kind of bananas for this. You can either have them salty or with sugar. The method is pretty tricky. You make onion skin thin round slices of the banana, heat oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is heated - do not over heat - pour salt water in it and then place the banana slices. The salt will coat the banana slices. If you want them to taste sweet then add sugar water. Fry the slices crisp. If you really want onion skin thin banana chips readymade then there are vendors sitting on roadsides in Kerala making them then and there. Image credit wikimedia commons
