Sharkara varatti is a Kerala sweet made from raw banana pieces that are fried crisp and then coated in thick jaggery syrup. The coating dries hard and sweet, the inside stays crunchy, and warm spices like dry ginger and cardamom run through every bite.
This is one of the first things placed on the banana leaf at an Onam Sadya. It is also easy to keep in a jar and eat all week.
(step-by-step-recipe-video)
What is Sharkara Varatti or Sharkara Upperi?
Sharkara varatti is a traditional Kerala snack made from raw plantain pieces, deep fried and coated in one-thread jaggery syrup. The syrup carries dry ginger, cumin and cardamom, and the dish is served at Onam Sadya.
The name tells you how it is made. In Malayalam, sharkara means jaggery, varatti means cooking something down until it thickens, and upperi is the word for a fried snack.
So sharkara upperi is simply the jaggery version of the fried banana snack, and both names mean the same dish. It is easy to mix up with plain Kerala banana chips, which are salted and stay savoury.
Sharkara Varatti in English
There is no neat English name for it. The closest honest translation is jaggery coated banana chips, and some people call it banana candy or sweet plantain chips.
None of these are quite right. The pieces are cut thicker than chips, and jaggery gives a deeper, smokier taste than sugar.
Regional Variations of Sharkara Varatti
The recipe stays much the same across Kerala. What changes is the name, the cut and the finish.
The names change more than the recipe does. You will see sharkara varatti, sharkara upperi, sharkarapuratti, sarkara puratti and chakkara varatti, and they all point to the same dish. Do not confuse any of them with chakka varatti, which is jackfruit preserve.
Thick crescents or thin half moons. Some homes cut thick crescent pieces about one centimetre wide, others slice thin half moons. Thick pieces give a crisp edge with a chewy centre, and thin ones snap like a chip.
Sugar in the dusting, or only rice flour. Most cooks finish with powdered sugar mixed into rice flour, which is what I do. Some use rice flour alone, which gives a plainer, less frosted look.
A spoon of ghee at the end. A few households stir in ghee once the syrup coats the banana. The Sadya version usually stays with coconut oil only.
Which jaggery goes in. Marayoor jaggery from Idukki is the one people ask for by name, and it carries a Geographical Indication tag. Ordinary cane jaggery works fine, and palm jaggery gives a darker taste.
The information shared here is based on my own research across food blogs, recipe sites, and publicly available sources. If you are from any of these regions and something reads differently from what you know, I would love to hear from you in the comments.
Preparation Tips for the Best Sarkara Varatti Recipe
Most of the work in this sarkara varatti recipe happens before the syrup. Get these right and the rest is simple.
Rub a little oil on your hands before peeling. Raw banana leaves a black sticky mark on your fingers. A thin coat of oil stops that completely.
Be careful with the knife after oiling. Your hands are slippery now, so the knife can slide. Work slowly.
Two peeling methods both work. Cut the plantain in half and peel from the cut end, or slit the skin lengthwise and lift it away in strips.
Wash the peeled pieces in salted water. This takes off the sticky sap and stops the banana turning dark. Rinse once more in plain water afterwards.
Wipe every piece dry. Water left on the banana spits in hot oil and stops the pieces going properly crisp.
Cut them to an even 5mm thickness. Thinner than that and they darken before the middle dries out. Thicker and the centre stays soft while the edges colour.
Troubleshooting, if your pieces come out soft instead of crisp. This is almost always damp banana or oil that is too hot. Damp banana steams instead of frying, and hot oil browns the outside before the inside is done.
Do not worry about shape. Very raw bananas peel unevenly and the pieces come out rough. The taste is exactly the same.
Why This Sharkara Varatti Recipe Works
This sharkara varatti recipe fixes the two things that go wrong most often. Those are soggy pieces and a syrup that will not set.
The frying is judged by sound, not by a timer. Recipes online tell you anything from five minutes to fifty. Instead you fry until the bubbling almost stops and the pieces start to clink against the ladle, then break one to check it snaps.
Low to medium heat all the way through. High heat colours the outside fast and leaves the middle soft. Slow frying dries the piece right through, and dry is what keeps it crunchy for weeks.
The banana cools fully before it meets the syrup. Warm banana carries steam into the syrup, and that trapped moisture is what turns a whole batch soft by evening.
The spice and flour mix goes in a little at a time. Adding it in one go leaves a lump in one corner and bare pieces everywhere else.
The Sadya That Taught Me About Salt
The first proper Onam Sadya I sat down to was after I married into a Kerala family. The leaf came out in front of me and I had no idea there was an order to any of it.
I reached for the bowl of rice, because rice is where a meal starts where I come from. Dilip’s chachaji looked at me, smiled, and said that in a Sadya, salt is served first.
He was not correcting me unkindly. He was telling me something, and it took me a while to understand what.
A Sadya is not a list of dishes you cook and put down on a leaf. It is a system, and the order carries respect for the people who built it.
I have thought about that small moment many times since. Food in this country teaches you the same thing in every state, whichever one you happen to be standing in.
And do you know what goes on the leaf right after the salt? The two things I make every Onam now, banana chips and this sharkara varatti.
What to Serve With Sharkara Varatti on the Sadya Leaf
On a Sadya, sharkara varatti sits in the top left of the leaf, placed in a set order after the salt and the plain banana chips. It goes alongside pappadam, a ripe banana and puli inji.
Outside of Onam, it works on its own with tea or coffee in the evening. It is sweet enough that you do not need anything with it.
It is also good next to plain salted banana chips in the same bowl. One salty, one sweet, and people keep going back for both.
Pack a small box for a train journey or a lunchbox, since it does not need a fridge and it does not crumble.
How to Store Sharkara Varatti and Keep It Crunchy
Let it cool completely on the plate before it goes near a jar. Even a little warmth left inside turns into moisture in a sealed container.
Store it in a clean, fully dry glass or steel jar with a tight lid. It keeps well at room temperature for two to three weeks.
Do not refrigerate it, because the cold pulls moisture into the coating and the pieces go sticky.
If it softens after a week or two, spread the pieces on a tray and leave them in the open air for an hour. That usually brings back most of the crunch.
Pro Tips for Perfect Sharkara Varatti
These are the small things that decide whether a batch stays crunchy for weeks or goes soft in two days.
Use Nendran banana if you can find it. It is firm and starchy and holds its shape in hot oil. Other raw bananas will work too.
Coconut oil makes a real difference to the taste. Any neutral oil will fry it fine, but the flavour will be flatter.
Mix all the powders together in one bowl. Powdered sugar, dry ginger, cardamom, cumin and rice flour go in together, so you skip pulling out the mixer for each spice.
Or grind the whole spices fresh for more aroma. Blend the rice flour and sugar with a small piece of dry ginger, two cardamom pods and half a teaspoon of cumin seeds. Grind it all to a fine powder in one go.
Powdered jaggery saves you a step. Block and wet jaggery both need melting and straining to take out the grit.
Learn the one-thread test with your fingers. Take a drop of cooled syrup between your thumb and finger and pull them apart. A single thread should form and hold.
Use the water test as a second check. Drop a little syrup into cold water. It should harden at once and roll into a ball.
If the syrup hardens in the pan, it has gone past one-thread. Add a tablespoon or two of hot water, warm it gently, and test again once it loosens.
If the syrup is too thin, keep cooking it. Do not add the banana hoping it will thicken later, because you will get a wet, sticky batch.
Turn the heat off the moment the banana is coated. Leaving it on the flame darkens the jaggery and turns it bitter.
Adjust the jaggery to your taste. Eighty grams of jaggery for 500 grams of plantain gives a light coating, which is how we like it. Around 150 grams gives a medium coating, and 200 to 250 grams gives the thick one most Kerala recipes use.
Looking for Some More Recipes Like This
If you are putting together a Sadya, or just want more Kerala food on your table, start here.
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Sharkara Varatti Ingredients Used:
The sharkara varatti ingredients list is short. What matters is choosing each one well.
Raw plantain (Nendran banana). This is the Kerala banana used for chips and for this dish. It is firm and full of starch, so it holds its shape in oil and fries into a proper crisp piece.
Jaggery. This is the whole flavour of the coating, so use a good one. Powdered jaggery dissolves cleanly, while block or wet jaggery has to be melted and strained first.
Coconut oil. Frying in coconut oil is what makes this taste like Kerala. A neutral oil will work, but you will notice the difference.
Dry ginger powder (chukku). This is dried ginger ground fine, warmer and sharper than fresh ginger. It cuts through the sweetness so the dish does not feel heavy.
Cardamom powder. Cardamom gives the coating its perfume. A little is enough, because too much takes over everything else.
Cumin powder. Cumin is the quiet one here and people often miss it. It gives the coating a savoury edge underneath the sweetness.
Rice flour. Rice flour dries the outside of each piece as it cools. Without it the coating stays tacky and the pieces stick together in the jar.
Powdered sugar. This goes in with the rice flour and helps the pieces separate. It also gives the coating a light frosted look.
Salt. Salt is used only in the soaking water, not in the dish itself. It lifts the sticky sap off the cut banana and stops the pieces darkening.
How to Make Sharkara Varatti
Here is the full method, step by step. You can also download the recipe card and keep it handy in the kitchen.
Two Ways to Peel the Plantain
Rub a little oil on your hands first, then trim the ends off each plantain. There are two ways to get the skin off, and both work.
The first way is to cut the plantain in half. Slice it across the middle, then start peeling from the cut end. The cut shows you exactly where the skin stops and the flesh begins.
The second way is to slit the skin. Run your knife shallow down the length of the skin, without cutting into the flesh underneath. Then lift the skin away in strips.
Use the first method when your plantain is very raw. A very raw one grips its skin hard, and cutting it in half gives you more to work with.
Preparing the Pieces
Drop the peeled plantain into a bowl of salted water and wash it well. Scrape off any bits of skin still clinging to the flesh while it soaks.
Rinse again in plain water and wipe every piece dry. Cut each plantain in half lengthwise, then slice it into even pieces about 5mm thick.
Frying the Pieces
Heat coconut oil in a heavy kadai on low to medium heat. Slide in the banana pieces and turn them now and then.
Fry until they are golden brown, the bubbling has almost stopped, and the pieces clink against the ladle. Take one out and break it, and it should snap crisply.
Spread them on a plate and let them cool completely before doing anything else.
Making the Spice Mix
Grind the sugar to a fine powder while the banana fries. Put it in a small bowl.
Add the dry ginger powder, cardamom powder, cumin powder and rice flour, then mix well and keep aside.
This is the easy way, and it is the way I do it. Whole dry ginger is hard to find in most shops, so the only thing I grind is the sugar and everything else goes in as ready powder.
Making the Jaggery Syrup
Heat the jaggery and water in a pan until the jaggery melts. Strain it if you are using block or wet jaggery.
Cook it to one-thread consistency. Test between your fingers, or drop a little into cold water and check that it hardens into a ball.
Coating and Finishing
Add the fried banana to the syrup at once and mix well. Turn off the heat and lift the pan off the flame.
Add the spice and flour mix a little at a time, three or four additions, stirring between each one. Keep going until every piece is coated and separate.
Spread it out, cool it completely, and store it in a dry airtight jar.
Sharkara Varatti | Kerala Sharkara Upperi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g raw plantains about 3 medium Nendran bananas
- Salt for the soaking water
- 500 ml coconut oil for deep frying
For the jaggery syrup:
- 80 g jaggery powdered
- 1/4 cup water
For the spice and flour mix:
- 2 tsp rice flour
- 2 tsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp dry ginger powder chukku
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
Instructions
- Rub a little oil on your hands so the raw banana does not stain them. Trim the ends off the plantains and peel them, either by cutting each one in half first, or by making a shallow slit down the skin and peeling it away.
- Put the peeled pieces into a bowl of salted water and wash them well. This lifts off the sticky sap and stops the banana turning dark. Scrape off any bits of skin still clinging to the flesh while they soak.
- Rinse once more in plain water, then wipe every piece dry with a kitchen towel so no moisture is left.
- Cut each plantain in half lengthwise, then slice into even pieces about 5 mm thick.
- Heat coconut oil in a heavy kadai on low to medium heat. Add the banana pieces and turn them now and then.
- Fry until golden brown, until the bubbling has almost stopped, and until the pieces clink against the ladle. Take one out and break it, and it should snap crisply.
- Spread the fried pieces on a plate and let them cool completely. Do not skip this, or the finished batch will turn soggy.
- While the banana fries, grind the sugar fine, then mix it with the rice flour, dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and cumin powder in a small bowl. Keep aside.
- Heat the jaggery and water in a pan until the jaggery melts. Strain it if you are using block or wet jaggery. Powdered jaggery does not need straining.
- Cook the syrup to one-thread consistency. Test a cooled drop between your thumb and finger, where a single thread should form, or drop a little into cold water, where it should harden at once and roll into a ball.
- Add the cooled banana pieces to the syrup and mix well. Turn off the heat and lift the pan off the flame.
- Add the spice and flour mix a little at a time, in three or four additions, stirring between each one, until every piece is coated and separate.
- Spread it out, cool completely, and store in a dry airtight jar.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions About Sharkara Varatti Recipe
These are the questions I get asked most often about this recipe.
What is sharkara varatti called in English?
There is no exact English name. It is usually called jaggery coated banana chips, sweet plantain chips or banana candy. None of these quite fit, since the pieces are thicker than chips and the coating is jaggery.
Is sharkara varatti the same as sharkara upperi?
Yes, they are the same dish. You will also see it written as sharkarapuratti, sarkara upperi or chakkara varatti.
What is the difference between sharkara varatti and chakka varatti?
They are completely different. This one is fried banana in jaggery syrup, while chakka varatti is a thick jackfruit preserve.
Is sharkara varatti healthy?
It is a festival sweet, and it is best enjoyed as one. Jaggery keeps small amounts of iron and other minerals that white sugar loses, but this is still deep fried banana in syrup. Eat it a few pieces at a time and enjoy it.
How many calories are in sharkara varatti?
It depends on how thick your coating is and how much oil the pieces take in. A light coating like this one comes out lower than a shop-bought packet, which is usually coated far more heavily.
Why did my sharkara varatti turn soggy?
Almost always because the banana went into the syrup while still warm. Cool the pieces completely first, and check they were fried until the bubbling in the oil stopped.
Why is my sharkara upperi sticky the next day?
Either the syrup did not reach one-thread consistency, or there was not enough rice flour at the end. Extra jaggery needs extra rice flour and sugar to match.
Can I use ripe bananas instead of raw plantains?
No. Ripe bananas are soft and sweet and fall apart in the oil. You need firm, starchy raw plantain, ideally Nendran.
How long does sharkara varatti stay fresh?
Two to three weeks in a dry airtight jar at room temperature. Keep it out of the fridge, because cold draws moisture into the coating and turns it sticky.
Can I make sarkara upperi without coconut oil?
Any neutral oil will fry it crisp. The taste will be noticeably flatter, because coconut oil is a big part of what makes this taste like Kerala.
Do I need to roast the rice flour first?
Not in this recipe. The flour meets the hot syrup in the pan and cooks there, which takes away any raw taste.
Recommended Products
The jaggery syrup stage is where a thin pan lets you down. Jaggery catches and burns fast in a light base, and once it turns bitter there is no fixing it.
I use a Bergner kadai for this. The heavy triply base holds a steady heat while the syrup comes to one-thread.
It also fries evenly, with no hot spots. That matters when you are frying slowly for a long time.
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