Sharkara Varatti | Kerala Sharkara Upperi

Crisp pieces of raw Nendran banana, fried slowly in coconut oil and coated in one-thread jaggery syrup with dry ginger, cardamom and cumin. A Kerala Onam Sadya sweet that keeps in a jar for weeks, made here with a lighter jaggery coating than the shop-bought version.

Course Snack

Cuisine kerala, South Indian

Keyword Kerala Sharkara Upperi, Sharkara Varatti

Calories 4612kcal

Author Puja

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

The jaggery here is deliberately light because we eat less sweet at home.

For a medium coating on 500 g of plantain use around 150 g, and for the thick, properly sweet coating most Kerala recipes use, go to 200 to 250 g.

If you increase the jaggery, increase the rice flour and powdered sugar a little too, or the pieces stay tacky.

Dry ginger powder can be reduced to 1/2 tsp if you prefer it milder. For a stronger aroma, skip the ready-made powders.

Grind the rice flour and sugar together with a small piece of dry ginger, 2 cardamom pods and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds into a fine powder.

Nendran banana is best because it is firm and starchy and holds its shape in oil. Other raw bananas will still work. Very raw bananas peel unevenly, so the pieces come out rough.

This does not affect the taste. If the syrup goes past one-thread and hardens in the pan, add a tablespoon or two of hot water and warm it gently until it loosens, then test again.

Store at room temperature for two to three weeks.

Do not refrigerate, as the cold draws moisture into the coating and turns it sticky. Cooling time is additional.

Allow about 30 minutes for the fried plantain to cool before it goes into the syrup, and another 30 minutes for the finished batch to cool before storing.

Nutrition