Paal Pizhinjathu (Banana Mash in Coconut Milk)

Eid is here!!! Eid ul Fitr as it is called marks the end of Ramadan. Once the moon is sighted, then everyone greet each other for the happy occasion and pray to the Almighty to accept our fasts and good deeds of the month of Ramadan. There is a mandatory charity called Zakat Fitr, which varies from country to country. It is to be paid by the head of the family for every individual and this pooled money is used for serving people who do not have the ability of getting clothes and food for Eid. The next day morning, after the dawn prayers, special Eid prayers are held at open grounds called Eidgahs, with separate facility for women and children. For this Eid, the Prophet (PBUH) used to have an odd number of dates and water before proceeding for the prayers.

My Eids have always been in the UAE. Staying in a central location means that we are greeted with continuous honking and traffic till the wee hours of night, with people running around to finish off their last minute shopping for clothes, accessories, shoes, etc and the long queues at the parlors for henna and facials! Since we finish off our shopping well in advance, we do not go out of home. Rather umma and we would do preparations for the next day morning food, which would be Ada - rice flour cakes with coconut jaggery fillings folded into a leaf like badam's or plantain's and steamed till done - and chicken cutlets. We also start the lunch preparations also, like cutting the onions, marinating chicken and fish, etc. Once we are done with that, then we "mess" up our hands with henna, blow them off to dry, tie up with plastic bags and go off to sleep. Waking up early is a tough task as sleeping was only for 3-4 hours, but the excitement of going for the prayers in brand new clothes and the orangish henna would push us up. In fact, my sister wouldn't even touch water or soap for the fear of henna fading out soon!!! :D

Once the prayers are done, we come back home to an entourage of relatives and fellow place people, who then feed themselves on the adas and the cutlets, also gulping in cups of chai. By the time they leave, it would almost be midday, and then we would go for rounds to all our relatives, in Dubai. Then we come back home for some sumptuous biriyani and payasam from my mother. Then it's a filled tummy, some sleep and then again rounds to relatives and friends. Normally, on the second day, we go for our longer trips to the outskirts of UAE, Normally, places like Al Ain and Khorfakkan gets so packed that vehicles wont move and all we do that day is sit in the car and chat to glory!!!

What I am sharing with you is a special Eid payasam, which hardly involves any cooking. My D goes around on the previous day of Eid hunting for the best mysore bananas that can be used for this payasam! A big "chatti" (pan) full of this is devoured in no time by the continued flow of guests throughout the evening. Since I have blabbered enough at the start, let me go straight to the recipe.

Paal Pizhinjathu (Banana Mash in Coconut Milk)
Serves 5-6
Recipe courtesy: Umma


Ingredients:

1 kg mysore or any small banana, ripe
1 coconut grated
2 cups water
200 gm jaggery
6 shallots, chopped

Method:

Peel the bananas in a saucepan. Mash nicely with hand. In another saucepan, melt jaggery in little water. Cool completely. Blend the coconut with water well. Strain to remove the coconut milk.

Add the milk, jaggery and chopped shallots and mix well to combine. Add more water if too thick.
Serve in the same plate in which your biriyani is eaten and devour with pappadams!!! :)

Notes:

1. The quantities are approximate, as it depends on individual tastes.
2. You can make it thick or thin.
3. Jaggery can be replaced with sugar.
4. You can mash the banana with a masher, but it tastes better when done with the hand! ;)
5. Since mashed with hand, try to finish it in a couple of hours as chances of spoilage are high.

Wishing all my Muslim and non-Muslim friends Eid Mubarak... We sincerely hope that Allah will accept all our good deeds of Ramadan and bless us with more chances to please Him, Aameen...

Sending this to the Virtual Eid Potluck Party hosted by Sadaf of My Culinary Adventures... and also to Walking Down the Memory Lane hosted by Avika of A Day through my life...



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