Unnakkai: Ripe plantain cakes with sweet jaggery coconut filling

Unnakkai is a traditional sweet made on special occasions and is one of the gems in the malabar cuisine. My mum made it for one such special occaison; my 'pennu kanal' :-) Now u know why it is close to my heart.

Ingredients:

1 - Ripe Banana – 2

2 - Coconut – 1 cup
Jaggery syrup - 5-6 tbsp
Cardamom – 2

3 - Ghee – 3 tablespoon Oil – for frying

Method:

- Steam the bananas. Let it cool down in room temperature.

- Mash the steamed bananas & keep it aside. Make sure to discard the seeds and piths.

-  Heat ghee in a pan. Add coconut, jaggery syrup and cardamom. Stew it for 5-6 minutes. 

- Apply ghee on ur hand and make 10 – 12 rolls with mashed banana. Flatten each roll and fill it with coconut mix and make them into desired shapes. 

- Fry these rolls in heated oil until golden brown.

Notes:

- To make jaggery syrup heat jaggery cubes/solids in a thick bottomed pan with enough water to cover them. Simmer till all the pieces melt and the syrup gets the consistency of honey. Remove from heat and let it cool down. This can be stored refrigerated for up to a month.