What are some savory banana applications?

Question

I have a lot of bananas, but I don't particularly like bananas. I would like to try using them, but I want to use them in a more savory application. I'm not looking to make a dessert or bread with them. How can I use a banana in a savory application and/or what kind of flavors would pair well with banana that I can use to get an idea for a savory banana dish?

In other words, I am looking for a banana application that is not a dessert.

This might be off topic? Other than it is an unusual request (for non banana growing counties) — TFD, Mar 17 '11 at 07:27
I remember I saw someone add an entire banana in a curry or stew.. I won't recommend it as I haven't tried it before.. But I can imagine it would give a nice sweetness to your curry.. — notthetup, Mar 17 '11 at 16:32
Hi GeneratorHalf. Please note our culinary uses guidelines and note that bananas have already been rejected as not particularly rare or notable ("savory" does not really narrow it down). This really is fundamentally a recipe (or recipe name) request that could easily be answered by a recipe search and therefore off-topic. — Aaronut, Mar 17 '11 at 23:02

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 07:07

Fresh fried Indian style banana chips are incredible with just salt.

http://cuisineindia.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/banana-chips/

However, I have had some from Kerela that were spiced with pepper as well, they were quite tasty. It could be a lot of fun to play with Indian and Thai spices.

I could see these in the role of a garnish, or as an alternative to potato chips or fries.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 05:14

In my experience, bananas go well with peanuts, and particularly peanut butter. I also think that they go well with a salty and umami combination. This is probably because the salts go well to balance the potassium in the banana.

These two thoughts lead me to a Thai style satay, with peanut butter (unsweetened) and either soy or fish sauce. It'll need some spices as well, and I'm sure there are recipes out there. You could make a noodle dish with bananas, bell peppers, bean sprouts and tofu/chicken. All that in a peanut butter satay sauce.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 07:25

Thai style fish curry with banana, very stinky, very nice

Use 1/2 banana per serve of firm fish. The fish is lightly fried then added to the soup like sauce and simmered. The banana is added near the end of cooking so it does not go too mushy

Includes things like: carrot (thin slices), chill (fresh), cilantro (fresh with roots and all), coconut milk, fish sauce, garlic, lemon grass (fresh), lime juice (fresh), peanut oil, spring onion

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 10:09

Does a peanut butter and banana sandwich count as savory?

I don't fry or grill it like many of the recipes out there ... I just coat the bread with peanut butter, then cut slices of banana, top the peanut butter with the banana slices, close it up and eat it.

What are some savory banana applications?

4 Answers4

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