Recipe: Peanut and Banana Curry

A little African, a little Creole, with a personal twist – this is how Nicole Giger describes the curry she prepares with green bananas. The dish can be served with rice or pita. Recipe by Nicole Giger, Mag’s Frisch

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 350 to 400 g basmati rice
• A little salt
• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 2 cans of pelati with whole tomatoes
• 4 tbsp tomato puree
• 4 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 large yellow onions
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 jar of chickpeas
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1/4 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 3 green bananas
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil for frying the bananas
• Coarse sea salt, ground pepper
• Roasted and salted peanuts for the topping
• Fresh coriander for the topping
• Sesame for garnishing (optional)

Preparation

Rinse the rice and then cook with a little salt in the rice cooker, according to instructions, until almost done. This takes around 20 to 25 minutes. If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can cook the rice on the hob. In the rice cooker, the rice stays hot for a while and it doesn’t matter if it is done before the curry is ready to serve.

Cut the onions into fine rings. Pour the chickpeas into a sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Peel the carrots and cut into fine slices. Heat 3 tablespoons of rapeseed oil in a pot, add onions and garlic and sauté. Then add tomato puree, curry powder and spices and sauté while continuously stirring. Then add the pelati, peanut butter and around 200 ml of water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and let the curry simmer on a medium heat for at least an hour, preferably longer. The tomatoes should then become sweet. If necessary, add some more water and simmer. Add the chickpeas after around half of the cooking time has passed. Finally, season again with plenty of salt, pepper and a little garam masala.

Brown the peeled and sliced bananas in a little rapeseed oil and then mix into the curry. Let everything simmer together for a few more minutes.

Serve the rice with the peanut and banana curry and top with plenty of coriander. Sprinkle roasted and salted peanuts on top and enjoy!

Tip: Having difficulty peeling the green bananas? Simply cut off the ends and then slice once down the length of the banana and lay in cold water. After the bananas have soaked in the water bath for around 20 minutes, it is easier to slide your fingers between the fruit and the peel and separate them.

This recipe has been provided to us by Nicole Giger from Mag's Frisch.