Golden Goodness - Banana Dessert

What do you think of the Olympics so far? Isn’t it amazing how the Olympics influence so many lives at home and abroad? Think of how many girls cut their hair like ice skater Dorothy Hamill, and how many kids want to play soccer, or learn to swim, or ride their bikes all because they were influenced by the excitement of the Olympic events. I wonder how many young children this past week have watched the competitions and thought to themselves, “I want to do that. I can do that! When I grow up, I’ll be in the Olympics!” Whether it's about the Olympics or some other interest, I’m big on encouraging little beings to believe in themselves. After all, we’re all witnesses to Olympic history, watching a young man from Maryland who believed in his dream and has won more gold medals than any other Olympian, plus set multiple world records in swimming. What an amazing accomplishment! I’m sure when he returns to the States, he will be given an grand welcome.

Now, if you will, imagine the wonderful welcome for an athlete who not only has won a gold medal, but is the only medalist for his country! How proud and excited he must be, and how proud and excited his countrymen must be for him. As I write this, the country of India can proudly boast claiming the Gold Medal in Men’s Shooting, 10m Air Rifle. This is a significant win for the athlete, Abhinav Bindra, as he is only the third athlete from that country to win an individual medal since India started competing. Over the years, India has won team medals, but only two other athletes have won individually. Congratulations to Abhinav Bindra on pursuing his dream and achieving such a great accomplishment!

In honor of India’s gold medalist, tonight’s culinary salute to the Olympics recognizes the diverse and wonderful cuisine of India. I love Indian food, and am lucky to have several restaurants near me that serve up the most delectable delights. Yummy dishes like chicken tikka masala, lamb vindalo, masoor dal (red lentils), sookhi gobi (spicy cauliflower), and lets not forget soothing mango lassi’s, and those delectible gulab jamuns (cardamom donuts in rose sugar syrup). Before moving west, I’d never had an opportunity to sample these terrific dishes. Now, thanks to cultural diversity, I’m spoiled. Isn't it amazing how all these wonderful dishes unite people in one world. I like it! It’s a goooood thing.

My hubbyman thinks desserts are a good thing. A very, very, gooood thing. Um, I’m not a big dessert eater or maker. I don’t know why exactly. I don’t dislike desserts; I just don’t ever crave them. I’m willing to sign up to cook just about anything for a meal, but I shy away from desserts. Hubbyman, who can never be called shy, however, loves desserts. All desserts. He must never, ever know that Marjie makes brownies every Tuesday. That said, he has been burning the midnight oil lately, so I thought I’d be a sweet wife (get it? dessert -- sweet yeah, I'll stop now) and make a dessert that he’d enjoy, and that my kids would like, including my little gluten-free-er. There is a lovely Indian dessert made with red bananas, cardamom, and brown sugar that fit the bill quite nicely. Even better, it requires cooking on the stove … not baking in the oven. Sign me up!

I’ve seen red bananas at the store forever now, but I had no idea what to do with them. As soon as I saw this recipe, I new I had my chance! Have you ever eaten a red banana? What did you think of it? I liked them. Here's how it went ... Red bananas peel very easily.

The yummy goodness within is similar in texture to a regular banana, just more "fuzzy".

When you slice them, they have kind of a golden striped center. (Hey, just like the gold medals!) They taste great, and were very easy to work with. Here's the recipe:

Red Bananas with Cardamom
aka Golden Goodness

3 small red bananas, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
¼ cup butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Vanilla ice cream
Chopped pistachios

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add brown sugar, and stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Stir in cardamom and lime juice.

Gently place bananas in the pan. Cover and heat for 3 minutes. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.

Garnish with chopped pistachios. Done. Finito. Complete. Viola! Look at the golden hue!

This recipe is kind of like bananas foster, only there's no alcohol or flambe-ing. The flavors work so well together, although next time I think I'll leave out the lime. The caramel hardens when it hits the cold ice cream. Oooh, the crunchy goodness was amazing. I used my fingers to pick up the big pieces. Shhh. Don't tell the kids!

Do you believe the glorious color of these golden beauties?!! If your computer allows it, go on and click on this photo to enlarge it. We'll wait for you. It'll be worth it. Don't you want to scoop this up? The bananas are not mushy at all! They are just perfect texture wise, and the flavor ... YUM! Plus, like most things posted here, this is gluten free all the way, baby!

I initially saw the recipe for this in a Betty Crocker Cookbook called Indian Home Cooking by Raghavan Iyer. (Hey. I like Betty. I learned many basic cooking skills from her books.) Although I modified it, I’ll still tip my hat to Betty and Raghavan with a thank you for a tasty dessert. After eating their servings, my dessert lovin' kids and dessert crazed hubbyman were scraping the pan with spoons trying to get every last bit of caramel.

Uh oh, is that a spoon? Well, I had to, ya know, sample it. I concede to all dessert lovers everywhere. This was gooood. I think it’s safe to say that this lone, individual dessert claimed a gold medal.

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PS: I've been having some glitches with my outgoing email. *sigh* If you've sent me an email msg, please know that I'm trying to respond!