Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Artikai Vepudu
Artikai Vepudu (Savoury Bananas)

Artikai Vepudu

Savoury Bananas
Vegetarian●●●Origin Hyderabad/Andhra PradeshPrep 15 minutesCook 15–20 minutes

A South Indian dry stir-fry of tender green bananas coated in a crisp, nutty mixture of spices, gram flour, and desiccated coconut. It has an earthy, savoury flavour with gentle heat.

Turmeric for frying

0.3 gAdded to the pan with the bananas (step 2)
01
~0.3 gpinch
spice
Keep separate to add with the bananas.

Finishing spices

7 gAdded towards the end of cooking (step 4)
01
5 g1 tablespoon
spice
02
1.3 g½ teaspoon
spice
Stir together in a small bowl.

Everything else

01
400 g4 bananas
vegetable
02
114 g125 ml
oil/fat
03
30 g¼ ball
nut/seed
04
2 g1 teaspoon
flour
05
to taste
salt

Method

  1. Peel 4 bananas and cut them into rounds roughly 1 cm (½ inch) thick.
  2. Warm 114 g vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, then tip in the sliced bananas along with the turmeric for frying and fry for 12 to 15 minutes.
  3. Splash in a small amount of water, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer gently for 2 minutes.
  4. Remove the lid and stir in the finishing spices, 30 g dried coconut, 1 teaspoon gram flour, and salt to taste, then fry for another 2 minutes until thoroughly coated and fragrant.

Don't have something?

Unripe green banana
  • Raw banana

    Use the same weight; peel and boil until tender. It behaves almost identically.

  • Green plantain

    Use the same weight; peel and cook a little longer. It is firmer and starchier.

  • Potato

    Use the same weight; cut to the same size. It is softer and less starchy, so the dish loses some body.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Ground coriander
  • Coriander seeds

    Dry-roast lightly in a pan and grind to a fine powder; use equal weight (1:1). Offers a noticeably fresher, brighter citrus note.

  • Ground cumin

    Use 50% to 75% of the weight. Lacks the floral, citrusy profile of coriander and turns the gravy heavier, earthier, and darker.

  • Garam masala

    Use 50% of the weight and stir in near the end of cooking. Adds warmth and depth since it contains ground coriander, but introduces stronger spices like clove and cinnamon.

Chilli powder
  • Red chilli powder

    Use 100% of the weight. Provides direct, sharp heat and red colour in equal measure.

  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use 150% to 200% of the weight if matching colour, but add a pinch of black pepper or hot chilli if you need equivalent fiery heat.

  • Cayenne pepper

    Use 75% to 100% of the weight. Offers a sharp, clean heat with slightly less earthy depth and less crimson colour.

Dried coconut
  • Desiccated coconut

    Use equal weight; texture is much finer, so roast very cautiously over low heat if the recipe requires browning for spice pastes.

  • Fresh coconut

    Finely slice or grate and use 140% of the weight to offset the extra water, or dry-roast in a bare pan until moisture evaporates completely.

Gram flour
  • Chickpea flour

    Use the same weight. Gram flour is chickpea flour, so this is an exact swap with the same nutty flavour and binding.

  • Plain flour

    Use about 75–80% of the weight, e.g. 80 g for 100 g gram flour, and add a pinch of turmeric for colour. Less nutty and less crisp; good only for thickening or simple batters.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crispness, but it does not bind like gram flour; mix with a little plain flour if making pakora batter.

Similar dishes

Kachche Kele ke Kofte
Spicy Green Banana Balls in Sauce
Kachche Kele ke Kofte is richer and mildly sweet from the gravy and sugar, whereas this dish is dry, savoury, and lightly spiced.
  • Same: Kachche Kele ke Kofte also uses green bananas and chickpea flour prepared with coconut, ground coriander, turmeric, and vegetable oil.
  • Different: Instead of a dry stir-fry, Kachche Kele ke Kofte shapes the bananas into fried dumplings simmered in a gravy flavoured with cumin, green chillies, Kashmiri garam masala, yoghurt, and sugar.
Artikai Pachadi
Bananas in Spicy Yoghurt Sauce
Artikai Pachadi is cool, creamy, and tart with sharp bite from fresh chillies and ginger, rather than dry, earthy, and nutty.
  • Same: Artikai Pachadi also features green bananas cooked with vegetable oil, ground turmeric, and salt.
  • Different: Instead of dry stir-frying the bananas in a large amount of oil with dried coconut and chilli powder, Artikai Pachadi folds boiled bananas into plain yogurt with fresh ginger, green chillies, fresh coriander, and a mustard-and-dal tempering.
Artikai Kura
Curried Bananas with Coconut
Artikai Kura tastes milder and more aromatic from onion, garlic, clove, and green chilli, with sweeter coconut, while this dish is earthier and has gentle heat from chilli powder and coriander.
  • Same: Artikai Kura is also a dry South Indian stir-fry of unripe green banana with turmeric, gram flour, desiccated coconut, and salt.
  • Different: Artikai Kura adds onions, green chillies, garlic paste, and clove, uses more gram flour and coconut, and lacks this dish’s ground coriander and chilli powder.
Vazhaippazham Chips
Banana Chips
Vazhaippazham Chips offers a simple, crunchy saltiness without the warm spice heat and nutty coconut flavour of this dish.
  • Same: Both dishes are savoury preparations made with green bananas or plantains cooked in vegetable oil with salt.
  • Different: Vazhaippazham Chips is deep-fried in a much larger quantity of oil and contains only salt, omitting the ground coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, and dried coconut used in this stir-fry.