Three Versions Of Banana Bread

Banana is one of my least favorite fruit. I can still eat a small bananas that we get in India but the one we get here are so huge that I can't even finish half of it. Then again it has to be ripe just enough, not too soft or not too raw. I do not even touch the brown ones. Recently we bought five different types of fruits, including bananas, to offer Ganesh during Pooja. As we had so many other fruits at home, bananas were sitting on the kitchen counter for really long time making them all brown and mushy. This happened to me around 4-5 months back as well. That time I searched for various banana breads and decided to try this one. Then I also tried Vaishali's vesrion of banana cake.

These days I started buying bananas just to have an excuse to make either one of these. I have tried Vaishali's version with almonds, walnut and pecans. I loved one with walnuts the most.

Vaishali's Banana Cake with Walnuts

Texture of Banana Cake from Group Recipes was more like bread than cake, so I started making it as a loaf. I have tried this recipe with various combination of nuts and other dried fruits. I ran out of brown sugar once and had to make it for a friend so decided to use grated jaggery instead. The texture was similar, and was as tasty as the original version of brown sugar.

Here is how I make it regularly -

Banana Bread with Jaggery



3 Ripe Bananas
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Grated Jaggery
1 tsp Salt
1.5 tsp Ener-G Replacer + 2 tbsp warm water (equal to one egg)
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1/8 tsp Nutmeg Powder
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (King Arther)
1/2 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
1/2 cup Non Sulfured Dried Blueberries


Preparation -
Preheat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit.
Puree bananas, oil and jaggery together in a food processor.
Mix Ener-G egg replacer according to instructions on the package. Add the egg replacer and salt to the mixture and mix it thoroughly.
Now add baking powder, baking soda and mix well.
Add half of the flour and mix well. Add rest and make sure the batter is soft enough to move in the food processor. If necessary add 2-3 tbsp water and mix well.
Grease a 8x4 loaf pan with oil and dust it with all purpose flour.
Now gently fold chopped walnuts and blueberries.
Pour batter in the greased pan and bake it for 40-45 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out clean.
Let it cool completely before cutting it in slices.

Here is how it looks with brown sugar, vanilla, walnuts and blueberries.

Banana Bread with Brown Sugar

Tips -
1. I would suggest trying the one with brown sugar first just to get an idea about the texture and flavor.
2. I have not tried chocolate chips as I rarely have them handy.