You could call the fruit kela (banana) nature’s convenience food. They are widely available, inexpensive, and found in their own natural packaging. You don’t need to wash them, and you can eat them on the go and at any time of day. From a baby’s first weaning food to a snack that seniors with chewing difficulties can easily manage, kela can be enjoyed throughout your life.
Kela vary in size. According to the US Department of Agriculture, one medium kela will give you just over 100 kcal and 3 grams of fibre (around 10 per cent of your daily fibre needs). They’re rich in potassium (13 per cent of your daily needs), which helps to maintain healthy blood pressure. Kela also provide vitamin C and are naturally free from fat, cholesterol and sodium.
Three things to do with Kela:
- Bake them: Simply slit open the skin with a knife and pierce the kela with sliced almonds. Bake until soft and the colour has brightened a little. Serve with low fat yogurt. Katcha kela, or plantain, is used like root vegetables in savoury dishes. You can bake them too – they take longer to bake, but can be enjoyed with a sprinkle of chili powder and lemon juice.
- Freeze them: Freeze slices of kela and use them as fruity ice cubes, a snack to replace sweets, or whizzed up in a blender with milk and strawberries for a refreshing smoothie.
- Spice them: Heat mustard seeds and cumin seeds in a pan with a little oil; add thick slices of kela and sauté with haldi and chili (add a little water to prevent it from sticking). Top this with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with chapatti. A tasty sweet and spicy dish!
Top tip
Although kela chips sound like a healthy snack option, remember they have been deep fried, so a ½ cup serving, which is about two handfuls of chips, can have over 200 Calories and 20 grams of fat! All the vitamin C is also destroyed during the cooking process and often either salt or sugar has been added, so choose to eat kela chips only once in a while.
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