Are you thinking banana loaf isn’t very Indian and not very spicy, well, that’s true as most Indian mums use their ovens to store their oil filled Karahi, a thick steel deep fat fryer, my mum’s was a juggling act as it didn’t have a flat bottom and it was filled with oil and stored in the oven until I started baking and roasting; that’s when the Karahi would be set aside, hoping nobody knocked or spilled it.  My oven, an absolute beast of a thing, is always on standby for me to use.

Back to the banana loaf, it’s new year and I wanted to start my recipe writing on a sweet, healthy and delicious note.  Where better to start than my loyal banana loaf?  An easy recipe and I have adapted it to fit my new sugar-free regime until I do my skydive, I’m unashamedly using garam masala, why not? It’s a fabulous home-blend that replaces all spice and used sparingly, delivers a spicy, yummy hit.

This has got to be my genius recipe, full of “squidgyness”, plumped up with sultanas, offering sweetness and the crunch from those yummy walnuts.  I kid you not, sultanas can be swapped for raisins or dates, for crunch, walnuts could be swapped for seeds, ground almonds, coconut and there’s always the option of adding plain chocolate drops.  This is my preferred recipe, the most difficult part of making this is allowing the bananas to get ripe enough, Krish, my husband, struggles to resist the banana bowl and Sam, was absolutely delighted that this very recipe of banana loaf can be posted to him at university and it survives.

Remember it’s a low sugar recipe so it’s a healthier version, try it, you will be pleasantly surprised.

GLUTEN FREE ALERT

I have switched both flours with 325g of gluten free flour and a half teaspoon of xanthum gum and the recipe worked very well, I was pleasantly surprised with the end result.

Naturally Dairy Free

As there’s no butter or margarine, only 4 tablespoon of oil but does have 2 eggs to offer

Usually, we just have a slice on its’ own but I’ve been known to serve mine with sugar free jam, try it toasted and a little drizzle of honey or a some fresh fruit and thank you, as always for supporting Lajina Masala, without you using my spices, reading my blogs, booking cooking lessons and demos, recommending me, without you, I wouldn’t have a business, so thank you.