Baked Banana Chips

Banana Chips...sweet and savoury is such a popular snack and more famous in the South of India ,than in other parts. Made with the unripe banana,it is full of flavour and is a delicious accompaniment to a traditional South Indian lunch or as a snack. It's not uncommon to find requests from people from other parts of India or the world for a few kg of Banana chips...and they do have their own preferences about which store to buy it from.No matter how many establishments sell these banana chips,they do almost always end up selling most of their stock everyday and since a lot of them are family run small enterprises,one is always assured of quality and freshness.

A flavour very different obviously to the more common potato chip...the texture is also not as thin and as such does not give you the taste of oiliness as can sometimes be the case of store bought potato chips.These banana chips are very famous in the city of Calicut,in the state of Kerala...so famous ,in fact that I would not be surprised if it soon carried a GI tag !

The unripe banana takes to flavours beautifully not unlike any other starchy vegetable....so,chili,lime,mint,salt are some of the popular savoury flavours,while the sweet flavours comprise of jaggery,honey or those which are made with a naturally sweeter version of the banana. While these deep fried chips are not the healthiest,even though a banana comprises of so much nutrition.....I wondered if there was another option to eat these crisp banana slices without the extra helping of oil...I give you the recipe for baked banana chips...the lime needs to be added to prevent discolouration..do try :)

Baked Banana Chips Since these keep well in an airtight container,it's a good snack option to carry while travelling,or in a kid's snack box.

Makes about 60 chips
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS
 5 unripe bananas, peeled
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Cooking spray / lightly brush the baking tray with oil
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 200°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil
2. Cut bananas into 1/4” slices. Dip them in lemon juice, then place on a prepared baking sheet.
3.  Bake, turning over once, until golden brown and crispy, about 3 hours.
4. When slightly cool,sprinkle with salt and mix gently .