Nancy provided:

> I did notice Paula Deen had a show on bananas. Looking at the
> website I see Cheesy Ham and Banana Casserole, ingredients:
>
> Butter
> 12 slices white bread
> 8 large slices deli ham
> 4 bananas, sliced on the bias
> 2 cups shredded Cheddar
> 2 cups crushed potato chips
> 6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
> 4 large eggs
> 1 cup milk
> 1 cup cream
> Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
> Salt and freshly ground black pepper

I might like this if the cheese was left out and a green mango or cooking
papaya was used instead of the potato chips. I recently ran across another
banana recipe which I mean to try. It's in the book _Fire and Spice: Parsi
Cookery_, by Joyce Westrip. (The Parsis are descended from religious
refugees who fled from Iran to India so that they could continue to practice
Zoroastrianism.)


Baked Eggs With Spicy Bananas
"Kera Per Eeda"

"Cooking eggs with bananas may seem slightly eccentric to Western eyes, but
the combination is a rich and tasty one and is a favorite with egg-eating
vegetarians. Use large, ripe firm bananas for this dish. When slices,
sprinkle the banana with lime or lemon juice to prevent discoloring. If the
bananas are sliced too thinly, they will tend to break up."

6 ripe firm bananas
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice

Peel and slice the bananas into rings 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with lime or
lemon juice and set aside.

2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
3 finely sliced onions
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 inch finely chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 finely chopped green chiles
3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
1 finely chopped large tomato
Salt to taste
4-6 eggs

Heat the ghee or oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Fry the onion, garlic
and ginger until the onion starts to change color. Stir in the turmeric,
chile, coriander, tomato and salt and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the slices
of banana and mix in gently. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spread the mixture evenly into a baking dish. Make depressions with the back
of a spoon and break each egg into a depression. Cover with foil and bake
for approximately 15 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking.


Other recipes which interest me are the Parsi version of fried chicken,
sweet and sour pumpkin, eggplant fritters, prawns with coconut-flavored
rice, spinach pilau, and "hot and spicy" rice. (I'm especially interested in
pairing the hot & spicy rice with another recipe, lamb with apricots.)


Bob