Ethakka Thoran

Raw plantain stir-fry with coconut — unripe green plantain (ethakka/raw banana) peeled under water to prevent staining, cut into thin rounds or matchsticks, cooked in a minimum of water with turmeric and salt, then tossed with a freshly ground mixture of grated coconut, green chilli, cumin, and shallot, and finished with a tempering of mustard seeds, urad dal, dried red chilli, and curry leaves in coconut oil. The thoran technique — mixing the ground coconut into the cooked vegetable at the end rather than making a gravy — keeps each preparation dry and fragrant with the coconut's natural sweetness. Raw banana thoran is the most fundamental thoran in Kerala cooking; present at the Onam Sadya alongside half a dozen other thoran varieties, it represents the baseline vegetable preparation that every other thoran variation is judged against.