It was long weekend here on May 1st and we went on a long road trip from Bangalore to Rameswaram. The trip was beautiful .... I will blog about that separately. But when I was back after four days of fun and frolic I saw a bunch of banana staring back at me. They were over ripened and on the verge of getting spoilt. The first thing that came to my mind was Banana bread. But with a husband who is sweating it out to loose few pounds, it had to be healthy. So I experimented with baking with whole wheat flour (atta) and the result didn't disappoint me at all. Infact it was better. And I am never going back to baking with all purpose refined flour/ maida again.
This banana bread if guilt free indulgence with the goodness of wheat flour, brown sugar and olive oil and cinnamon.
Health Benefits of Banana
Banana is called the fruit of the wise, the reason being quite obvious ..... it has great nutritional values, tastes good and is easy on your wallet.
Brain Power Banana is a rich source of Potassium which is known to increase the alertness of the brain.
Anti Depressant Have a ripened banana whenever you feel low or depressed.This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
Heartburn Bananas have a natural antacid effect on the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Nerves Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Smoking & Tobacco Use Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Antacid Since they have a naturally occurring antacid effect in the body, bananas help get rid of heart burn after eating your favorite (but miserable) foods, which have loads of spices in them.
Ingredients
Ripened Bananans - 3 medium size
Whole wheat flour/ atta - 2 cups
Olive oil - 2/3 cup (You can also use canola/ sunflower oil)
Brown sugar - 1 cup
Eggs - 2 large
Curd - 2/3 cup
Milk- 1/2 cup
Cinnamon Powder - 2 tsp
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1. 5 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Chopped Walnuts - a handful (optional)
Chocolate chips - a handful (optional)
You can substitute cashew nuts, chopped dates, sultanas etc in place of walnuts and chocolate chips.
Method of Preparation
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon or hand whisk to incorporate well. (Whole wheat flour + Cinnamon Powder + Cardamom Powder + Salt + Baking Powder).Sieve 2- 3 times and keep aside.
First peel and mash the bananas roughly using a fork. Now add the brown sugar to it. Using an electric hand blender mix the sugar with the bananas completely. Next add eggs one by one and mix well. Add oil beat. Next add curd and mix to blend in completely. Also add vanilla essence.
Now add the dry ingredient slowly little by little and fold into that mixture gently. Don't mix vigorously as you can break the air pockets and the bread won't get soft. Also add a little milk while folding the dry ingredients.
Finally add chopped walnuts and chocolate chips and fold.
Prepare a cake tin/ loaf tin by greasing it with some oil properly. Preheat oven at 185 degrees centigrade. Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake for 35 -40 minutes or till you insert a skewer and it comes out clean.
Cool and de mould from cake tin.
