I
grew up watching amma making different kinds of jam according to the seasonal
fruits available. The varieties she made
included mixed fruit, pineapple and Pazham (banana) jam.... and if you ask me which is my favorite, the
answer without hesitation will be Pazham Jam :)...I love it to the core... This banana jam we made while I was in Kerala last summer, I know almost a year
back :D… When I went for a short visit to my aunt’s place she had lot of
Palayan kodan pazhams in her backyard.... I ate a lot
of them and then she made
a bottle of jam for me as she knows how much I like
banana jam :)...
Pazham jam is a Kerala specialty and it is best made
out of Palayan Kodan pazham (sorry I don’t know the English translation), a
smaller variety of bananas available in Kerala. The jam get’s its deep
reddish colour from the quality of the banana used... unlike other regular jam’s
pazham jam will be little watery in consistency and if you cook more it will
become very hard and sticky.... You can use other types of
bananas but the colour and the taste will definitely vary....
Pazham Jam Recipe / Banana Jam Recipe
Ingredients:
Palayan kodan Pazham (small variety ripe banana) –
50 nos
Sugar – 750 gm to 1 kg (+ / - according to the
sweetness of banana)
Lime juice from 2 limes
Cloves
-10
Method:
- Peel and cut banana into 3 or 4 pieces. Pour just enough water to cover banana pieces and cook well or pressure cook for 10 minutes.
- When it is cooled strain through a cheese cloth kept over a bowl.
- Squeeze the banana well and collect the juice and discard the residue.
- Pour the extracted liquid into a think bottom pan. Add sugar, lime juice and cloves. Cook the mixture on medium heat stirring constantly.
- While cooking you can see the whitish liquid will change the colour to deep red in colour.
- Cook till the mixture is thick. You should be very careful about the consistency of banana jam. You should switch off the flame when the mixture becomes one thread consistency. It will get thickened as it cools. Banana jam should be little watery unlike other jam’s or it will become rock hard when it cools down.
- Pour jam into sterilized glass bottles placed on a wooden plank to avoid the breakage of bottles.
- Allow the jam to cool completely in the bottle and close with lid and store at room temperature. If made well and stored in clean bottles, the jam will keep for months at room temperature.
Swapna, my mom also used to make this often...I used to love this especially with Puttu :) The jam looks really good and brings back my old memories...I have never tried to make it at home - thanks for the recipe
ReplyDeleteShema | LifeScoops
this is something very new to me... never knew that bananas could be made into jams... awesome pics by the way, love the whole thing... :)
ReplyDeleteWow, colour of the banana jam is just fantabulous.
ReplyDeletesomething that people never think of...wonderful idea swapna..loved it
ReplyDeleteSwapna I love your recipes. I had visited India years ago and go acquainted with Indian cuisine. It has remained unforgettable. With your recipes I regain the tastes and textures of vegan Indian cooking!!!! Thank you so much girl!!! Love and blessings from Greece!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the kind words :) ... I am so happy you find my recipes helpful...
DeleteWhen my mum makes this jam there is foam on top of the bottle. Sometimes the jam becomes sugar crystals. Y is it so??
ReplyDeleteHi Neethu,
DeleteThe foam is the the dirt from the sugar and also the result of bubbles from the boiling jam coming up. You have to skim the foam when it comes up while boiling.
Crystallization of sugar is of many reasons like the sugar is not properly dissolved / or sugar added towards the end of making the jam, too much sugar is added and also the jam is over- or under-boiled. Hope this helps.
Hi Swapna ,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your receipe ... i have a doubt whether we have to add whole cloves or powderd cloves?
Hi, I made this jam and it turned out great, but when I put it in the jar, it became really hard and it tasted of just like sugar, I had to get rid of it. It looked just right when it was on the stove and tasted just like my aunt's jam but once it cooled it was a disaster.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear that. I have mentioned in the post itself if you over cook banana jam it will become very hard and sticky. So you have to be very careful with the consistency of the jam. Better luck next time!
DeleteThat's the thing, Swapna, I'm confident the consistency was right. Because I checked three to four sites and tried all their methods to confirm consistency. I tried the steel tumbler trick, the plate trick, the threadlike consistency and one more that I don't remember now. All the sugar has built up towards the sides of the jar now. It was the perfect consistency when it cooled down at first.
DeleteYou should not cook banana jam to the consistency of other jams. A minute or more will definitely affect the consistency of the jam. There are two reasons for sugar built up in jam is due to over cooking or the use of excess sugar. Anyway incase you have not thrown the jam add little bit of hot water and reheat the jam. hope this helps.
DeleteI made this jam twice. First time i cooked it too much and so I understand the sugar piling up. But second time the consistency seemed right, according to four sources, and it was significantly thinner than my first jam. Anyway, I'll reheat it with water and see. Thanks a lot for that tip :)
ReplyDeleteThanx for the recipe friend... Never thought of jams from bananas...I'll try it out...
ReplyDeleteDear Swapna,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recipe, it's great
What is a good substitute for palayan Kodam banana?
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to make when I was a kid as we had lot of bananas at home. Later she used to make it for my children. My eldest daughter love it still though my mother is not able to make it now.
ReplyDelete.
Van you make pazham jam only with palayamkodan bananas or can you replace it with any other bananas as well?
ReplyDelete