Mohanlal’s favourite banana dessert has an American cousin: Meet Bananas Foster

What happens when a humble banana gets some sugar, a splash of rum and a little fire? You get a dessert classy enough for a restaurant table, yet simple enough to make in a pan at home.

Actor Mohanlal has previously spoken about his love for banana flambé, a dessert that turns ripe bananas into a warm, caramelised treat before serving them with ice cream. And there is a dessert from New Orleans that may look like a close relative.

It is called Bananas Foster.

The two are different desserts, with different origins and recipes. But they share a rather delicious family resemblance: ripe bananas, caramelised sugar, alcohol, flambéing and a scoop of cold ice cream.

The South Indian twist
Mohanlal's recipe gives the dessert a local flavour with ingredients such as ghee and grated coconut.

The bananas are sliced and fried in ghee until golden brown. Brown sugar is then melted until it turns caramel-coloured, after which grated coconut and a little rum are added. The bananas are combined with the caramel mixture and served with ice cream and honey.

It is a simple combination, but the contrast does the work: hot caramelised banana, the richness of ghee and coconut, a hint of rum, and cold ice cream melting over the top.

Then comes the flame
Flambé is a cooking technique in which alcohol is added to a hot pan and ignited. The French word means ‘to flame’.

The technique became popular in the 19th century and eventually found its way into kitchens around the world. Spirits such as rum and Cognac are commonly used because their alcohol content makes them suitable for flambéing. The flame burns off much of the alcohol while leaving behind the flavour of the spirit.

And few fruits seem better suited to the spectacle than bananas. Ripe bananas are already sweet, and cooking them with sugar gives them a soft texture and caramelised flavour.

Meet Bananas Foster
Bananas Foster takes the same broad idea in a very different direction.

The American dessert originated at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans in the 1950s. It was named after Richard Foster, a New Orleans civic leader and friend of the restaurant’s owner.

The classic recipe combines bananas with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Banana liqueur and dark rum are then added, with the rum flambéed in the pan. The warm, caramel-coated bananas are served with vanilla ice cream.

The result is richer and more saucy than the South Indian version, with butter, brown sugar and the two spirits forming the base of the dessert.

So what do they have in common?
Quite a bit, at least on the plate.

Both use bananas as the star ingredient. Both rely on sugar and heat to develop a caramelised flavour. Both use rum and the flambé technique, and both are particularly good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside.

But they are not the same dessert.

The South Indian banana flambé brings in ghee, coconut and honey. Bananas Foster has its own classic combination of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, banana liqueur and dark rum.

Think of them as two desserts that took a similar idea and went in different culinary directions.

And if Mohanlal’s love for banana flambé has made you curious about what else can happen to a ripe banana, Bananas Foster is a pretty good place to continue the journey.

South Indian banana flambé

Ingredients

1. 1 ripe banana, sliced
2. ½ cup brown sugar
3. 1 handful grated coconut
4. 1 tbsp ghee
5. A little rum
6. 1 scoop ice cream
7. Honey, as needed

Preparation

1. Heat ghee in a pan and fry the banana slices until golden brown.
2. Melt the brown sugar in the pan until it turns caramel-coloured.
3. Add the grated coconut and a little rum. Mix well.
4. Add the fried banana slices and toss gently.
5. Serve with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of honey.

Bananas Foster

Ingredients

1. 2 ripe bananas, halved lengthwise and cut into pieces
2. 2 tbsp butter
3. ½ cup brown sugar
4. ½ tsp cinnamon
5. 2 tbsp banana liqueur
6. 2 tbsp dark rum
7. Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Preparation

1. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and cook until the sugar melts into a smooth sauce.
3. Add the bananas and cook gently until they soften and are coated in the sauce.
4. Add the banana liqueur and stir briefly.
5. Carefully add the rum to the pan and flambé using a long lighter. Allow the flame to die down naturally.
6. Serve the warm bananas and sauce immediately over vanilla ice cream.

A note on flambé: Take care when working with an open flame. Keep the pan away from flammable objects and never pour alcohol directly from the bottle into a hot pan. Use a long lighter and have a lid nearby to cover the pan if necessary.