How Kerala Banana Chips Are Made: Nendran, Coconut Oil & the Salt-Water Trick
By Abdulla K P
Step by step, the traditional way
- Choose and peel raw nendran. The plantain must be fully unripe - firm enough to snap. The peel is slit along its ridges and pulled away; the fruit goes into water so it does not oxidise while the oil heats.
- Heat coconut oil. Medium flame, a wide urali or kadai. Coconut oil is non-negotiable for the classic flavour, and its stability at frying heat is why the chips keep so well.
- Slice directly into the oil. A mandoline is held over the pan and the plantain is sliced straight into the bubbling oil - 1-2 mm rounds. No resting, no drying, no batching on a plate.
- The salt-water splash. A cup holds water mixed with salt and turmeric. As each batch fries, a spoonful is sprinkled into the oil. It spatters violently for a second - the steam carries the seasoning onto every slice evenly. This one move separates Kerala upperi from every dusted-after chip.
- Listen. The oil roars while moisture cooks out, then quietens. When the sound stops, the chips are done - lifted out pale gold, never browned.
- Drain and cool completely before packing; warm chips sweat and soften in the tin.
The full home method with quantities is in our Kerala banana chips recipe.
Why nendran, specifically
Nendran is Kerala’s cooking plantain - large, ridged, starchy. Raw, its low sugar and high starch mean the slices dehydrate into a rigid, glassy crisp rather than caramelising and bending. Other varieties fry darker, softer and sweeter, which is why generic “banana wafers” never taste like Kerala chips. The same fruit ripe becomes pazham pori and the jaggery-coated sharkara varatti - one plantain, three institutions.
Home frying vs commercial production
| Stage | Home / small batch | Commercial |
|---|---|---|
| Slicing | Mandoline over the pan | Rotary slicers, still into fresh oil in good units |
| Oil | Coconut oil, small kadai | Coconut oil in quality brands; cheaper lines use palm olein |
| Seasoning | Salt-water splash | Same technique scaled, or brine dosing |
| Packing | Airtight tin, eaten within weeks | Nitrogen-flushed pouches sealed after cooling |
| Freshness | Best in days | Weeks of crispness, no preservatives needed |
The ingredient list is the tell at either scale: banana, coconut oil, salt, turmeric - four items. “Edible vegetable oil” on a label means palm olein and a flatter chip; our buying guide covers the other checks.
Where we stand
We fry our banana chips the traditional way in Calicut - raw nendran, pure coconut oil, the salt-water splash - and pack them sealed for shipping across India. The method above is exactly the one our kitchen uses, just with a bigger urali.
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Frequently asked
Which banana is used for Kerala chips?
Raw (unripe) nendran plantain - a Kerala cultivar with firm, starchy flesh that fries crisp instead of soggy and carries a faint natural sweetness. Chips labelled just 'banana wafers' usually use other varieties and taste flatter.Why is salt water poured into the frying oil?
It is the signature Kerala technique: a spoonful of turmeric-salt water is sprinkled straight into the bubbling oil with the slices. The water flashes to steam, carrying salt and turmeric evenly onto every chip - seasoning from inside the fry, not dusted on after.Are the slices dried before frying?
No - in the classic method the raw plantain is sliced directly into the hot coconut oil, often on a mandoline held over the pan. Sun-dried or dehydrated chips are a different product.How do you know when the chips are done?
By sound. The frying crackle fades as the moisture cooks out; when the 'shhh' stops, the chips are crisp through and come out before they brown. It is the test every Kerala fryer uses.How do commercial chips stay fresh in shipping?
Good packers seal chips in nitrogen-flushed or vacuum pouches soon after frying, which keeps them crisp for weeks without preservatives. Coconut oil helps too - it is a stable frying fat that resists going rancid.