How To Make Kerala-Style Upperi – A South Indian Version Of Delicious Shakarpare

We just love how versatile the South Indian food culture is! A confluence of five regional cuisines, it is rich, and extensive, and speaks at length about the culture, their likes and dislikes. Simply put, South Indian cuisine is a celebration of different flavours and gives you enough room to explore. You will find different versions of cooking the same dish using different ingredients and cooking techniques. For instance, a simple dosa finds multiple variations across regions. Gunpowder (podi masala), used extensively in the cuisine, finds variation in the ingredients and preparation. Coming to local dishes, we have more than one recipe in preparing those also. In other words, the recipe of making these local dishes varies from one household to another. One such delicious local recipe from Kerala is Upperi.

What Is Upperi? | Where Do You Find Upperi?

Upperi is a local sweet dish from Kerala, prepared using banana, jaggery and a few other ingredients. To make this delight, a banana is fried (like banana chips) and dipped in jaggery syrup. It is sweet and crispy, and leaves you wanting more. It is also considered a distant cousin to the classic North Indian shakarpare. For the unversed, this year (in 2022), upperi has made it to the list of most popular Indian dishes, published by Taste Atlas.

In Kerala, you will find upperi prepared in almost every householdand and holds a promiment place in Onam Sadya meal. It is also sold in several local shops in the state.

South Indian Upperi Recipe | How To Make Upperi At Home:

What do we need to make upperi? It is a super simple dish that includes banana, jaggery, rice flour, cardamom powder and cumin powder.

Method to make upperi:

To make upperi, banana is soaked in warm water for some time and then the skin peeled. Cut the banana into bite-sized cubes and fry until golden in colour. Then, dry roast the rice flour on medium to low flame.

In another pan, prepare jaggery syrup and add the spices to it. Add the fried bananas and coat them well. Switch off the flame and add roasted rice flour. Mix everything together until it turns dry like shakarpare.

That’s it. You have a batch of delicious upperi ready to be relished. Click here for the full recipe of upperi.

Pair the sweet and crunchy upperi with a hot cup of chai and enjoy snacking. Do let us know how you liked it.

For more delicious South Indian snacks, click here.