When it came to choosing a recipe for the alphabet B in this Mega Marathon- Journey Through The Cuisines, I was spoilt for choices!


I could do dishes with Bale Kaye[Raw plantain], Bale Hannu[Banana],Bale dhindu[Plantain stem],Bendekaye[Ladies Finger],Badhanekaye[Brinjal],Bellulli[Garlic],Battani[Green Peas],etc.

I first listed out all the elaborate dishes that could be made with these ingredients and then suddenly a few days back, I remembered this super simple dish and asked mom for the recipe. She laughed and said it has no steps and is actually done within a couple of minutes.

So here is the simple salad like dish that is usually served in our weddings and other traditional meals.The idea of bananas tasting sweet and spicy/savory with a
hint of salt may sound ridiculous, but you have to actually taste it to
experience the deliciousness.

Kosambari is something like a salad.There are other kinds of kosambari made with lentils that are quite famous,but this one is not so.

Traditional lunches are served on plantain leaves and there is a place where each dish is to be served and also an order in which they are to be served.You can read more about this in Ugadhi Thali post for a detailed explanation.

So, kosambari is served after salt,sugar,pickle on the plantain leaf.It is not served in large quantities. Just a spoonful or so is served on the left extreme of the plantain leaf. Though the served quantity is small, it occupies a very significant position in the meal and menu.

Except for the seasoning part, this is a no cook recipe.

I used:

Balehannu / Bananas- 2
Thengin Thuri / Grated coconut-1 tablespoon

Uppu / Salt – a pinch
Sakkaray / Sugar- a pinch

Seasoning [Oggarnay]:

Yennay / Oil – 1 teaspoon
Saasive / Mustard seeds- 1/4 teaspoon
Udin bele / Split urad dal – 1/4 teaspoon
Karibevu / Curry leaves- a few
Menisinkai / Red Chili- 1, broken

  1. Chop the banana into slices and transfer onto a bowl.
  2. Add coconut,salt and sugar.
  3. Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard and urad dal. When the mustard pops and dal turns brown,add curry leaves and red chilies and pour this into the banana bowl.
  4. Mix and serve.

Other dishes from Karnataka that starts with B[from my blog]

Bisi Bela Bhath -A one pot meal of rice and lentils
Bevu bella – A mixture of neem flowers,jaggery and honey that is eaten on Ugadhi- New Year’s Day.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

This post also goes to the A-Z Challenge 

23 thoughts on “Balehannu Kosambari | Sweet and Savory Banana Salad”

  1. What a simple and interesting salad this is. Never heard of a savory-type preparation with banana, sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing this traditional dish PJ.

  2. I read and re-read the recipe / title thrice to make sure I got it right :-)) I was thinking rasayana and you have mentioned Kosambari !! thats a fantastic recipe, PJ ! I have never heard of this in Madhvara Mane Oota ๐Ÿ˜€ ! good one !!

  3. Before I wouldn't think of bananas as savory – but after having a banana roti canai with dal for breakfast in Penang and tasted how good the contrasting flavors are I know I would love this

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