What comes to your mind, when you think of Kerala, the southern coastal tip of India, otherwise known as God's own country? Emerald backwaters, sandy beaches, coconut groves or the beautiful paddy fields?? Have you ever tasted the crisp banana chips the exotic cuisine of Kerala, fried in aromatic coconut oil?

Banana chips is an important ingredient of a typical meal in Kerala - 'Sadya' - than just a snack. The uniqueness of these banana chips is that, it is very natural without any added flavours or colours other than turmeric and salt.

Banana is the fruit mainly cultivated in Kerala. During season, especially Onam festival there are shops exclusively to sell bananas and banana chips. The chips making is also a livelihood for lots of people in Kerala. There are plenty of roadside shops here, selling hot chips. "This is a livelihood for us. We also have regular customers who come and buy chips in the evening while going back home from office," says Raghavan, a banana chips vendor.

Deepa a media professional has this to say about banana chips "Uhmm, banana chips and tea, I really love to eat them and I love their sweet smell of coconut oil."

Here's how they are made.

Ingredients:

Green plantain (nendram variety): 1 kg
Coconut oil : 1 cup
Turmeric powder: One pinch
Salt to taste.

Method:
Take a fresh green plantain. Peel off the green skin and cut it into thin round slices. Heat the oil in a pan and put the slices into it as single layers. Add a pinch of salt and deep fry it till it becomes golden in colour. Spread it on an absorbent paper .As soon as they are cool put them in an airtight container, otherwise they get wilted if exposed to humid air. Your crispy chips are ready to eat.

Have it with your morning coffee while going through the newspaper but mind you, don' bite your tongue.