Banana cultivation at local homes back in vogue |13 May 2011
Over the years with the rate of development, many small banana plantations have been cleared to make way for other crops and fruit trees.
Now, with a lot of emphasis being placed on national food security and the importance for every home to have a small garden, many families who have the space have started to give banana plants their rightful place.
On top of that, with the high costs of fruit and vegetables on the local market and with more people becoming aware of the high nutritional value of bananas, interests in cultivating the fruit have been rekindled among many Seychellois.
Banana : a very nutritious fruit
Bananas are fruit with firm, creamy flesh tucked in a thick peel. They come in a variety of sizes and colours when ripe and these include yellow, purple and red and they can be eaten raw although some varieties are generally cooked first. There is quite a large variety of bananas grown in Seychelles and these include Bannann gabou, fig, kare, mil, miyonn, senzak, misel, papay, rezen, msye, detab, rouz, to name but some.
Bananas are very popular among Seychellois and are incorporated in our diet in various ways. Apart from the traditional ladob bannann, bananas are made into chips, cakes, fritters, puddings, and some varieties such as senzak are simply eaten boiled.
If you don’t like bananas, then you’re missing out on its abundant health benefits. Bananas are primarily made up of carbohydrates thus making them high in energy and contain numerous vitamins and minerals including iron, potassium, and magnesium and are also rich in fibre.
Raw bananas make a perfect snack for you who need an energy boost and one medium banana adds towards achieving your five portions. To obtain the goodness of bananas start adding them to your diet by adopting these simple tips
• Have a fresh banana as your mid-morning snack or even as a dessert
• Add chopped bananas to your cereals to kick-start your day
• For a quick energy-boosting drink try a banana smoothie
• Try your hands at countless easy recipes using bananas such as baked banana cakes, banana split and many more…
Bananas are native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia. Bananas are likely
They are cultivated primarily for their fruit. As the bananas are mainly tall, upright, and fairly sturdy, they are often mistaken for trees, when the truth is the main or upright stem is called a pseudostem, literally meaning "fake stem", which for some species can reach a height of up to 2–8 m, with leaves of up to 3.5 m in length. Each pseudostem can produce a bunch of yellow, green, or even red bananas before dying and being replaced by another pseudostem. The banana fruit grow in hanging clusters, with up to 20 fruit to a tier (called a hand), and 3-20 tiers to a bunch. Both skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. There are over 22 species of banana trees in Seychelles. It grows in all kinds of soil but not sandy soil. It is used for different purposes.
All kinds of dishes such as ladob and katkat and snacks such as puddings, moukat, jam can be made from bananas.
Here is a recipe for the moukat for 4 people
Ingredients
• 2 eggs, 3 cups of flour, sugar according to taste, nutmeg, vanilla essence, 12 ripe bananas (bannann mil)
• Peel and crush the bananas and put them in a bowl
• Add the eggs and beat carefully
• Add the flour and mix gently to make a paste
• Add the grated nutmeg and vanilla essence
• Add sugar to the mixture
• Mix carefully
• Pour the mixture into a mould of your choice (grease proof paper, foil paper, or banana leaves)
• Fastened tightly with strings to prevent water getting in the mixture.
• Prepare pot of boiling water. Once boiled place preparation in water and let cook for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool before untying the strings. Serve while still warm.