Cardamom lends fragrant twist to banana bread
Banana bread is a time-tested American classic, perfect for making in advance for picnics, gifts and for using up ripe bananas.
Here's a variation with an Indian twist - cardamom, which often grows next to bananas in Kerala. In small amounts, cardamom has delicate floral and eucalyptus notes, which brings out the best in more traditional ingredients in banana bread and makes for a fragrant treat.
Like many Indians, I add jiggery for sweetness. It is an unrefined sugar made from the sap of date palms or sugarcane. It has a deep caramel flavor to it, a cross between molasses and fudge that adds a richness and great color to the bread. Jaggery can be found in cakes or cones at Asian food stores or online, but if you can't find it, it can be substituted for Muscovado sugar.
This recipe makes for a moist bread with lots of flavor. The only thing you'll need to remember is to leave a little room for dessert.
• Meera Sodha is an Indian foods expert and author of "Made in India: Recipes from an Indian family kitchen." She lives in London, blogs at www.meerasodha.com and tweets at @meerasodha