The sight of banana chips – golden and crisp – is a sight to behold and an experience to savour. It is a staple in many a Malayali home – irrespective of which part of the globe it is on. Not only is it the stuff of nostalgia, it also makes an excellent gift for the Malayali to carry as she travels out of the State or the country. The non-Malayali too loves banana chips.
“People attribute a certain ‘Kerala-ness’ to banana chips. They are more than a mere food item,” says Rajeev Menon, executive chef Crowne Plaza. Most of us would remember the kaya varuthathu or uperi (depending on which part of Kerala you are from) of our childhoods, of faraway Vishus, Onams and holidays. Grandmas declaring chips clinking like coins when shaken perfect – the quality of the clinking being the parameter for the crisp factor.
And then change crept in. The golden oldie got masala flavoured and sweet banana chips for company, though there was always the jaggery-coated sharkarapuratti . Recently MTR Foods introduced flavours such as pepper and spicy masala as part of its SnackUp line.
The traditionalist would say it would have takers among a generation brought up on flavour-enhanced potato wafers. Nostalgia apart, it is not only that potato wafer generation that likes it. “There is chilli, it’s spicy and makes for a good change from the usual chips,” Saji K, who is in his 40s.
The reinvented chips do break the monotony of the plain and salted. Suraj Sharma, category manager snacks at MTR Foods says of the innovation, “Snacking is almost a religion in India and the consumer is discerning when it comes to their snacks and expects variety as well as quality and taste. When we conceptualised our South Indian Snacks range – SnackUp - we knew that banana chips had to form an integral part of our portfolio. We do extensive research before launching any new product and our research showed that consumers expected much more than just salted banana chips. This insight led to us innovating and coming up with our exceedingly loved and popular variants of salted, spicy and pepper banana chips.”
Changes such as these are well-received with a certain degree of enthusiasm, says Muraleendranath of Malabar Chips at Ernakulam South. The shop, known for its banana chips, has years of experience in the chips business. The flavoured varieties are popular among the non-resident Malayalis, he says.
The masala in the masala chips is a mix of chilli powder, asafoetida and curry leaves.
“A chunk of our customers, for this variety, is the Malayali who lives outside,” he says. While raw material for the salted and the savoury variety is the same raw nendrankaya it is the slightly ripe nendrankaya that is used for the sweet banana chips. The flavoured chips cost marginally more than the salted variety.
At Malabar Chips, for instance, if the regular variety costs Rs. 300 per kilogram then the masala chips cost Rs. 320.
The MTR chips, packaged like popular potato wafers, are popular among youngsters like college-going Pratibha. The difference in flavour is what draws her to it. The response has been encouraging maintains Sharma, “Our Banana Chips variants have got really good traction in the market. As a product they are one of the largest selling SKUs in our portfolio and have become very popular.”
Traction or not, traditionalists like Rajeev Menon say they haven’t been the least bit curious to try these. The sweet version may be, but not the other ‘flavours’. “I haven’t been interested to try these. I’d stick to the traditional banana chips any day,” he says.
Muraleendranath says, “If someone buys four or five kilos of regular banana chips then they’d pick up half a kilo of the masala variety. Just for a change.”
And sometimes, change is good.
