Context: Scientists at the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) at Pappanamcode in Kerala have come up with a new product, Banana Grit, developed from raw Nendran bananas.

• Billed as an ideal ingredient in a healthy diet, Banana Grit can be used for making a wide range of dishes.
• It bears a resemblance to ‘rava’ and broken wheat.
• The concept was introduced to utilise the presence of resistant starch in bananas, which is reported to improve gut health.
• Hence, the dishes prepared with Banana Grit and its byproduct banana powder incline to the new focus on gut health, which the scientific community is widely discussing now to maintain health and well-being.
• Generally consumed ripe, Nendran banana also finds use in typical Kerala dishes such as ‘avial’ and ‘thoran’.
• The grit, or granules, can be used for making upma, or it can be mixed with banana powder for making porridge with milk or coconut milk for use as a health drink.
• Banana powder can be used in cake and bread preparation, along with refined wheat flour.
• Developing new uses for Nendran also comes as a boon to farmers who have often been struggling against falling prices.

Changalikodan Nendran Banana

• Changalikodan Nendran Banana or famously known as Changalikodan is a banana variety originated and cultivated in Chengazhikodu village of Thrissur District in Kerala state of India.
• Changalikodan, now are cultivated on the banks of the Bharathapuzha river.
  Changalikodan got Geographical indication registration from the Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/grit-from-nendran-for-the-health-conscious/article33488063.ece?homepage=true

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