Nendran is a firm, starchy variety grown in Kerala, picked while still green and used as a vegetable rather than eaten raw. That firmness is what lets the slices hold their shape and crisp properly — a dessert banana would turn soft and sweet instead.

The brand takes its name from the three-part South Indian snacking tradition — something sweet, something savoury, then coffee. Its products are built around home-style recipes made the way a grandmother would, which is why the packaging features Janaki Paati.

Banana, rice bran oil and rock salt. Nothing else — no preservatives, no added colours or flavours, no seasoning powder. The flavour comes from the banana itself and the way it is cooked, which is unusual for a crisp-style snack.

Palm oil is the standard choice for fried snacks and is avoided by some shoppers on environmental grounds. Rice bran oil is made from the outer layer of the rice grain, left over from milling. It has a high smoke point, which lets it hold a steady temperature through frying without breaking down, and it is naturally low in saturated fat compared with palm oil.

It refers to cooking in small batches in an open vessel, rather than continuously on a production line. Each batch is cooked separately and stirred by hand, with the temperature allowed to rise and fall through the cycle instead of being held constant.