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Accra Banana (Deep Fried Banana Fritters) – a good way to use overly ripe bananas as a breakfast accompaniment, late afternoon or night snack. It is best served hot with hot sauce on the side. Simply addictive!
Origin of Accra Banana
It is nationwide street food and also a celebratory snack in Cameroon. From Christmas parties to weddings, you will always find Accra bananas.
Many African cultures share a love of Accra banana/Corn fritters in one disguise or another. Since bananas flourish in the tropics bananas are abundant and nothing hardly goes to waste.
Accra Banana Recipe
These fritters are made in different ways across the continent but the principle for making them remains the same.
You mix mashed bananas with some form of starch then you divide the mixture into small portions and deep fry them to a golden brown color.
The starch used varies and could be regular flour, rice flour, cornmeal, or in this case, cassava.
In Cameroon, cassava is used in various forms. It is used to make fufu (a dough-like starchy side dish eaten with soups), garri (granules made out of cassava), bobolo ( cassava sticks), and more. And of course, it is used to make Accra Banana, which is also called Accra Cassava.
To make the Accra Banana, the cassava is grated and then mixed with mashed/pounded banana.
To make the process easier, you can also grind the cassava in a blender if you have a powerful blender. You will have to add a little water to the cassava though but that’s still pretty good for a blender to transform such a hard tuber into a paste!
Storage
Store them in the freezer. Before consumption, take them out of the freezer and bake them in a hot oven for 5 minutes.
What to Serve With Accra Banana
You can serve yourself with this African Pepper Sauce (hot sauce). It makes for a great appetizer or snack!
Sometimes, you can just have it with tea or coffee instead. Such a tasty chewy, sweet and salty snack! Enjoy!
Accra Banana - African Banana Fritters
Ingredients
- 6 overripe bananas
- 3 pounds grated cassava
- 1 cup garri substitute with cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Peel bananas and place in a bowl. Mash with a wooden spoon or potato masher to form a paste.
- Add grated cassava, garri (or cornmeal) and salt to the mashed bananas. Mix well to combine.
- Place oil in a frying pan or pot up to 3 or 4 inches. Heat up for about 8 minutes on high heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
- Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and form a ball about 1 inch in size. Gently place the ball in the oil. Continue forming more balls and placing in the oil until there are enough balls to cook in the oil (but not overcrowded). Let them cook for about ten minutes while you stir from time to time. Take the Accra Banana out of the oil when it is a deep golden brown color. Place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Repeat the forming of balls and frying process with the rest of the mixture. Note: see the video to get a better picture of how to do this.
- Serve the Accra Banana with African pepper sauce, tea or coffee.
