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West African banana fritters are deep- fried puffs which are made out of banana and some sort of flour, the possibilities are endless.
Many African cultures share a love of banana fritters in one disguise or another . Since bananas flourish in the tropics there is an abundance of bananas and nothing hardly goes to waste.
What Is a Fritter?
The category “fritter” is an incredibly broad and generic category with plenty of room to experiment.
Typically, fritters are dough, seafood, vegetables, or fruit that have been battered or fried. In this case, we have made a batter with bananas that we then fry to make a fritter!
What Are Banana Fritters?
Banana fritters is a popular African Snack or breakfast food but it’s well loved in the Caribbean, too! With each household having their own variation. Some are made with milk and/or eggs, while others are not.
Where Do Banana Fritters Originate From?
They are are a popular recipe around the world, including the African continent and the Caribbean! It is believed that the first banana fritters were invented in Western Africa.
How To Make African Banana Fritters
These easy banana fritters are like airy banana beignets with a burst of banana flavor. They are extremely easy to make, only requiring 5 ingredients, and put your ripe bananas to good use.
They are made with mashed banana, flour, sugar, eggs, and milk. That’s it. It’s really worth trying!
Recipe Tips
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Use ripe bananas. This is key as the mashing process will be smoother and flavor sweeter. Mash unpeeled bananas, using a fork, into a purée. A culinary robot could be used scraping off the sides if needed. It is also possible to use a blender to purée the bananas, however, do not add water and use a stick blender. Regardless of the technique, the goal is to obtain a pure banana purée.
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Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar) and add eggs, milk, and extract (optional). The use of rum extract is not needed, the fritters will taste great especially if using ripe bananas.
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Incorporate banana purée into the batter until the mix is homogeneous. Cover and rest at room temperature.
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Fry. Take care to monitor this step. Once the oil is hot, you may need to reduce the temperature if fritters are turning brown too quickly. Indeed, the idea is to cook them through AND turn them golden brown. You can set your deep fryer to 370F. It is important to avoid eating raw batter.
Serving And Reheating
As is the case with most fried food, our banana fritter recipe is best enjoyed right when they come out of the oil.
If you must reheat, there are ways to do so while still retaining the yummy texture of the recipe!
Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay the fritters on an aluminum foil-lined baking tray. Bake until the fritters are just warmed through. This will achieve a crispier surface texture than microwaving them would
Here is a quicker and printable recipe that shows you how to make this recipe. Enjoy!.
Some suggestions for Amazon links to “OVENTE Electric Deep Fryer “.
West african Banana Fritters (Klako – Klaklo)
Ingredients
- 3 overly ripe bananas large
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt or more to adjust to suit your preference
- 1 tsp garlic
- ½ tsp ginger
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ½ - 1 tsp cayenne pepper depending on your tolerance level
Instructions
- Mash plantains with a potato masher or spoon until puree or use a food processor to blend.
- In a medium bowl add flour, baking powder, salt, garlic, paprika, ginger, cayenne pepper to the mashed plantains.
- Adjust seasonings.
- Let rest for 1 hour
- Using your hands roll about a tablespoon of mixture in the palm of your hand into little bite size balls or use spoon to scoop it out.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees in a skillet or saucepan. You may also use the oil test by dropping a 1-inch square of bread into the oil. If it takes 60 seconds to brown, then the oil is at around 350 degrees
- Carefully place spoonful of the batter into the hot oil and fry for 3-4- minutes, or until the fritters are crisp and golden-brown (you may need to do this in batches).
- Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- You may drain on paper napkin to remove any excess oil
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