We fell head over heels over this simple but delicious street dessert while holidaying in Bali.  Daddy and I made a pact to recreate this when we returned to Singapore to satisfy our cravings.

There are many ready recipes on the internet but first, I need to get my hands on the correct type of Bananas for the fritters. A fruit grocer taught me to use ‘Pisang Rajah’ not your normal Del Monte found in NTUC.  Little did I know there are so many varieties of bananas and bananas can aid in weight loss!

If there was a food that was low in calories, low in fat while high in fiber and vitamins and could help you lose weight, that would be Bananas.  Bananas contain large amounts of potassium, magnesium and vitamin B6 and are surprisingly low in calories.  It is one of the most nutritious and natural foods that help promote weight loss, and can make a convenient addition to your daily diet (Source: Livestrong).

My bunch of Pisang Rajah from the wet market grocer. $5.50

Recipe:

Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

10 “Pisang Rajah” Bananas, peeled
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup corn flour
1 tsp soda bicarbonate
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 cup cold beer (optional: make sure you open the can only when you are about to use it)
pinch of salt
enough oil for deep frying

1. In a large bowl, mix plain flour, soda bicarbonate, salt, corn flour, rice flour together.
2. Meanwhile, heat enough vegetable oil in a pot for deep frying. Heat the oil until it reaches 350F with a thermometer or until you see the oil smoking a little.
3. Open a can of very cold beer and mix it in together with the flour mixture. If you see clumps of flour, do not worry about it.
4. Quickly dip one banana into the mixture and deep fry until golden brown.
5. Place deep fried banana on absorbent paper. Repeat step 4 for the rest of the bananas.
6. Serve immediately. Drizzle deep fried banana with palm sugar (Gula Melaka) or have it with a dollop of Vanilla Ice-Cream.

Photo Credit

There is another easy recipe (from Citrus and Candy) which I’ve bookmarked to try out. The trick to a good Banana Fritter is in the control of the oil temperature. Too hot they will be burnt; not hot enough, they will turn soggy and soaked with oil….Hubby says for such an occasion as this, a Philips Air Fryer would be perfect for the job….(oh well, that goes into my Christmas wishlist).  If you do not want the hassle of deep frying these bananas at home,  check out ieatishootipost’s recommendation of the best Goreng Pisang here.