Banana Fritters

Picture this. The heady days and weeks of me and G in newly wedded bliss. A month of this and my ma-in-law arrives. Terrified, I realize I have to cook for her. She will soon discover that I have married a Goan not knowing a single dish from his culinary heritage. Panic stricken I reach for a slim volume of recipes from the Goan repertoire. A last minute purchase, this book saves face and bacon..literally as one of the recipes calls for a lot of it! Over the years I have perused the book repeatedly, the food-stained, yellowed pages now in tatters. Colleen who knows the author, Jennifer Fernandes, sings her praises. Years later G's brother gets married to Carol Charles, niece of Jennifer Fernandes! And I get the author to write in my book!!! 

Cooking for a new mother in law is scary enough. Not knowing much about Goan food is another set of fears. I try. Badly. I burn rice the first time. Meat is too tough the second time. And yet I am inspired by the easy recipes in the book. Experimenting on G and MIL eventually works in my favor. One cold winter evening I make banana fritters and G says they remind him of his grandma's. Just like that life changes! I'm in the money!

One would think of fritters as plump and crusty. Well...the ones I made before I got married were! Those fritters were sliced bananas coated in batter and deep fried. These fritters are delicate and pancake like. A cross between crepes and flapjacks. They are small. They do not spread too much. And they brown up just like crepes. All you need is a pair of overripe bananas and visions of these fritters will dance before your eyes!

BANANA FRITTERS

Makes 10-12

2 very ripe Bananas

1 Egg

3-4 teaspoons Sugar

3 tablespoons Flour

3 tablespoons Milk

A pinch of Salt

2-3 tablespoons Canola Oil

Peel bananas and place in a mixing bowl.

Add egg, sugar, flour, milk and salt to bowl.

Mash mixture with a fork till you get a lumpy batter with bits of banana. Or else you could mash it into a thick batter. We like the taste of banana. 

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a 10 inch nonstick pan.

Drop a small ladleful of batter into oil. The fritter should be 2 inches in diameter. The pan should hold 3 more fritters. 

Let fritters crisp for 2-3 minutes or till the edges turn brown. Flip fritters with a spatula and brown the other side for a few minutes. Add oil as needed as you finish the batter.

Drain on paper towels. 

They taste great warm and equally good at room temperature!

Today's fritters are a tea time treat. Back in India, chai comes with munchies, sweet and savory. Those mushy black bananas in the fruit bowl are a delicious accompaniment to a cup of PG Tips. Crusty rimmed rounds with bits of banana, flecked golden, so satisfying, disappear as I write.  Fritters are Goan good for us today!

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