Sweet Banana Drops! An easy and quick deep-fried tea time treat with ripe banana. Mashed ripe bananas and flour batter is deep-fried by scooping and dropping in hot oil. These are addictive and a walk down the memory of days with my grandmom.
Updated image: 12/04/2017
This week went super quick! Last weekend was like yesterday and the next one is here already. If you think otherwise, then blame it on my kitten. 😂Ragee has slowly and completely encroached my work area so much that I had to get my laptop to the bedroom to draft this post... while she is basking in the sun on my table! On Thursday evenings I usually make some snacks to have along with tea if F comes home early. These Sweet Banana Drops are his favourite and get done quite often with variations each time. I have tried adding coconut powder, semolina, nigella seeds etc. Sharing my best version here!
Originally this is my paternal grandmom's speciality that she makes whenever there are good bananas, which they call Mysore pazham. She either makes nulli ithathu or pulivaral. Here I have used the usual ones that you get in the gulf which I believe is like robust. This is the easiest and quickest snack that does not require any soaking, grinding, resting etc. Mix, drop, fry and pop one with a cup of tea!
Update 2020 Ramadan: I received a lot of great feedback for this recipe but there were quite a few that felt it didn't work well. So I worked on this recipe following what I have written here and realized that this is not fail-proof. The consistency of the batter or the amount of water used makes the difference in the result. So discussed with my mom about this and also the Pullival or Pullivaral snack that is made with simia lar batter. Like always I get new information on a dish each time I ask! 😂This time, I learnt that this is usually made with jaggery and that no water is required! So I tried again without adding any water to the batter and I am amazed this is much better than ever!
How to make Sweet Banana Drops?
You start by mashing the banana with sugar or jaggery until the sugar melts. This will create the "liquid" we need for the dry ingredients. Add all the dry ingredients except for the flour. Now, add flour only as much as you would need for this liquid. But for the recipe's sake, I have mentioned an approx measure of flour. Whisk or flap with fingers thoroughly until no lumps. The batter should be thick but drops off the spoon as lumps. So if it is too thick, then add some more banana and jaggery or a few drops of water only if there is no choice. If there is too much water added to the batter, your result will be oily.
Once the batter is ready and the oil is hot, use a spoon and rubber spatula to scoop and drop the batter into the hot oil. You may use your hands but I like to keep them mess-free 🙂 Fry on low to medium flame until they start browning. Adjust the flame when the oil gets too hot.
Serve with a hot cuppa chai. This also tastes delicious with Nutella - not a fan but occasionally it satisfies chocolate cravings!
Sweet Banana Drops
INGREDIENTS
1 large banana (I use the Chiquita kinds)
2 tablespoon sugar or jaggery
1 tablespoon rice flour
1 tablespoon semolina
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
½ teaspoon nigella seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon semolina
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
½ teaspoon nigella seeds (optional)
a pinch of baking soda
½ cup all-purpose flour
Salt to taste
oil to deep fry
Salt to taste
oil to deep fry
Notes: Add the maida at the end only as much as the "liquid" would need. You may add very few drops of water only if the batter is too thick. But try to add more banana or jaggery or sugar to make up the batter consistency.
METHOD
- Heat oil for deep frying
- Mash the bananas with sugar
- Add all the dry ingredients except for the flour
- Add flour little by little until you get the desired consistency
- Flap with your fingers to break down any lumps and mix thoroughly
- You should be able to scoop the batter with a spoon and use another spoon or rubber spatula to release it into the oil
- Maintain the flame on low to medium and drop as many as batter balls your pot can hold (avoid overloading as that will bring down the temp of the oil)
- Fry turning all sides until brown
- Remove with slotted spoons and place them on kitchen paper to drain off any excess oil
- Serve hot with a cup of tea
Back home, they just take a little batter in hand and drop a little portion into the hot oil - the reason why it got the name "nulli itathu" but I don't prefer to use my hand so the spoon hack!
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