#230_Maruya or Banana Fritters

Maruya or Banana Fritters...
another popular Filipino snack using Saba bananas.

Saba Bananas a.k.a. cooking bananas
(this is kind of over ripe, but didn't want them to go to waste)

This variety of bananas is used for cooking different kinds of snacks.
Click here to check out a Turon recipe,
which is one snack using Saba bananas.

Maruya, just like any other fritters, is made with batter then fried.
It is a very common merienda item in the Philippines
and it is pretty easy and also inexpensive to make.

Select ripe, but firm saba bananas and slice them lengthwise or in disks.

The batter should be a little thinner than pancake batter.

Batter for Crispy Maruya:
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp. baking powder
2/3 cup water

about 4-5 saba bananas, sliced lengthwise or in disks
canola oil for frying
white sugar for dredging

Mix ingredients for the batter, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
Dip slices of bananas in the batter, then fry in hot canola oil.

You can fry them individual slices or in clusters.
For clusters, slice the bananas in disks (crosswise) then dip in the batter.
Fry battered bananas in hot canola oil over medium low heat,
about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Drain fried maruyas in paper towel, then toss them in white sugar.

ENJOY!!!

#81_Turon to a Higher Level/Banana Rolls

SABA BANANAS

This is a variety of bananas that is used for cooking.

There are probably as many varieties of bananas in the Philippines as there are varieties of apples here in the U.S. Much like the Granny Smith variety of apples which is best for baking, the saba variety of bananas is best for cooking in meat stews, ginataan (with coconut milk), banana fritters (maruya) or TURON (banana rolls), to name a few.

TURON is a very popular snack in the Philippines. They are commonly made and sold by vendors on the streets, but they can also be made easily at home.

For TURON, you need to use ripe, but firm bananas. Unfortunately, the bananas I used to make these turon today are over ripe, but I had to use them anyway because I hate to see them go to waste.

The traditional way of making Turon is to cut the bananas in half, lengthwise, coat the slices in brown sugar, wrap in eggroll wrappers, and fry them in hot oil until they turn golden and crispy.

Taking TURON to a higher level.

My friend Zenny from San Diego shared with me her recipe of a dessert that combines cream cheese and Ricotta cheese with fruits, wrapped in eggroll wrappers then fried just like spring rolls.

This is how I did it:

I took that idea with a twist.

I sliced the bananas into thirds, lengthwise, and rolled each slice in brown sugar. Then I put a piece of string cheese on the banana. On top of the cheese I lined up some frozen berries, i.e. raspberries and blueberries, and wrapped them in eggroll wrappers. Fried them in hot oil until golden brown and crispy.

The result? Ahhh, to die for!!

AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!!!

This is an absolute "must try" version!! It is really, really good, I swear!

This is a cross between banana cream pie and raspberry cheesecake without the creaminess, but instead it has the wonderful crunchiness from the eggroll wrapper with the caramelized sugar.

You may wonder how the wrappers may have some caramelized sugar?
The brown sugar that coated the banana pieces melts and oozes out through the wrappers so when they are fried in the oil, will result in a very nice caramelization outside the wrapper.

Mozzarella cheese in between slices of bananas.

I experimented this with just the mozzarella cheese in between slices of bananas. Although it is sweet, gooey, stringy, cheesy and delish I like the ones with frozen raspberries much, much better. I don't care much for the blueberries though.

It is amazing how just one ingredient like the red raspberries can take a simple dessert, like this one, to the top tier.

AMAZING! Better than banana flambe!!