Maruya ― Filipino Style Banana Fritters

My daughter is an active preschooler, who doesn't solely depend on milk anymore. So as her parent, it is my big responsibility to feed her right. By right I mean, nutritious and delicious. Our children's food has to have the nutrients their growing body needs. But sometimes we tend to overdo it. We forget that it must be something their taste buds can tolerate and what their tummy can actually take. So to help you prepare for a healthy and yummy alternative to MSG-filled chips and preservatives-laden cookies, I have here the recipe of maruya or the Filipino style banana fritters, which I tried cooking today.

I plated it in two ways as what you can see in the photo above. The left plate has a dollop of Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter and sprinkled with a bit of powdered sugar. That's for me! Since my girl doesn't like the ginger-y taste of the cookie butter, I prepared her her own plate, which was sprinkled with lots of powdered sugar (you can reduce it for your kid, if you like) and drizzled with Nesquik chocolate syrup.

Verdict? She loved it that she asked for another serving... and another. I'm a fulfilled home chef! For the plating, you may add more toppings like nuts, rainbow sprinkles and mini marshmallows for a more exciting healthy snacking for you and your kid.

Ingredients:

- 5 saba (ripe plantain; aka cardaba banana), halved lengthwise
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cold milk
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- pinch of salt
- cooking oil for frying
   for toppings:
- powdered sugar (aka confectioners' sugar)
- chocolate syrup
- cookie butter

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, mix the flour, milk, cinnamon and salt with a whisk or fork. It's advisable that the milk is cold to make the fritters' breading crispy, like tempura. The batter's texture should be smooth and a little runny.

2. Dip the banana in the bowl one at a time and arrange it in a small plate. Align three bananas and scoop a teaspoon of batter then pour at the top of the arrangement.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan with medium fire. Maruya is usually deep-fried but for this recipe, I reduced it to 1/4 cup of lauric oil. (I only added a tablespoon of oil for the third batch since bananas have the tendency to absorb it.)

4. Once the oil is hot enough for frying (should be hot so it won't stick), carefully place the arranged bananas in the pan. Fry until both sides are golden brown. Drain in a paper towel.

5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until all bananas are fried.

6. For plating, using a strainer, put a teaspoon of powdered sugar and sift it on top of the fried bananas. Add a dollop of your favorite cookie butter on the side or drizzle it with chocolate syrup. Best served hot. Enjoy! ♡

For more of my recipes, click here. Happy cooking!