Raw banana roasted
Plantain bananas are only used for cooking and can be found in specialist supermarkets.
Ingredients
For the batter:
a good pinch of saffron threads
1½ tbsp rice flour (also called ground rice)
55g/2oz plain flour
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp beaten egg
You also need:
65g/2½oz coconut, freshly grated
5 raw cashew nuts, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cardamom
1½ tbsp sugar
4 green cooking plantains, peeled with a knife
oil, for deep-frying
2 tsp honey (optional)
Method
1. To make the batter: soak the saffron in ½ tsp hot water for 10 minutes. Put the rice flour, sugar, ¼tsp cardamom and salt in a bowl. Mix well. Add 200ml/7fl oz water, the egg and the saffron. Beat to a smooth, frothy batter. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut, cashew nuts, rasins, cumin, ¼ tsp cardamom and sugar. Set aside.
3. To prepare the plantains: make 2 parallel incisions along the length of the plantain flesh from between the cuts to make a groove, being careful not to break the plantain. Fill the groove with the coconut mixture.
4. Heat the oil for deep-frying in a large frying pan or wok over a meduim heat. The oil is hot enough when a cube of bread sizzles and turns golden brown.
5. Dip the plantains in the batter and slip into the hot oil. Deep-fry the plantains for 4-5 minutes until crisp and golden. Serve immediately, either whole or sliced, and drizzled with honey if you wish.
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