I grew up eating bananas. It’s one of my fondest memories while still living in a tropical country like Philippines.
Ever since I can remember, my father always has a mini-farm where he planted and cultivated native banana varieties, specifically latundan (dessert bananas) and saba (or cardaba known as cooking bananas) mainly for family’s personal consumption.
However, when the harvest was plentiful, he often shared with relatives or sell them by the piece for less than the price at the market.
When my mother opened a small stall across the public high school in town, she started selling snack foods which included her famous munggo ice candy and banana cue. It was an instant hit on day one. Because she earned loyal customers, she later on expanded her small business and added more food items. My father’s own banana harvest helped my mom start up her dream of opening a food stall which became a big help to our family financially.
For today’s recipe, I will be sharing with you guys how I make banana fritters, also known as “maruya” among Filipinos.
Maruya [mah-rooh-yah]is a popular snack food in the Philippines made from thinly sliced saba bananas, dredged in batter, deep-fried till golden brown, then sprinkled with granulated sugar. Because it is inexpensive, it’s commonly sold as a street food all over the country.
For this recipe, I am using plantain bananas instead of the usual saba or cardaba just because I prefer its naturally sweet taste. If you have saba bananas, go ahead and use them. This one’s quick and easy fried banana fritters recipe you will surely enjoy!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Yields: 6-8
Ingredients: 
4 pieces large ripe plantain bananas
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
2 cups canola oil for frying
Tools You’ll Need:
Knife
Cutting board
Large mixing bowl
Whisk / Fork
Nonstick skillet or frying pan
Ladle
Spatula
2 large plates
Paper towels
Procedure:
1. Peel bananas and slice thinly across, about 1/8 inch thick.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg with a fork or whisk.
3. Add milk and mix.
4. Add the flour and mix thoroughly until you form a batter.
5. Throw in sliced plantains and mix gently to coat with batter.
6. Heat oil in a skillet or frying pan. Using a ladle or measuring spoon, scoop about half a cup of the mixture and drop onto heated oil. Depending on the size of your frying pan, place 3-4 at a time. Do not overcrowd. Fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until edges starts to turn brown.
7. Flip and fry the other side until banana fritters are golden brown.
8. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil.
9. Continue frying the rest of the mixture till it’s used up.
10. Place sugar on a separate plate. Dredge banana fritters on both sides with sugar. Shake off excess.
11. Allow to cool completely before serving.
- 4 pieces large ripe plantain bananas
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups canola oil for frying
- Peel bananas and slice thinly across, about ⅛ inch thick.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the egg with a fork or whisk.
- Add milk and mix.
- Add the flour and mix thoroughly until you form a batter.
- Throw in sliced plantains and mix gently to coat with batter.
- Heat oil in a skillet or frying pan. Using a ladle or measuring spoon, scoop about half a cup of the mixture and drop onto heated oil. Depending on the size of your frying pan, place 3-4 at a time. Do not overcrowd. Fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until edges starts to turn brown.
- Flip and fry the other side until banana fritters are golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil.
- Continue frying the rest of the mixture till it's used up.
- Place sugar on a separate plate. Dredge banana fritters on both sides with sugar. Shake off excess.
- Allow to cool completely before serving.
These look lovely! We have a version in Malaysia as well, we call it ‘goreng pisang’ (fried bananas) but they are usually whole, small bananas. 🙂
Glad to know, Taco!What banana variety do you use? In Philippines, we also have fried whole saba bananas, with caramelized brown sugar. I will post the recipe later on.