I didn’t make these up, but I wish I had. They’re not Punjabi, as far as I know (but aren’t pakoras one of those patterns into which anything can be inserted without making it not-a-pakora?). I’ve been coming across various renditions (some with flour, some with besan), and thought I’d fry up a batch. There’s some resonance here for me with frying things and rain and being sick, but I have a cold so the association is muddled in my head.
Anyway, I just felt like frying, okay?
These would be great with brunch, or as dessert, or with chai. I would leave the banana pieces fairly big, because during frying they soften up and their edges kind of melt into the fried batter in an amazingly delicious way. My sense is that less-ripe bananas would be best – again, because cooking softens/ripens them quite a bit. The ones I used were yellow, without any brown spots yet.
recipe: banana pakoras
4 bananas, peeled and cut into squat cylinders
1 cup whole grain pastry flour (all-purpose flour would work fine)
1 cup almond milk (or any other kind of milk)
1 egg
1 T canola oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
approx. 1 cup canola oil (for frying)
Heat the cup of oil over med-hi heat in a heavy pan. While it’s coming up to temperature, mix up all the batter ingredients until smoothish, then dump the banana chunks into the batter. When the oil is hot, use a tablespoon to scoop up one piece of banana at a time and drop it in the oil. Fry a minute or two on each side, until it’s a lovely golden color. Drain on paper towels and serve while toasty.
