jemput-jemput (banana fritters)

The week after Da and I came back to Singapore after spending several days at my grandmother's home in Muar, Malaysia during Chinese New Year this year, we discovered that our Moulinex convection oven (which we have been using since 1998) has decided to retire. The heating function of this oven is tied to the timer. As such, if the timer goes hay-wire, the oven will not work. While the heating element in our oven is still in working order, the timer has "lost track of time". What used to be 0 minutes is no longer the "start". Worse still, the "start" is now a moving target. As such, it would not be possible to use our oven anymore to bake cakes or cookies or anything else where it is important to have constant heating for the duration of the baking. Just imagine if the timer suddenly decides that it is the "start" (ie. 0 minutes), say, 15 minutes into the baking of a cake. This oven's timer does not have the function where it will go "ding!" when it has reached 0 minutes, as such if we wish to continue using this oven, I would practically have to sit next to the oven while it is in use. *grin*

Although Da and I have since bought a Tefal convection oven, I am still familiarising myself with its functions. As such, until I "season" the oven (no, BH, I do not intend to season it with seasoning sauce.... *grin*), I am on the lookout for recipes that do not require the use of an oven.

While Da and I were at the supermarket, I saw a beautiful bunch of bananas.

What can you make with bananas? Other than banana cake or banana bread, you may want to try making jemput-jemput (banana fritters).

Ingredients

600g bananas (equivalent to about 5 large bananas)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla essence

6 tbsp fine sugar

290g plain flour

6 tbsp rice flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

oil for frying (I use a mixture of canola oil and sunflower oil)

Method

1. Using a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas thoroughly.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well blended.

3. Heat up a wok with some cooking oil.

4. Spoon the batter using 2 wet spoons to form a ball shape. Fry in medium heat until crispy and golden brown.

5. Drain off the excess oil from the jemput-jemput.

6. Transfer the jemput-jemput onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to cool (and to soak up any remnant excess oil).

Tips

1. This recipe goes better with local bananas (eg. pisang rajah) instead of the large Dole bananas. However, if you cannot find local bananas, make do with the large Dole bananas but do not give this recipe a miss. It is easy to follow and the jemput-jemput is delicious.

2. Ideally, you should use over-ripe bananas so that the jemput-jemput is sweeter and softer. If you do use over-ripe bananas, you can consider replacing the fine sugar with brown sugar.

3. If you are using ripe bananas that are not over-ripe, if you were to replace the fine sugar with brown sugar, your jemput-jemput will not be very sweet. If this suits your palate, that is fine. However, your guests who have a sweet tooth may find that the jemput-jemput is not sweet enough.

4. If you cannot finish eating the jemput-jemput (which is best eaten hot), you can reheat it the next day in a convection oven.