CHALLENGE #39 - It's Bananas! Teler Pitha
Wednesday, April 18th, 2018 08:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
Growing up, a bunch of overripe bananas could only mean one thing: a showdown between my mom and I. On one corner was me, with a burning desire for banana bread. On the other, my mom, determined to make teler pitha. Who would win???
Usually my mom, because while I love banana bread, I'm also pretty lazy about actually getting to the kitchen!
But teler pitha are pretty good -- they're fried banana fritters, after all. I especially love the crust on them -- deep brown and almost caramel-y rich, with tender banana insides. The definition of comfort food, for all that you might be making them in a cramped apartment kitchen, instead of outdoors, with an open flame and It's hard to mess up.
Ingredients:
3 medium sized overripe bananas, mashed
1 cup rice flour (or 1/2 cup AP flour, 1/2 cup rice flour, or all AP)
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar or equivalent sugar substitute (add more or less according to your sweetness preference)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Pinch of salt
Oil for frying
Method:
1. Whisk flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, salt together in a bowl, set aside. In another bowl, mix bananas, sugar, egg and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients with dry and mix. Batter will be very thick. Add a tsp of water if it's too thick, but you don't want a runny batter.
2. Prepare for the frying. I'm pretty leery of deep-frying and end up going for a more shallower pan with less oil. Frying with faint praise. Drop rounded spoonfuls of batter in to the oil once it's hot enough. Don't over crowd the pan -- fry in batches.
The pitha are done when they have turned deep brown (but you can take them out when they're lighter colored -- up to you.)
3. Serve immediately, with a light dusting of powdered sugar (if feeling fancy.)
Now that I think of it, isn't teler pitha fried banana bread? Isn't banana bread baked teler pitha? Food for thought!
Usually my mom, because while I love banana bread, I'm also pretty lazy about actually getting to the kitchen!
But teler pitha are pretty good -- they're fried banana fritters, after all. I especially love the crust on them -- deep brown and almost caramel-y rich, with tender banana insides. The definition of comfort food, for all that you might be making them in a cramped apartment kitchen, instead of outdoors, with an open flame and It's hard to mess up.
Ingredients:
3 medium sized overripe bananas, mashed
1 cup rice flour (or 1/2 cup AP flour, 1/2 cup rice flour, or all AP)
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar or equivalent sugar substitute (add more or less according to your sweetness preference)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Pinch of salt
Oil for frying
Method:
1. Whisk flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, salt together in a bowl, set aside. In another bowl, mix bananas, sugar, egg and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients with dry and mix. Batter will be very thick. Add a tsp of water if it's too thick, but you don't want a runny batter.
2. Prepare for the frying. I'm pretty leery of deep-frying and end up going for a more shallower pan with less oil. Frying with faint praise. Drop rounded spoonfuls of batter in to the oil once it's hot enough. Don't over crowd the pan -- fry in batches.
The pitha are done when they have turned deep brown (but you can take them out when they're lighter colored -- up to you.)
3. Serve immediately, with a light dusting of powdered sugar (if feeling fancy.)
Now that I think of it, isn't teler pitha fried banana bread? Isn't banana bread baked teler pitha? Food for thought!
no subject
Date: Friday, April 20th, 2018 08:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, April 22nd, 2018 08:50 pm (UTC)