Ethakka Appam / Pazham Pori / Banana fritters/ Ripe Plantain fritters

Ethakka Appam is what we call these golden beauties. At my inlaws place they call it Pazham Pori and in English it’s either Ripe plantain fritters or banana fritters. Whatever name they go by, these are yet another Keralite delicacy that is a regular in most households.  It is simple to make, a real tasty snack and totally loved by all especially with a hot cup of tea/coffee.

The bananas used to make these fritters are called as ethakka or ethapazham in our area and as nenthram pazham in some other parts of Kerala. These are the same bananas when raw, that’s used to make banana chips. When I tried to explain to some of my friends/neighbours as to the type of banana they need to use, they were not able to understand. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any ethakka/ripe plantain with me at that time to show them. So, here I’ve taken a picture of the plantains to help you guys pick up the right bananas from the store.

Making these fritters are really easy and quick as long as you’ve the ripe plantains ready in hand. You just need to slice them into finger length pieces, dip them in sweetened flour and fry them in coconut oil. And fall in love with them :).

ETHAKKA APPAM / PAZHAM PORI / BANANA FRITTERS

Ingredients

• Ethakka / Nenthram pazham – 3 (the riper and blacker the skin, the better)
• All Purpose Flour (maida) – 1 cup
• Sugar – 4 tablespoons (to be adjusted acc. to the sweetness of plantain)
• Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
• Tumeric Powder – a pinch (optional)
• Cardamom powder – 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
• Water – 1 cup (add accordingly)
• Oil

Method

Peel off the skin and cut the plantains by half. Each half, should then be sliced into 3 long thin slices. . The thinner, the tastier and crispier. :). So if you have 3 plantains, you should be having 18 slices. Keep aside

In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, tumeric powder, cardamom powder. Slowly add enough water to make a medium thick batter with no lumps.

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium flame.

once hot, dip the sliced plantains in the batter thoroughly and slowly place them into the hot oil.

Fry the bananas till they are golden brown and crisp on either sides and drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with tea or coffee.

NOTE

1. The version I make is the simple one. You could add cumin seeds or even a little sesame seeds. I’m not a fan of cumin, so I avoid it.
2. You could omit the tumeric powder altogether. i just add them to bring about the rich yellow color.
3. Some recipes ask for rice flour, but that’s only added to make the fritters more crispy. Over here, we’ve added baking soda and that makes it crispy enough, I guarantee!
4. The more ripe your plantains are, the lesser amount of sugar you need.
5. Normally, these are deep-fried fritters, but I just add a little more oil than you need for shallow frying and fry it in a frying pan rather than a wok/kadai.
6. The amount of water is approx. Add just enough so that it forms a thick paste and when the plantain slices are dipped in it, the batter stays on rather than dripping off.

Enjoy!!

Cheers!!!

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