Kerala Pazham Pori - Banana Fritters Recipe

Name: Kerala Pazham Pori - Banana Fritters Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 Indian Plantain/Banana/Nendram pazham (halved and sliced lengthwise); 1/2 cup Flour; 2 tbsp Rice flour; 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder; 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder; Pinch of salt; 1/4 cup Water (a little more or less); Coconut oil for frying

With the festival of Onam upon us I just had to share this simple snack/sweet treat. This is a traditional street food banana fritter that is crispy and golden on the outside while soft and mushy in the center once fried.

I must admit, I am not a traditional person as I am listen learning my roots. Understanding my own culture and the things that make me feel more grounded in my heritage. In saying this, food has always been that medium for me. I has helped me relate to childhood memories, learn new ideas and accept differences with every bite.

Growing up I’ve had these fritters so often but never knew they were called “Pazham Pori” or “Ethakka appam”. We didn’t just eat them during Onam but all through the year. They are a delicious tea time snack and very simple to make. Not to mention very delicious.

The recipe is very straight forward, the ripe bananas are peeled and sliced length ways. This is then dipped into a batter of flour, rice flour, salt, cardamom powder (elahchi powder), turmeric powder (haldi), a pinch of salt and cold water. They are fried ideally in coconut oil until golden, crispy and puffy. Remove them and drain over some paper towel before serving them hot with chai or coffee.

Now there are a few points to keep in mind, the bananas must be Indian Plantain bananas that are ripe but not over ripe or else they will completely disintegrate into the oil once fried. I like using coconut oil for the flavor but any neutral oil will also work well here. If the bananas are not too sweet you can use a little sugar in the batter while frying them. I prefer not to though. I have eaten some fritters that are dusted with icing sugar on the top once fried. The cold water helps make the batter crispy once fried. You need to use rice flour or tapioca starch (substitute) to make this batter crispy. It is a must.

The cooking time of the bananas will vary on multiple factors. The size you cut the bananas into, the heat of the coconut oil and the thickness of the batter. I like cutting the banana in half horizontally and then into 3 parts length wise giving me 6 pieces per banana. This is a good thickness once fried as well. The batter is thick enough to coat the spoon well hence it coats the banana really well once fried. I like to heat the oil on slow flame which allows it to heat up gradually. This ensures the banana doesn’t burn on the outside and stay raw in the center once fried.

They must be cooked at the time you want to serve them, as they will stay crispy for a few minutes but nothing longer than that. Also they are best eaten hot as a snack for tea. If you are looking for the Onam recipes, check out my Kesari recipe, Payasam recipe and a few others here.

Now that we have covered how to make these Banana fritters (Pazham Pori), you can have a look at the recipe video here but let’s get to it.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking. Happy Onam Ninjas!