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Bakabana
Fried plantain fritters
Surinamese battered ripe plantain fritters with a spicy peanut sauce
Bakabana are Suriname's favourite snack: long slices of ripe plantain dipped in a light batter and fried until crisp outside and custard-soft within. In Paramaribo they're sold from warung stalls (the Javanese-Surinamese snack bars), and in Dutch cities with Surinamese communities, always with a spicy peanut sauce on the side for dipping. The sweet fruit, crisp shell and salty-hot sauce make them hard to stop eating. Chef's tip: pick plantains that are yellow with lots of black spots but still firm; fully black and soft ones fall apart in the batter.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the fritters
- 4 oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup cold water
- 2 cups vegetable oilfor frying
For the peanut sauce
- 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1 clove garliccrushed
- 1 tsp sambal oelek or chilli pasteto taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ¼ cup hot water
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Whisk 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter, 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis), 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp sambal oelek or chilli paste and 1 tbsp lime juice with ¼ cup hot water until smooth and pourable. Set aside.
Step 2: Whisk 4 oz plain flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt with ¾ cup cold water into a smooth batter about as thick as pancake batter.
Step 3: Peel 2 ripe plantains (yellow with black spots) and cut each in half across, then each half lengthways into 3 slices about 1 cm thick.
Step 4: Heat 2 cups vegetable oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Dip plantain slices in batter, let the excess drip off and fry 4–5 at a time for 3–4 minutes, turning, until crisp and golden-brown. Common mistake: frying too many at once; the oil cools and the batter goes greasy.
15 minStep 5: Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with the peanut sauce for dipping.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bakabana take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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