another asian delight - jemput jemput pisang

Its Asian but from the Malay branch of the Asian race ;)) … jemput jemput pisang is banana fritters though there are so many definition of fritters.

If I were to directly translate ‘jemput jemput pisang’ it would be invite- invite banana ;)) sounds silly don’t it .. The malay language has many words with repeats its first word like jemput-jemput or labah-labah which is spider. Why its done so I have no idea. Before I go further on here is a very short malay lesson … pisang is banana and jemput is invite. But there is no relation between jemput in the context of invite and jemput-jemput if anything its two words with two different meaning – its always confused me even when I was in school but anyways the words are complicated but the dish isn’t – its delicious and so easy to make …

I don’t really know why its called jemput jemput pisang for all I know its been around for a very long time and it’s a snack from the Malay community here. It’s really easy to make with just basic ingredients of water sugar self raising flour banana. The secret to making great tasting and soft on the inside jemput jemput is to have really ripe bananas. Any type of banana would be great and it all depends on where in the world you are and the type of bananas you get but the key are for the bananas to be ripe or else the dish will be a big disappointment.

This dish requires it to be deep fried on a medium heat so that the insides are cook and the outside is crispy. I have a habit of over frying my fritters but the actual color should be a nice golden brown.. And this snack is best eaten when its hot fresh out of the fryer. We would use paper towels to wipe off the extra oil and enjoy the snack while its hot – great now I want some jemput jemput pisang ………

Jemput Jemput Pisang (banana fritters)

Ingredients

4 ripe bananas

2-3 tbsp self raising flour

2 tbsp sugar (you can add more sugar but the natural sweetness of the

bananas makes up for the less sugar used)
Water

Salt (optional)

Directions:

1- Mash the banana to a pulp

2- Add sugar and mix thoroughly.

3- Add flour and mix it well till the ingredients are one add water to get desired consistency.

4- Heat oil in pan then scoop out about 1 ½ tbsp or 1 tbsp of the batter into the hot oil – it will fluff up. Fry for a few minutes until it turns golden brown. Remove from heat drain on paper towels and enjoy …..

And that’s it simple fast and delicious – notice my slightly burnt fritters ;)) .. This is a must try dish and try not to use too much flour it hardens the fritter J . The inside of the fritter will be soft and moist and a little gooey its always the best and the outisde a little crispy but not completely - if you get that your jemput jemput pisang experience is complete .... :D

Happy trying all!