Cucur Pisang

Ingredients

Batter

• 6very ripe bananas
• 250 gplain flour
• 3 tablespoonsrice flour
• 80 gsugar
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 1/2 teaspoonground cinnamon, optional
• about 100 ml water or coconut milk

Sometimes added

• 50 gdesiccated coconut
• 1 teaspoonvanilla
• a pinch of ground nutmeg

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• caster sugar, for dusting
• tea or coffee

Directions

1. Keep them in a paper bag to speed it up. Never refrigerate an unripe banana. Leave it out and the fritters are softer. Peel the bananas and put them in a bowl. Mash them roughly with a fork.
2. Leave some lumps rather than pureeing them. A smooth puree gives a uniform pancake instead. Add the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cinnamon if you are using it. Mix it together with a wooden spoon.
3. Add water or coconut milk gradually. Stop as soon as it comes together. Add more flour if it seems loose. Add a little liquid if it is very stiff.
4. Let the batter stand for ten minutes. Frying them needs the right heat. Pour oil into a deep pan to seven centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil.
5. Heat the oil to about 170C for frying. A drop of batter should sizzle up at once. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil. Use two spoons to push them off cleanly. Do not crowd the pan at any point.
6. Fry them for about four minutes. Turn them over as they colour. They should be deep golden all over.
7. Break one open from the first batch. The inside should be cooked and soft. Lift them onto kitchen paper to drain. Serving them is done properly hot. Dust them with caster sugar if you like. The banana supplies enough sweetness.

Technique

• A tamu is an open-air market held on set days in Brunei, and these fritters are fried to order at them.
• The bananas must be heavily spotted or black-skinned, since underripe ones give no sweetness and stay in hard lumps.
• A little rice flour in the batter fries harder than wheat flour alone and gives a crisper outside.

Substitutions

• Cornflour does the same job as rice flour in giving a crisper fritter.
• Coconut milk in place of water gives a richer batter.

Variations

• Some cooks add desiccated coconut to the batter.
• A version with sweetcorn, cucur jagung, is made the same way.
• The same fritter is sold as pisang goreng and kuih cucur across the region.

History

Banana fritters fried to order at Ramadan bazaars and afternoon tea, shared with Malaysia and Indonesia.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cucur Pisang?

Cucur Pisang is a snack from Brunei: banana fritters fried to order at tamu markets. Banana fritters fried to order at Ramadan bazaars and afternoon tea, shared with Malaysia and Indonesia.

How long does Cucur Pisang take to make?

Cucur Pisang takes 20 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 fritters. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Cucur Pisang?

Yes, within limits. Cornflour does the same job as rice flour in giving a crisper fritter. Coconut milk in place of water gives a richer batter.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cucur Pisang?

Keep them in a paper bag to speed it up. Never refrigerate an unripe banana. Leave it out and the fritters are softer. Peel the bananas and put them in a bowl. Mash them roughly with a fork.