Mofo akondro

Ingredients

The batter

• 6very ripe bananas
• mashed
• 250 grice flour
• 100 gplain flour
• 80 gsugar
• or to taste
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• about 150 ml water
• or coconut milk

Sometimes added

• a pinch of grated nutmeg
• a little vanilla
• zest of 1 lemon

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• hot, with sweet coffee
• at dawn
• from a street corner

Directions

1. Taste the batter and adjust it. Very ripe bananas may need little at all. Peel all of the very ripe bananas. Mash them thoroughly in a bowl.
2. Mash them until they are quite smooth. Large lumps stay wet inside the fritter. Put both flours in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir them together thoroughly. The two flours must be evenly combined. Whisk them together before adding liquid.
3. Add the mashed banana to the flours. Add water or coconut milk gradually. Stir it into a thick dropping batter. It should be thick rather than pourable.
4. Add more flour if it is too loose. Add the liquid gradually for that reason. Taste a little of the raw batter. Adjust the sugar to your liking. Let the batter stand for fifteen minutes. Heating the oil takes attention.
5. Pour the oil into a deep heavy pot. Fill it no more than half full. Heat it to about one hundred and seventy degrees. It should rise and sizzle steadily. Keep a lid nearby to smother a flare-up. Never put water on an oil fire at all. Keep children well away from the pot. Frying them takes care and batches.
6. Take a spoonful of the batter. Slide it into the hot oil gently. Use a second spoon to push it off. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Turn them over with a slotted spoon. Give them another two minutes. Break the first one open to check. The inside should be set and cooked.
7. Lift them out onto a wire rack. A rack keeps them from going soggy. Let all the excess oil drip away. That softens the base within minutes. Pile them into a basket or a bag. Serve strong sweet coffee alongside. They are best within the first hour.

Technique

• The bananas must be genuinely very ripe, heavily speckled or black: ripe bananas have converted their starch to sugar, so they are far sweeter and more aromatic, while underripe ones give a bland result. They supply most of the sweetness, so taste the batter and adjust the sugar before frying — it varies enormously with the fruit.
• Rice flour has no gluten and cannot hold a batter alone, so some wheat flour goes in with it; the proportion varies between cooks. Banana size and ripeness also vary, so add the liquid gradually and judge by the batter rather than the recipe.
• Banana batter browns fast because of the sugar in it, so watch these more closely than plain fritters and lower the heat if they darken too quickly — the outside can colour before the inside sets.

Substitutions

• Coconut milk in place of water enriches the batter.
• Some cooks mash the banana smooth and others leave it chunky for visible pieces; both are done.

Variations

• Mofo gasy, menakely and mofo baolina are the other members of the same fried bread family, sold at the same stalls in the same oil.
• The inside is soft and slightly dense rather than airy, which is correct for this fritter.
• Drain them on a wire rack rather than paper, which traps steam and softens the base.

History

Cooked at dawn on Malagasy street corners in the same oil as mofo gasy, sold with sweet coffee.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mofo akondro?

Mofo akondro is a street food from Madagascar: ripe banana mashed into batter and fried into hot rounds. Cooked at dawn on Malagasy street corners in the same oil as mofo gasy, sold with sweet coffee.

How long does Mofo akondro take to make?

Mofo akondro takes 20 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 pieces. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mofo akondro?

Yes, within limits. Coconut milk in place of water enriches the batter. Some cooks mash the banana smooth and others leave it chunky for visible pieces; both are done.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mofo akondro?

Mash them until they are quite smooth. Large lumps stay wet inside the fritter. Put both flours in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir them together thoroughly. The two flours must be evenly combined. Whisk them together before adding liquid.