Going Bananas! - Kelyanchyo Gariyo (Banana Fritters)

One of my readers mailed me a couple of weeks ago asking if I could upload the recipe of a quintessentially Mangalorean seasonal (summertime) snack - the Gariyo, but made with Bananas instead of the Jackfruit. I had never heard of Banana Gariyos but found the idea quite interesting and promised her that I would hunt for a recipe. I flipped through my favourite Mangy Cookery Bibles (a.k.a recipe books) and found a slightly different version than what my requestor wanted, but the outcome was quite nice. My DH (dear hubby) jokingly said this was the Goli Baje's (savoury fritters) sweeter cousin. Sure it was! A hybrid between the Goli Baje (in texture) and the Jackfruit Gariyo (in flavour). This is definitely not like the authentic Gariyo (which are more firm and a bit tough to eat), but a very good replacement if you want to pop a Gariyo anytime round the year. It is also different from the Banana Fritters which is very commonly made in Keralite households which involves slices of bananas dipped in batter & deep fried.

While the Jackfruit Gariyos are made with ground rice, jaggery, coconut and ripe jackfruit, the Banana version is quite simple - wheat flour, sugar, bananas & coconut milk come together to make the batter which can be whipped up in a jiffy. I am quite eager to try out the rice flour version of this recipe - I will try it soon enough & upload that recipe here too. And since Gariyos have been my favourite since my childhood (prefer them over the steamed Jackfruit Patholis), I am waiting for the summer so that I can hopefully find some Jackfruit in the supermarket, or better still, smuggle some from Mangalore :-)

While I limit deep frying to once a month (it's a highly unhealthy way of cooking), I did try this last evening as this post was due for a long time. I reduced the quantities as we are just 2 adults and a small mouth to feed :-)

You Need: (note that these are figures that I reduced by one third of the original recipe to give a yield of 15 gariyos, I measured each ingredient in grams. The cup/tbsp figures mentioned here are approximate)

1. Mash the banana well and mix it along with the wheat flour & sugar.

2. Prepare the coconut milk and add it to the above mixture. You can add small amounts of water or more coconut milk to arrive at a thick batter (cake batter consistency)

3. Heat oil for deep frying. Test the heat by dropping a small drop of batter. If it comes up immediately your oil is hot enough for frying.

4. Drop about a tablespoonful (or use your fingers) of batter into the hot oil & fry till golden brown.

5. Remove from the oil & transfer onto an absorbent kitchen towel.

6. Serve hot!