Maruya or Banana Fritters is a popular snack in the Philippines. It is one of the best quick fixes out there when you need to fuel up in the afternoons.
Like the turon, one would often see maruya sold by street vendors or street food carts but it is also commonly cooked in Filipino households.
In this recipe article, you learn a great deal about this food as well as several tips and techniques to make sure you get to cook the perfect maruya everytime.
What is Maruya?
To simply describe what maruya is, it is batter-coated saba (plantain) bananas deep-fried to a golden crisp then topped with sugar for extra sweetness.
It has a light banana taste with a rich sweetened coating. This coating adds up to the overall volume making it a fulfilling snack.
This banana snack is of Spanish influence. It is similar to several banana dishes among Spanish colonized countries like Latin American countries. You’d notice similarities with dishes like tostones or patacones.
Even here in our country, maruya comes in different shapes and sizes. Here are some regional versions you might be familiar with:
North– In the northern regions of the country bananas are mashed and mixed with the batter.
Bicol (Sinapot)– In the bicol region, maruya is known as sinapot and can be described as bananas sliced in smaller pieces then joined together by the batter.
Visayas (Pinaypay)– In the Visayas region, maruya is known as pinaypay. Bananas are sliced in two 4 or 5 parts then spread like a fan before coating it with the batter.
Others– Other versions include cutting the bananas into halves before coating or by dicing or cutting into small pieces before coating. In this recipe, we will be doing the latter chunky maruya version.
Is Maruya Good For Diet?
As a go-to snack, you might be wondering if Maruya is good for the diet or is it healthy? The answer is yes, it is a better choice amongst other snacks because of the saba bananas.
The banana in itself is nutritious. It’s a good source of vitamins, fiber, carbohydrates, and iron. It is known to aid in body functions like digestion, blood circulation and immunity. However, batter coating the bananas and deep frying them in oil may improve the taste but not on the health side.
A healthier option would be to bake instead of frying. Check out our Baked Maruya recipe.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Bananas
When cutting the bananas (whether in chunks, halves, or slices) try to make it uniform in size. This will help the maruya cook evenly per batch.
Flour and Cornstarch
This recipe uses all purpose flour in the batter. If you opt for a crispier maruya, switch half of the needed flour in this recipe and replace it with corn starch.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like sugar, baking powder, egg, salt, and cooking oil. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Frying Pan- You will also need a frying pan or a skillet on which we will be pan frying our dish. Alternatively, you can also use an air fryer to fry this.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Cook Maruya
The key to cooking the best maruya comes down to good bananas and a good batter. Below is a list of cooking tips you can count on so make sure to read them as well.
Cooking maruya starts with preparing the bananas. As mentioned earlier, you have options on how to cut the bananas. For this recipe, we will be cutting them into small chunks.
Next we will make the batter or the coating of the maruya. To do this, we simply combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, then combine both after.
Lastly, we will simultaneously coat the bananas in the batter and fry them after. Frying time will depend on the size of the pan or the size of the batch. The goal here is to visually wait for the golden brown color.
Cooking Tips
- In making maruya, make sure you use ripe bananas to get that fresh sweet taste.
- During deep frying, add the oil in batches. We do not want the maruya to have excessive oil.
- Fry over medium heat. High heat will burn the coating and leave the banana undercooked while low heat will cook too long and make the maruya oily.
- Refill just enough oil as you cook the maruya in batches.
- For a better batter texture, use chilled milk or milk that came from the refrigerator.
- Don’t overmix the batter, stop when the flour and the liquid has fully incorporated.
How to Serve Maruya
You can get very flexible (and creative) when it comes to serving maruya. Here are some suggestions on the toppings or pairings you can add to this snack:
- Sugar– This is the default or most commonly used topping. Simple dust or coat the maruya with white sugar.
- Cinnamon Sugar– To spice up the sugar, add some cinnamon to your topping/ coating. This is a common coating in fried snacks like doughnuts and churros.
- Syrup– Drizzle your maruya with flavored syrups or sauces like maple syrup, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, etc.
- Condensed Milk– For a milky maruya, you can try drizzling with condensed milk or condensed creamer.
- Ala mode– Go extra spices by going ala mode or by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Do you have other suggestions? Comment below!
How to Store and Reheat Maruya
Maruya is usually served freshly cooked to enjoy that warm and crispy texture. If you don’t eat right away, it gets soggy over time.
You can prevent this from happening by placing it in a food warmer or keep it warm in a low heated oven. About 100 C or 200 F will do.
In case you have to store leftovers, place in a clean food container with lid. Refrigerate this for up to 3 days. To reheat, you have to use a conventional oven to somewhat bring back its crispiness.
Other Filipino Snack Recipes
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Easy Maruya (Banana Fritters) Recipe
Equipment
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 6 pcs ripe banana saba (or plantain)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp butter, optional
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional
- 1 pc egg
- 1 cup fresh milk (or water), chilled
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Cooking oil, for frying
- Sugar, for coating/ dusting
Instructions
- Cut the bananas into small pieces. You can also mash the bananas using a masher or fork. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add-in the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar then mix together.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add-in the egg, vanilla extract, butter, and milk then mix together.
- Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together to form the batter.
- Add-in the bananas into the mixture and make sure they are fully coated. (If you opt to use sliced bananas, dip them into the batter instead before frying.)
- In a frying pan, add enough cooking oil and apply medium heat (see notes above for frying tips).
- When the oil is hot enough, scoop about ¼ cup of the banana mixture and cook 1 side until golden brown.
- Flip using tongs to cook the other side. This will take about 1 to 2 minutes each side. Cook in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Transfer cooked maruya into a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Lastly, dust or coat the maruya with sugar or any topping of your choice (see notes above for examples). Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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