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Maruya (Banana Fritters)

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
To cook maruya, you will need ripe saba bananas. They are at their softest and sweetest at this stage. You just won’t get the right texture and flavor if the saba bananas aren’t sufficiently ripe.
What is saba banana? Also known as cardaba, sweet plantain, compact banana and papaya banana, saba is a banana cultivar that grows in the Philippines (see photo after the recipe). It is a cooking banana used to make sweet snacks but it is also a common ingredient in savory dishes.
Is saba banana the same or similar to plantain? Botanically, they are different plants. Saba banana is also different from cardava banana. For cooking purposes, however, it is possible to substitute one for the other. The flavor profile of the cooked banana will not be the same, neither will the texture, but you’ll still get good results.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 4 people
Maruya (Filipino banana fritters) on white plate
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Ingredients
  

  • cooking oil
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup full-fat milk
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 8 ripe saba bananas

Instructions
 

  • Into a wok or frying pan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of at least three inches and turn on the stove to start heating it.
  • Place the sugar in a wide shallow bowl.
  • Make the batter by whisking together the egg, flour, salt, baking powder and milk until smooth.
  • Peel the bananas. Cut each vertically into three to five slices, depending on how large they are, without going all the way through on one end. Carefully spread the slices to make a "fan" (see notes after the recipe).
  • Dip each banana in the batter making sure that the batter reaches the crevices between the slices.
    Dipping sliced saba bananas in batter
  • Over medium heat, fry the battered bananas, two to three minutes per side, or until golden and crisp. Do this in batches to avoid overcrowding.
  • Scoop out the cooked bananas, dredge in sugar and serve at once.
    Rolling fried saba bananas (maruya) in sugar

Notes

Ripe saba bananas
Above, what saba bananas look like.
Most cooks slice the saba bananas all the way through to prep them. Since maruya is cooked in clusters of three to five slices of banana, keeping several slices together after dipping in the egg-flour batter can get messy. By cutting and spreading the bananas like a fan, it’s easier to keep them together.
Updated from a recipe originally published in August 14, 2012
Keyword bananas, Saba banana