M for Malaysia ~ Cekodok Pisang

Event: BM #44 , Around the World (A - Z series)
Choice of Country: Malaysia  
Capital City: Kuala Lumpur  
Official Language: Malaysian

After a short break yesterday, I am back to my alphabet based global cooking and today we are moving to "M" and "Malaysia", a south east Asian nation. This federal constitutional monarchy is separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). This nation was ruled by Malay monarchs up until the 18th century when it came under British rule. It finally became independent in 1957. Now the head of government is the Prime Minister while the head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, though The constitution declares Islam the state religion. 
Malays, Chinese and Indians form the major ethnic groups. Malaysian cuisine has evolved into a highly diverse and complex one owing to this multi-ethnic makeup of its population, historical migrations, colonization by foreign powers, and its geographical position. The present day cuisine is a melange of traditions from it's Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and ethnic Bornean citizens. 
(Source:Wiki)
 
The first recipe that popped up in my search of Malaysian treats was cekodok. Even though I later bookmarked a lot of desserts, I stuck to these fritters since they were simple and quick to prepare and I had to finish off some leftover bananas. Cekodok pisang are supposedly one of the popular, traditional snacks in Malaysia. They also go by alternative names cekodok, kuih kodok, cucur and jemput-jemput. These fritters are prepared using flour and banana but are not at all on the sweet side. In fact they were bland to our taste and I would prefer some extra sugar added to the batter if I try them next time. They are very easy and quick to prepare and a nice way to use up those left over bananas lying on your counter. They are usually round shaped and can be made small or big depending upon one's choices. And of course bananas can be substituted with anchovies, prawns, onions or maize.

Ingredients: (Make about a dozen)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
2 tbsp coconut
1 tsp sugar
1 big sized banana (I had approximately 7 tbsp puree.)
Oil to fry

Method:
* Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
* Mash the banana finely in a bowl and stir in together flour mixture, sugar and coconut. Mix well to combine.

* Heat oil for deep frying in a pan.
* Drop big spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil.

* Fry them on low flame until they turn golden brown throughout.

* Drain them on absorbent towels and serve warm.

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