Banana Pancakes

An American standard with a Malawian twist.

Ingredients

½–1 kg bananas

1 cup white flour
½ cup ground meal (corn meal) or ufa (white maize flour)
1/3 cup dry milk solids
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp granulated salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 egg
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 cup water

oil for cooking

Directions

Peel the bananas and slice into coins.  Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients (flour through sugar) and mix well.

Combine the egg and oil in a mixing bowl.  Beat with a sturdy fork until smooth.  While continuing to beat, gradually add the water to make a smooth mixture.

When ready to cook, add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and mix well.  (Don’t worry if the batter is slightly lumpy.)  Heat the frying pan and add the banana coins to the batter.  Stir to mix.  When the pan is hot enough, a drop of water will sputter and dance before evaporating.  Add enough oil to the pan to cook the first pancake.  Spoon the batter into the hot pan and flatten with the back of the spoon to make a large pancake.  When a few bubbles pop at the surface of the pancake and do not fully re-close, check that the pancake is browned on the bottom and readily lifts from the pan.  (If not, wait a few seconds longer and check again.)  Flip the pancake and cook until it is browned on both sides.

Add more oil to the pan as necessary between pancakes.  Serve the pancakes plain or with syrup.

Video

If the video does not play, view it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/N3pds26Zoyw.