Gato Banane: Mauritian Banana Fritters Recipe

Gato banane, or banana cakes, are Mauritian banana fritters: very ripe bananas mashed into a thick batter with flour and a little water, then dropped by the spoonful into hot oil until golden. Despite the name, nothing goes in the oven. The quickest published version, from a chef in Grand Baie, takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, which makes it an easy way to use up overripe bananas.

What gato banane are

Several Mauritian fritters carry the name “gâteau” (gato in Creole), including the chilli fritters known as gato pima. Gato banane are the sweet kind, eaten at tea time with a dusting of sugar. The recipes we read name no inventor and no date of origin, so we will not make up a history for them.

Bananas are not in short supply. One Mauritian tour operator counts five varieties on the island, among them the small, very sweet dwarf banana (banann zinzli) and the red banana (banann rouz), whose creamy flesh suits desserts. For fritters, use whatever you have, as long as it is properly ripe.

Ingredients

This is the simplest version, built on mashed bananas. Quantities are in cups, as in the original recipe, and make a thick batter.

• 2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
• 3/4 cup plain flour
• 3/4 cup maize meal (“poudre maïs” in Mauritius)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• about 3/4 cup water, added gradually
• a handful of raisins and 2 tablespoons of sugar, both optional
• oil for deep frying

Method

1. Make the batter

Mix the flour, maize meal, baking powder, salt and mashed bananas. Add sugar only if your bananas are not very sweet; ripe ones are usually enough. Pour in the water a little at a time, stirring as you go. The batter should end up thicker than pancake batter. If it is runny, it spreads out in the oil instead of forming rounds.

2. Fry

Heat enough oil to float the fritters. Once it is hot, drop in spoonfuls of batter. The published recipes only give visual cues: turn the fritters until they are golden all over, which takes two to three minutes in one of them. None of them gives an oil temperature.

3. Drain and serve

Lift the fritters out with a slotted spoon, drain them on kitchen paper and serve them hot. Two of the recipes dust them with sugar and cinnamon.

Three ways to make them

The base stays the same: banana, flour and oil. The rest depends on the texture you want.

The third recipe works differently from the other two. The slices are dipped one by one in a thin batter, like battered fruit, instead of being mashed into the batter. The result is closer to a fruit fritter than to a soft dumpling.

Variations

Brinda Bungaroo’s version adds semolina, desiccated coconut, a pinch of cardamom, a little vanilla and, optionally, flaked almonds. She says the fritters soak up little oil and describes them as an afternoon snack to have with a cup of tea. She fries in coconut oil.

The maize meal in the first recipe makes a crisper fritter. Raisins and sugar are left to you: it all depends on how ripe the bananas are.

Keeping them

None of the recipes we read gives a storage time, and all of them serve the fritters hot. Eat them the day you make them, straight from the oil.

What to serve them with

Gato banane go with afternoon tea. For a savoury Mauritian fritter, try gateau piment; on the sweet side, napolitaines; and to go with a curry, farata. More dishes are collected in our guide to Mauritian cuisine.

Sources and checks

• Foodwini: gato banane recipe
• Brinda Bungaroo: banana fritters with semolina and coconut
• International Cuisine: banana beignets by Chef Sandy, Grand Baie
• Mautourco: banana varieties in Mauritius