Banana fritters

Shana Dawn Lewis has been a

qualified chef for over 25 years, and was the winner of the Wise Women Award 2021 in the Life Turnaround category

I’m pretty sure if you could get Harry, Meghan and a few of his family members in one room, and Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings and Matt Hancock in another room, all sat down at a table with a plate of these beauties in front of them…nyaming them down - yes, I said nyaming, lol, which we know simply means ‘to eat’ in Caribbean dialect - they would be able to solve a lot (maybe not all) of their problems, and put to rest some issues. They could even wash them down with my homemade Guinness punch recipe (see Keep The Faith issue 114 June 2020).

OK, OK, so I jest a little here, but I wanted to put a little smile on your face, before you set about starting this quick, easy and very moreish recipe of Shana’s Banana Fritters.

I thought, as part of this issue of Keep The Faith is dedicated to studying and universities, then this type of recipe would appeal to our younger adult readers. As I said earlier, it is quick, easy, moreish and inexpensive too, which will be of great help to those of you, who want a sweet treat, have low funds, and want to impress your uni buddies with your culinary skills. Turn up with a plastic container of these for a ‘bring and share’ and you’ll have friends for life. With the added bonus of making them vegan-friendly* too, you’ll have even more friends for life, lol.

3 medium, ripe bananas 8oz of self-raising flour 4oz of sugar 2-3oz of milk* Ground cinnamon/nutmeg/ mixed spices Oil 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional) You should get 12 good-sized fritters using a serving spoon, or 24 smaller ones if you use a tablespoon.

Peel the bananas, put them into a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Using the back of a dinner fork, mash the bananas into a mushy pulp. You can leave some chunky bits of banana, if you prefer; it just adds to the overall eating experience, which is yummy!

Add the flour, sugar, your choice of spice – mine is cinnamon – and baking powder. Baking powder is not necessary as you’re already using self-raising flour, but I just like mine extra fluffy and soft. (This is exactly one of the reasons why these are called Shana’s Banana Fritters, as I’m aware I do them a bit differently to some of the more traditional methods.)

Mix all these ingredients together until they become a sticky but firm consistency. Now add your milk - a little at a time - until the mixture becomes less firm, but NOT runny. You want to be able to spoon your mixture into the frying pan, NOT pour it in.

Set the mixture to one side and prepare your frying pan. Place it onto a medium to medium-high heat, as you do not want the frying pan to get too hot. Pour in your oil - enough to shallow-fry but not deep-fry them. Not putting enough oil in could cause the fritters to burn… Sorry, I don’t have any firm tips for this part, other than to use your own judgement, and keep an eye on things.

Once your frying pan has heated up, place a full spoonful of mixture into the pan. (How many you fry at a time depends on the size of your pan.) Leave enough room between each one so you can turn your fritters safely. Cook on one side until you start to see bubbles appear on top of the mixture, and the outer edges of the fritters start to look cooked. Using a spatula, turn each fritter gently, and cook for a further 2 minutes. Feel free at any time during this process to lower the heat, as it might be too high and the fritters could burn. Don’t forget, you want golden brown fritters…

Once they are golden brown on both sides, take them out, and place onto a plate that has already been prepared with kitchen roll to soak up any excess oil.

Let them cool for about 5 minutes (if you can wait that long!) and eat them just as they are, or serve with vanilla ice cream. If you are serving them as a dessert, you can add banana and strawberry slices as a garnish with the ice cream.

As an added extra, I like to grater fresh nutmeg over the top of my fritters. The smell and the taste just take it to a whole new wonderful level!

The fritters taste great cold, and will keep nicely overnight. Simply cover in kitchen roll and eat the next day. However, they do not taste so great heated up, in my opinion, but you can try it - you might just like it.

Happy eating all! Shana Dawn Lewis of Christlike Creations

* For a vegan-friendly version, use an alternative plant-based milk of choice, or you can simply use water. You won’t get the same rich depth of flavour, though, if you use water.

Here, in the UK, we caught a fleeting glimpse of daily life without guaranteed access to doctors, dentists and hospitals. Painful toothaches went untreated, GPs triaged appointments, and hundreds of operations were postponed. Perhaps you personally have gained a new appreciation for medical care. With the vaccine being rolled out, summer dawns with hope on the horizon for many.

Yet, in the poorest African nations, painful toothaches persist, and lumps are still growing on people’s gums, threatening to become tumours. Tragically, although the worst may be over for us, in low-income countries there is now a critical surgical backlog. More than half a million people had their life-altering surgery cancelled, as over-stretched health systems in low-income nations were forced to divert limited resources.

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Images: Houleye before and after surgery onboard the Africa Mercy.

Throughout the pandemic, our volunteers selflessly enabled Mercy Ships to continue bringing hope and healing. Working with partners on the ground, we trained dental students and donated over one million items of PPE to 11 nations least equipped to deal with a pandemic. Life-changing surgeries also continued, through a partnership with CURE International, ensuring the most vulnerable can still have hope.

For the first time in 20 years, global poverty is expected to increase. As we begin to emerge from COVID-19 in richer Western nations, we have an unprecedented window of opportunity to care for every life equally – with your help...

For little Houleye, surgery was out of reach due to a lack of money and local expertise. Having been born with a small lump on her neck, five-year-old Houleye had learned to live with the emotional and physical toll of her condition: a tumour that obscured almost half of her face. Onboard the Africa Mercy hospital ship, she began to play with other children without ridicule for the first time in her life. Finally feeling loved and accepted for who she really was, Houleye slowly began to recognise her true value. Her healing had begun.

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