Paka Kolar Bora – Paka kola (ripened banana) and bora (fritters). In a Bengali household, this banana fritter recipe is commonly used for repurposing those over-ripened bananas that nobody would touch! It is an excellent evening snack idea since they are made with super nutritious bananas, coconut and jaggery. It’s a completely vegan, refined-sugar-free, paleo-diet-friendly, and nut-free recipe.
This paka kolar bora is also made during the Janmashtami celebration as a sweet offering to deity Lord Krishna. As you grow your palate matures as well. You start enjoying those dishes which you used to detest as a kid. Something like this happened to me with these Banana Coconut fritters, Sweet Banana Pakora recipe. Or, as we call them Paka Kolar Bora.
Ingredients to make Paka Kolar Bora recipe
It is a straightforward recipe that uses pantry staple ingredients. Our grandmothers didn’t believe in wasting food, hence they would use up everything in some way or the other. Even over-ripened bananas!
- Some very ugly-looking over-ripened Bananas
- Grated Coconut – Freshly grated would be best otherwise, you can also use pre-shredded coconut or coconut powder
- Grated Jaggery – You may use granulated Sugar if you don’t have Jaggery. Adjust the quantity as per the sweetness of the bananas as ripened ones are quite sweet on their own.
- Whole Wheat Flour to act as a binding agent for the fritters – You may use Cornflour instead for a gluten-free option
- Ghee or Clarified Butter – You may use any neutral oil like sunflower Oil or Canola Oil for deep frying in case you wish to make vegan Banana fritters
Recipe instructions for Paka Kolar Bora
- Peel the bananas and place them into a large mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the bananas. We are looking for a semi-smooth texture here. A few lumps are ok
- Then add the grated coconut, wheat flour (or cornflour), and jaggery. Mix everything nicely.
- Heat oil in a pan and keep the flame on medium-low intensity for perfect frying. The batter has a natural sugar content that helps it caramelize quickly
Drop the batter in the oil, 1 tsp at a time, and fry it until it gets crispy and light brown. If you are using wheat flour then it will be a shade darker than cornflour. - Take them out on a kitchen towel to soak the extra oil.
- Serve them hot.
Nostalgia-driven Kolar Bora recipe
Before banana bread became a rage, our grandmothers would make these banana fritters to use up the ripened bananas. I remember my nani, maternal granny making these kolar bora whenever we would have over-ripened bananas, which used to happen quite often during the hot and humid summer days.
She would scrape some coconut and mix it with the mashed bananas and some grated jaggery for an extra hint of sweetness. While whisking it vigorously with her fingers, she would heat some ghee or clarified butter to deeply fry little fritters. “Ei sob baba, ghee te hi bhalo hoy”, she would always quip! (These Banana fritters are best made in ghee or clarified butter only)
She would turn them over as they caramelize quickly due to their high natural sugar content. Then she would take them out and serve them hot. These would often make healthy evening snacks for us or might even find their way into our tiffin packs to school the next day.
As the world today is going gaga over Refined Sugar-Free recipes, I am quite amused to find these oldies in my granny’s recipe notebook. For them, natural sweeteners like jaggery and honey were a part of their everyday cooking. In case you are looking for more such healthy dessert recipes, then you can try my Narkel Naru Recipe, which is again healthy and tasty.
Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear about it. Please leave a comment and star rating if you loved my recipes. It would help this post to reach more readers. Thank you!
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With these Paka Kolar Bora (Banana Fritters), our grandmothers would manage those over-ripened bananas that nobody would touch! These banana fritters is an excellent evening snack idea since they are made with super nutritious bananas, coconut and jaggery. Its a completely vegan, refined-sugar free, paleo-diet friendly and a nut-free recipe.
- 4 Over-ripened Bananas
- 1/4 cup Grated Coconut
- 2 tbsp Wheat Flour
- 2 tbsp Jaggery Or, any other kind of Jaggery
- Refined Oil to fry
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Mash the bananas smooth. Then add the grated coconut, flour and jaggery. Mix everything together nicely.
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Heat oil in a pan and drop the batter in the oil, 1 tsp at a time. Fry them till dark golden or brownish in colour.
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Take them out on a kitchen towel to soak the extra oil.
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Serve them hot.
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