It is terribly hot here in Johannesburg today. Banana Puri Recipe was a mission to make in the heat. I really cannot handle hot weather, it makes me really anxious.
As much as I complain about the cold I actually prefer winter.I am definitely more relaxed. The joys of autoimmune conditions…haha! At least, hot or not, I managed to complete my Banana Puri Recipe.
Flaky Banana Puri Recipe
Trust me I hate cooking or baking when it’s hot. My kitchen becomes a furnace. We need to get rich soon so we can put up some airconditioning…Lol! If you don’t see many “cooked” recipes in Summer you know the reason why.
I know somebody somewhere is going to give me a hard time about calling this Indian pastry a Banana Puri. Some days I do get a long lecture about me trying to anglicize the names.
Trust me, it’s not me, I wish I didn’t have to but this is what it is called here in South Africa. If somebody is willing to do the research and tell me why our recipes are named the way they are I will gladly accept.
What is Banana Puri
In India this Flaky Banana Puri Recipe is actually referred to as Khaja. It is a deep-fried pastry, drizzled with rose,cardamom syrup and sprinkled with almonds or pistachios.
Growing up I do remember my mum making this every Diwali but hers just had syrup drizzled over with some coconut. She didn’t use any nuts. I loved the ones my mum made, she had loads of syrup and coconut…just the way I loved it.
I am not sure she even remembers how to make it anymore because it’s been forever since I saw her making any.
How do I make Banana Puri
Firstly you make the dough by rubbing in the cold butter and adding ice water to the dough. It is a pastry and you want it flaky so thus the ice water and cold butter.
The more butter the lighter and flakier the pastry will be. I did add a little extra butter than usual to my recipe resulting in crisp, light Banana Puri.
You have to refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours and you want a cold dough to work with.
It is then divided into eight pieces and rolled out. I roll mine out as thin as I can. This is what makes it light and flaky. It is then layered on top of each other with a spread of butter and some cornflour.
You then roll it into a swiss roll, cut it into pieces, flatten each piece a little and deep fry them. A syrup is made with sugar, water, cardamom and rose flavoring.
It is then drizzled over the pastry. You can sprinkle some nuts on top if you prefer.
Is it difficult to make
Absolutely not. It looks like there’s loads of work involved but trust me it’s really not that bad. I am the queen of easy, remember…Lol!
So there’s no way I would be making this if it was difficult.
Can it be stored
I would say you can store it, once completely cool, in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Although it is highly recommended that you make them and fry them the day you are serving them.
I find that when stored it does lose some of the crispness. The good news is that they can be made ahead of time, frozen before the frying stage and you can fry them straight out the freezer when you’re ready to serve.
More Indian Sweet Treats to try:
Gulab Jamun
Chana Magaj
Watermelon Burfee
Banana Puri/Khaja
This Indian deep fried pastry is absolutely heavenly. It is light and crisp with a drizzle of syrup infused with cardamom and rose
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 1 hour hr
Cook Time 16 minutes mins
Refrigeration TIme 3 hours hrs
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Servings 12
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1&1/2 cup cake wheat flour/all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 75 gram butter
- 1/2 cup ice water
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying
- few drops red food colouring (optional)
For Brushing
- 50 gram butter melted
- 2 tbsp cornflour
Syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground elachie/cardamom
- 1/4 tsp rose essence
Decorating
- Pistachio or Almonds
Instructions
Pastry
Add the flour to a large bowl together with the baking powder. Place the butter in the bowl and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter. If you don't have on it's fine. Cut the butter in small pieces and add it to the flour
Use your fingertips and rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs
Mix the lemon juice into the ice water. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the ice water. Use a wooden spoon and bring the dough together
Dust a smooth surface with some flour and knead the dough until smooth. If the dough feels a little sticky add a little sprinkle of flour. You should have a firm dough but not hard
Wrap the dough in clingfilm. If you are using two different colours, divide the dough into halves and colour one half with some red food colouring or powder color, refrigerate for 30 minutes
In the meantime make the syrup
Divide each piece of dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each one out into a 21cmx21cm square piece. Place the first piece of rolled pastry on a piece of parchment paper. Brush with some melted butter and sprinkle some cornflour on top. Place the next piece of rolled out pastry and repeat the process. The final layer must also be brushed with butter and cornflour should be sprinkled on top. Brush the edges of the sheet of pastry with some water. Roll it into a swiss roll and cut into 18 pieces, about 1.5cm thick
Gently roll each piece with a rolling pin, do not press too hard. Place them on parchment paper and once they are all rolled out you can begin frying
Heat the oil in a flat pan on medium heat and then reduce to a low heat. Drop a piece of dough into the oil and if it rises the oil is ready. Or place the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and if it bubbles rapidly the oil is ready. Fry 2 banana puris at a time to enable you to flip them over. Only attempt to flip them over after 1 minute or they will fall apart. Fry each side for at least 3 minutes on a low heat, the insides need to cook, flip over and fry the other side
Allow to cool on a cooling rack and once cool drizzle the syrup over. Sprinkle some toasted pistachios or almonds if you prefer
Syrup
Add half cup sugar and half cup water to a saucepan together with the cardamom and rose essence
Allow the syrup to simmer until it thickens. Takes about 10 minutes
Notes
- I've added extra butter to my pastry dough because I wanted to achieve a thin, light and crisp Banana Puri. If you prefer a more firm, crisp Banana Puri you can reduce the butter to 50 grams
- If you wish to make smaller Banana Puris divide the dough into 4 pieces and make two layers of dough instead of one.
- Do not allow the Banana Puri to fry too quickly as the insides won't be completely cooked
- You can store the banana puri in an airtight container once completely cool
- The Banana Puri can be frozen, before it's fried. Place them in an airtight container, separating each layer with some parchment paper before freezing them. They can be fried straight out the freezer
Keyword banana puri, indian pastry, khaja, south african recipe
Tried this recipe?Mention @tamarindnthyme
