Cekodok Pisang aka Fried Banana Ball is a popular Street Food Snack with a crispy outside, soft & fluffy inside.  It is also known as Kuih Kodok, Jemput-jemput Pisang, Cucur Pisang etc., locally. Cekodok Pisang is a type of traditional Malay snack that is commonly sold in street stalls along with Pisang Goreng, Cucur Udang, Vadais and fritters with Tapioca, Sweet Potatoes etc.,  If you have overripe Bananas then you can easily incorporate this snack within no time.  Just a few Bananas, All-purpose flour & Sugar is what you need for this recipe.  And there you go with a tasty Tea Time Snack complimenting the flavour of the overripe Bananas.
     When the Banana Tree in my backyard shoots up with a whole bunch of Bananas, I start thinking of new recipes to use it up.  Though I distribute most of the bunches to our friends, still some remain too ripe to be eaten.  So next time when you have overripe Bananas, try your hand with this Cekodok Pisang Recipe. The beauty lies in the simplicity of this traditional recipe. This is my daughter's recipe and so there goes the precise measurements(using a weighing scale).  She did this from scratch all by herself including the frying part which I usually don't allow her to.  Cooking with hot oil is still not allowed. The recipe turned out to be so perfect, and even the frying part was done perfectly that we got beautiful round-shaped Cekodok Pisang.
     The frying part as such is a bit tricky which has to be done carefully and with expertise, which gives the round, ball-shaped Cekodok Pisang from the gooey batter.  The batter is so soft that it is difficult to mould it into a round shape, so the frying part is where the Kuih gets the shape. So she used two Spoons = a Ladle and another one, a Spoon. Take about 2 Tbspns of Batter in the Ladle and this ladle has to be dunked(immersed totally) into the hot oil. Use the other spoon(preferably with a long handle) and gently remove the dough from the ladle and roll it out on all sides and carefully press it slightly to the surface of the wok, until it forms into a ball shape. Fry Cekodok Pisang on medium-low flame until it is fried into a dark-brown colour. 
     But while talking about this Cekodok Pisang I should say that it is more or less like Undan Pori/Sweet Bonda - a popular Tea Time Snack from God's Own Country Kerala. But what makes the difference is a slight variation in the ingredients used and the method of frying.  In Undan Pori they use Rice Flour & Coconut(grated or slices) along with other ingredients (some recipes of Cekodok Pisang uses Rice Flour in it) and the texture of the batter is easy enough to be rolled into a ball with hand.

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Cuisine - Malaysian, Indonesian (Asian)
Course - Snack
Difficulty - Easy
Serves - 2-3
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 10 - 15 Minutes
Leavening Time - 15 Minutes
Cooking Time - 20-30 Minutes
 

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HOW TO MAKE CEKODOK PISANG RECIPE - 

FRIED BANANA BALLS

 

INGREDIENTS:

For Cekodok Pisang/Fried Banana Balls:

Bananas - 350 Gms(5 Nos.- small sized)
All-Purpose Flour - 130 Gms
Sugar - 40 Gms
Baking Soda - 1/4 Tspn
Soda Bi Carbonate - 1/4 +1/8th Tspn
Salt - 1/8th Tspn

For Frying:

Oil

METHOD:

For the Batter:

• Mash the Bananas with a Potato masher or a fork until smooth(there should be no lumps).
• Mix all the other ingredients mentioned under for 'Cekodok Pisang" to the mashed Bananas.
• Mix it thoroughly until well combined.
• Rest the batter for 10-15 Minutes. 

Frying Cekodok Pisang:

• Heat Oil in a wok on a high flame, let the oil smoke off.
• Lower the heat to Medium.
• Take about 2 Tbspns of Batter in the ladle.
• Carefully dunk/immerse the ladle with the batter into the hot oil.
• Now with the other Spoon gently scoop out the batter from the ladle.  
• Carefully roll it out on all sides and press it slightly to the surface of the wok, until it forms into a Ball shape.
• Shaping the Banana Balls has to be done in quick movements in hot oil.
• Care should be taken while handling the batter in hot oil.
• Fry Cekodok Pisang on medium-low flame until it is fried into a dark-brown colour.
• Follow the suit for rest of the Batter.
• Remove the fried Cekodok Pisang from Oil and line it up on Paper towels.
• Serve Cekodok Pisang/Fried Banana Balls as a tea time snack with your preferred beverage.

NOTES:

• I have used 5 Nos.of Pisang Emas which weighed 350 Gms in this recipe.  
• Some Bananas are sweeter, adjust the sweetness accordingly.
• But Sugar plays a major role in Caramelizing the bananas & giving a dark brown colour to the snack.
• You can use any type of Bananas for this recipe.  Traditionally Cekodok Pisang is prepared with Pisang Raja or Pisang Emas(mas).
• 2 Tbspsns of Batter yields a Lime-sized Ball.
• This size is apt while cooking small batches where you don't need to use more oil to fry this Cekodok Pisang.
• And fry this on a medium heat which would yield you a crispy outer with soft & fluffy interior.
• Adding Baking Soda & Soda-bi-carbonate plays a major roll in getting fluffed up & Crispy Fried Banana Balls.