Malaysian 'Doughnuts' with Cinnamon Sugar

For the Very Good Recipe's April Fool's Recipe Challenge, I've been digging my brains and came up with a few recipes. This is the first of many... 

This is in fact quite simple and forgive me for the atrocious lighting as I made these in the dead of the night and yellow lighting isn't the best for my utterly simple camera. But in any case, they turned out great...

I give you....(drumroll.......) Malaysian Doughnuts! It has the look of normal doughnuts, and it is tossed in Cinnamon and sugar, but does it actually use the ingredients of a doughnut? With the exception of the flour and sugar that went in, everything else wasn't used but for an added ingredients... BANANAS!

Yes... you got that right... the bananas gave it the moisture it needed to make it into a batter like consistency that when scooped with a spoon and dropped into hot oil, it would be of drip like consistency as well. Almost like pancake batter but puffs up like a doughnut... cool eh? So what were the ingredients? 

3 over-ripe bananas

1 tbsp caster sugar (or any sugar you have in the pantry)

3 heaping tbsp self-raising flour

Oil for deep frying

Sugar Toss:

1 clean plastic / self-sealing bag

1 to 2 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon powder

Method:

1. Firstly cut the bananas into mashable sizes before adding in caster sugar and self-raising flour into a mixing bowl. Using a fork mash all the ingredients together until everything is combined and looks like a batter. 
2. Heat up some oil for deep frying. I don't own a deep fryer, so a pot and oil is good enough.
3. Use two teaspoons. One to scoop the dough, the other to push it down into the oil. Test the oil to see whether it is hot enough by putting a little bit of dough in it. When it sizzles, then  you know it is ready. Add dollops of the dough into the hot oil and fry away. Turn the balls around to ensure even frying.
4. Place fried doughnuts onto a plate with some kitchen towels to drain excess oil.
5. In a plastic / self-sealing bag, add in the soft brown sugar  or caster sugar and cinnamon powder. Shake it a little first to ensure sugar and cinnamon powder is evenly distributed. Then add in the cooled down doughnuts, a few at a time, to coat them with the cinnamon and sugar. Seal the bag or grab the sides of the plastic bag ensuring there are no holes for the sugar to escape. Then shake like you're shaking a maracas! 
6. Take it out and place it on a plate.
7. Serve with tea or you can alternatively dip into a bowl of hot chocolate sauce to add more flavour!

Malaysian doughnuts don't necessarily have cinnamon sugar tossed together and is usually eaten plain because of the high sugar content it already has from the bananas and the added sugar in the dough mixture. But as I didn't add very much sugar in the beginning and soft brown sugar is more caramel like in taste then sweet to the core, this added a tad more depth to the doughnuts then usual.

The next recipe for the challenge is definitely more challenging in nature... but as this was the quickest and to also provide fellow foodies out there the benefit that the recipe doesn't have to be exactly complicated, I figured why not give this the credence it deserves!

The doughnuts were eaten within a matter of minutes. So you know it is that good. Try it and see whether you like it! Tell me about it too!

Recipe challenges are my game now....

The Innovative Baker