Tropical Fruit Desserts Recipes

The best part of living in the tropics is that it always filled me with enormous pride, contentment and energy maybe because of the fairly warm weather we have here at the same time the fascination on how the amalgamation of culture manage to work-out together. Plus, the added bonus of magnificent authentic food and variety of fruits to choose. When it comes to fruits I've never been a picky eater and for an anything-goes-person like me what a great fun talking about my own "gastronomical pleasures", eh?!

Photo courtesy of ari mail

The Banana plant is actually a herb. It is mistaken as a tree because of its structure and size.There are about 300 varieties of bananas. Hawaii's favorite banana is called "finger" banana because its like the length of a finger.

Overripe bananas can be peeled, mashed and frozen for smoothies, cakes, breads, and ice cream. If you notice that there is a variety of banana that is much oversize, it is called "plantain". Plantain can be cooked and used as meat extender or any kind of dishes. If it reaches the certain desired ripeness, it can be refrigerated at least three days.

Information Courtesy of: Tropical Fruits

You just can't get enough of these incredible tropical banana recipes that is so easy to do for your "meriendas". Enjoy creating healthy enjoyable snacks for the whole family!

Thai Fried Bananas or "Kluay Tod"

Ingredients

•1 pound bananas, about 6 or 8.

Traditionally small Asian bananas are used but you can use any bananas.

•3/4 cup rice flour

•1/4 cup tapioca flour

•1/2 teaspoon baking soda

•2 tablespoons sugar

•1 teaspoon salt

•1/2 cup shredded coconut

•1 cup water

•4 cups oil for deep frying

Next step to do:

Peel and slice each banana lengthwise into four slices. In a mixing bowl, combine rice flour, tapioca flour, sugar, salt, coconut and baking soda, then add water a little at a time. Mix well to form a thick batter.

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok to 375 degrees F. Dip each piece of banana into the batter to completely coat, and deep fry until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve as a snack or with Thai ice cream.

Recipe Courtesy of Import food.com

Coconut sauce added a bit of a tropical taste to this dessert because its creamy texture when eaten which is the common characteristic of Asian foods.

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Here's what you need to have:

#4 or 5 pcs of bananas

# 1/2 cup coconut cream*

# 1 1/2 cups coconut milk

# 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste

# 2 tablespoons sugar

# 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in 3 tablespoons coconut milk

# Mint leaves

Preparation:

Peel the bananas and cut into quarters. Steam the bananas in a covered steamer over a wok filled with boiling water.

Bring the coconut cream and coconut milk to a boil. Stir in the cinnamon and sugar. Give the cornstarch and coconut milk mixture a quick re-stir. Add to the saucepan, stirring quickly to thicken.

Place the steamed banana pieces in individual serving dishes and pour the sauce over. Garnish with mint leaves and Asian fruit slices, as desired.

*Made without water, coconut cream is a thicker version of coconut milk. Canned coconut cream is found in most supermarkets. If unavailable, use light cream as a substitute.

Recipe Courtesy of About.com

Banana Turon is a typical Filipino snack made of banana, strip of jackfruit, wrapped in an eggroll and then fried. Due to the popularity of it, you can buy these in every street around the Metro. This is somewhat similar to Banana Spring Roll.

In case you want to know the recipe, here it is...

You will need:

* 4 pieces of Banana

* 8 pieces of Lumpia Wrappers

* 1/4 cup of Granulated Sugar

* 1 tablespoon of Cinnamon

* Oil for frying

* Kitchen paper

Here's the easier way to cook it...

1. Peel and slice lengthwise each banana into two parts. Then wrap each sliced banana in a lumpia wrapper. Roll and fold the two ends.

2. Fry them in heated oil till they are golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. Roll each piece in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Serve hot.

Isn't that simple?

(Mashed Banana)

Nilupak is a filipino word for "smashed", "to pound", "crashed into pieces". The most commonly used fruit in these "kakanin" or native delicacies are banana, ube, cassava and camote. It is rich in carbohydrates and its sweetness taste perfectly eaten with a cup of hot chocolate or tea. It is something can joyfully made by the whole family especially the moms and the kids.

What you will need:

4 cups unripe saba (banana plantain) cooked and pounded

1/2 cups of brown sugar

2 cups of buko (young coconuts), medium hard

1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

Here's a simple job for you to do...

*Combine all the ingredients first and pound once more.

*Mix well until all blended.

*Arrange on a platter and cut into desired shapes.

Isn't so simple? Enjoy your meal!

(Banana Plantain Variety)

The word Maruya is a name of Philippine native delicacy originated somewhere in Carmona, Cavite, Philippines. Barrio Maduya was named after this "kakanin" or delicacy which is mainly made from "grind rice" (galapong) fried together with sliced saba banana. It is said that most of people from Barrio Maduya knows how to cooked this delicacy and sell it to the whole barrio while shouting "Maruya" as their way of calling some customers who wants to buy. So that's where the story goes!

Here's how to cooked some Maruya!!!

You'll need:

•1 cup sifted All-purpose flour

•1 tsp melted fat or vegetable lard

•1 tsp. baking powder

•1 tsp cooking oil

•1 tsp. salt

•2 eggs

•bananas ( saba), sliced lengthwise

•oil for deep frying

•1/2 cup milk

•sugar

Cooking Procedures:

•In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk and egg, beat until smooth.

•Heat oil in a frying pan (or a large saucepan) over medium heat.

•In batches, roll banana slices in flour and then dip in batter. Fry in hot oil until golden brown.

•Drain on paper towels. Roll in sugar. Place in a serving dish and serve.

You will need

•4 tbsps. ginger

•1/2 stalk lemongrass

•2 cups water

•1 cup sugar

•5 pieces saba bananas

•Ice cream (optional)

•Sago (optional)

How to do it!

#Steep ginger and lemongrass in 2 cups water. Boil and strain.

#Add sugar and banana to liquid and let boil until sugar melts.

#Serve with vanilla, macapuno or mango ice Cream or Sago.

What a perfect match to enjoy the warmth of the day of course with a refreshing glass of cold drinks and mix...

Tropical Fruit Smoothie

You will need:

♥15 oz can pineapple crushed and with juice

♥1 cup plain yoghurt

♥1 banana

♥8 ice cubes

♥1 cup orange juice

How to do it!

♥Combine undrained can of pineapples, yogurt, banana, and ice cubes in a blender. Blend while adding orange juice until fruit is pureed and it is the desired consistency.

**********************************************

Ingredients

* 1 cup milk

* 3/4 cup strong coffee, chilled

* 2 bananas

* 6 ice cubes

Preparation

♥Combine ingredients and blend until smooth.

**********************************************

You will need:

# 1 1/2 cups carrot juice

# 1 cup apple juice

# 6 ounces plain yogurt

# 1 ripe banana (frozen if desired)

How to do it!

♥Put all ingredients in blender and puree until consistency is very smooth. Process longer for babies, less for older toddlers who can handle a little more texture.

•The Pineapple like a lot of sun and grow well in tropical regions around the world.

•Most of its fruits develop in 3 to 4 months but pineapples takes 18 months to grow!

•It is first called "anana" a Carribean word for "excellent fruit", the name "pineapple" came from European explorers who thought the fruit looked like a pinecone with flesh like an apple.

•Christopher Columbus was the first person to introduce pineapples to Europe.

•Canned pineapple was first made in the 1901 but wasn't widely available until engineer Henry Ginaca invented a machine in 1911 that could remove the outer shell, inner core and both ends of 100 pineapples in less than a minute!

Information Courtesy of Fun Facts about Pineapple

Pineapple is considered to be one of the world's favorite tropical fruits because of its sweet tangy taste especially glazed in pastries, blend into juice and smoothies, and perfect ingredients for salad and all kinds of dessert!

Tropical Pineapple Crisp Recipe

Ingredients

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, cubed (about 4 cups)*

2 tablespoons coconut rum**

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup cold butter or margarine, cut up

1 cup crumbled white chocolate-and-macadamia nut cookies

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Simple Coconut Ice Cream (optional)

All you have to do...

Just combine pineapple and rum; spoon into a 9-inch baking dish or 6 (5-inch) individual baking dishes.

Combine flour and sugar; cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture is crumbly. Stir in cookie crumbs and coconut; sprinkle over pineapple.

Bake at 400 ° for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve with Simple Coconut Ice Cream, if desired.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Pepperidge Farm Tahoe White Chocolate Macadamia BIG Cookies.

*2 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks in juice, drained, may be substituted.

**1 teaspoon coconut extract may be substituted for coconut rum

Recipe Courtesy of My Recipes

Ingredients

# 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh or canned pineapple chunks (if using fresh pineapple, see cutting instructions below)

# 1 English cucumber, or 1 medium field cucumber

# 3 spring onions (green onions), sliced

# 1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly, or diced

# 1/2 cup dry whole roasted unsalted peanuts

# handful of ground peanuts (or roughly chopped), OR subsitute another nut, such as cashews

# 1 cup fresh coriander + handful of fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped if leaves are large)

SALAD DRESSING

# 2 cloves garlic, minced

# 1 red chilli, de-seeded and minced, OR 1 tsp. chili sauce (or more if you want it extra spicy)

# 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

# 1 Tbsp. fish sauce, OR vegetarian fish sauce (look for vegetarian fish sauce at Vietnamese stores)

# juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 Tbsp.)

# 2 tsp. brown sugar

# 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste, OR 1/2 Tbsp. more fish sauce (or vegetarian fish sauce)

# optional: 1 Tbsp. pineapple juice (use the juice from the can, OR squeeze a little from a fresh slice of pineapple)

# OTHER (optional): To make this salad a complete meal, add 1 cup cooked shrimp, or 1 package deep-fried tofu

This is how to do it!

♥Place all salad dressing ingredients in a cup. Stir well. Set aside.

♥Place pineapple chunks in a mixing bowl.

To prepare the cucumber: Remove skin with a vegetable peeler, or cut off with a knife (if the cucumber is organic, leave the skin on for extra nutrients and fiber). Next, cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Cut these sections again lengthwise (several times if the cucumber is thick), then slice the other way to create cubes or chunks. Add these to the mixing bowl.

♥Clean out the seeds of the red bell pepper, then slice it thinly into strips. Slice these in half to create matchstick-like pieces. Add these to the mixing bowl.

♥Add the sliced spring/green onion, plus the whole roasted peanuts. Add most of the basil and coriander, putting aside a little of each for the garnish.

♥Now pour the salad dressing over. Toss well.

♥Pour or scoop the salad onto a serving plate. Top with the extra basil and coriander you kept back, plus a sprinkling of ground or chopped peanuts. If desired, serve with lime wedges on the side.

ENJOY!

Salad Tips

•This salad is at its best when first tossed. Try to eat up leftovers as soon as possible.

•For added protein (if serving as a main course), toss in 1 cup cooked shrimp, or 1 package deep-fried tofu cut into cubes.

•If you're planning to serve it at a party or take it to a potluck: Prepare all the ingredients and place them in separate containers in the refrigerator. Also prepare the dressing and keep in a jar or covered container in the refrigerator. Then simply toss all together right before serving.

Recipe Courtesy of About.com

Tropical Fruit Desserts by Naiza Oclares is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
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