''Maruya'' () is a type of

fritter A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...

from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is usually made from

saba banana Saba banana (pron. or ), is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is one of the most important banana varieties in Philippine cuisine. It ...

s. The most common variant is prepared by coating thinly sliced and "fanned" bananas in batter and deep frying them. They are then sprinkled with sugar. Though not traditional, they may also be served with slices of

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

preserved in syrup or

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

. ''Maruya'' are commonly sold as street food and food sellers at outdoor though they are also popular as home-made

merienda Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (merenda in Galician, berenar in Catalan), Portugal (lanche or merenda) and Italy (merenda), as well as Hispanic America, Philippines (meryenda/merienda), North Africa (Morocco), ...

snacks among

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

Variants

A variant of ''maruya'' may also use

dessert banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distingu ...

s, which are usually just mashed before mixing them with batter. They can also be made from

sweet potatoes The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young sho ...

. Among

Muslim Filipinos Islam was the first-recorded monotheistic religion in the Philippines. Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf, southern India, and their followers from several sultanates in th ...

, this version is known as ''jampok'', and traditionally use mashed

Latundan banana The Latundan banana (also called Tundan, silk banana, Pisang raja sereh, Manzana banana, or apple banana) is a triploid hybrid banana cultivar of the AAB "Pome" group from the Philippines. It is one of the most common banana cultivars in Sou ...

s. In the

Bicol Region Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...

, it is also known as ''sinapot'' or ''baduya'' in the

Bikol languages The Bikol languages or Bicolano languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken mostly in the Bicol Peninsula in the island of Luzon, the neighboring island province of Catanduanes and the island of Burias in Masbate Masbate, ...

. Although this version does not "fan" the bananas. They are instead simply sliced lengthwise before frying in batter. It is also known as ''kumbo'' in the Western Visayas region.

Bunwelos na saging

A similar dessert to ''maruya'' is ''bunwelos na saging'', which is more accurately a type of ''

buñuelo A ''buñuelo'' (; alternatively called ''boñuelo'', ''bimuelo'', ''birmuelo'', ''bermuelo'', ''bumuelo'', ''burmuelo'', or ''bonuelo''; ca, bunyol, ) is a fried dough fritter found in Spain, Latin America, and other regions with a historical co ...

'' (Spanish-derived flour doughnuts). It has more flour mixture than ''maruya''. It also uses mashed ripe

saba bananas Saba banana (pron. or ), is a triploid hybrid (ABB) banana cultivar originating from the Philippines. It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can also be eaten raw. It is one of the most important banana varieties in Philippine cuisine. It ...

rather than dessert bananas. It is made by mixing the bananas in flour, egg, and sugar, and then deep frying the mixture as little balls.

References

Philippine desserts Snack foods Street food Deep fried foods Banana dishes Philippine breads Street food in the Philippines {{Philippines-cuisine-stub

Variants

Bunwelos na saging

See also

References