Koba Ravina
Koba Ravina is a popular sweet Malagasy snack made from ground peanuts, rice flour, and mashed bananas, flavored with vanilla and steamed in banana leaves. It's a dense, chewy cake often enjoyed as a dessert or snack.
🧂 Ingredients
- 3 large Ripe bananas(mashed)
- 250 g Rice flour
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 1 pod Vanilla pod(seeds scraped)
- 3 large handfuls Peanuts(shelled and roughly chopped)
- 2 tablespoons Peanut oil
- Banana leaves(wilted or softened over heat)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
In a bowl, combine the mashed bananas, rice flour, sugar, scraped vanilla seeds, and peanut oil. Mix well until a thick batter forms.
- 2
Prepare the banana leaves by softening them over a low heat or by briefly immersing them in hot water. Cut them into rectangles of about 20 x 15 cm.
- 3
Place about 1 tablespoon of the batter in the center of each banana leaf rectangle. Sprinkle a generous amount of chopped peanuts over the batter.
- 4
Fold the banana leaves to enclose the batter and peanuts, forming small rectangular packages. Secure with kitchen twine or small strips of banana leaf if needed.
- 5
Arrange the packages in a steamer basket over boiling water. Steam for 12-15 minutes, or until the koba ravina is firm.
- 6
Remove from the steamer, unwrap the banana leaves, and serve warm. Koba ravina can also be enjoyed at room temperature.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Ensure bananas are very ripe for sweetness and ease of mashing.
- ✓Do not overmix the batter after adding the rice flour; a slightly lumpy texture is fine.
- ✓If banana leaves are unavailable, parchment paper or aluminum foil can be used as a substitute, though the traditional flavor might be slightly altered.
🔄 Variations
- Some recipes include a small amount of coconut milk for added richness.
- For a different texture, use glutinous rice flour instead of regular rice flour.