Name: Banana Fritters
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients: Peanut oil for frying; 2 eggs lightly beaten; 1/2 cup cold milk; 3 tablespoons light brown sugar; 1 cup flour; Pinch of baking soda; 4 ripe bananas, sliced diagonally into 1/4-inch pieces; 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

The fritter tradition harks back to West Africa, where frying in deep oil is one of the major cooking techniques. In the African Atlantic world, fritters can be served as appetizers, as a vegetable, and even as a dessert, as they are here.

My maternal Grandma Jones had a way with fritters. She would prepare them from the overripe bananas that she found at low prices at her local greengrocer's.

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