The Koba ravina, pronounced koub ‘rav’n, from “koba”, paste, and “ravina” leaf: literally “paste with leaves”), is a sweet snack made of bananas, glutinous rice flour, and peanuts, also called kobandravina, moforavina, or koba akondro, extremely popular throughout the “big island” (the nickname for Madagascar).
Flavored with vanilla, a natural treasure of Madagascar, the koba are prepared by street vendors steamed, in banana leaves, and carried on their heads in a basket that keeps them warm.
They roam the streets shouting “Koba… Koba… vao mafana!” meaning “Koba… Koba… hot”.
Naturally gluten-free.
Did you know that Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world?
Ingredients
- 2 bananas (ripe)
- 2.1 oz glutinous rice flour
- 1 vanilla (pod)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- to taste peanuts (roughly chopped)
Tools
- 2 banana leaves
Steps
Mash the bananas.
Mix with rice flour and sugar.
Add the scraped vanilla and mix.Place 3 tablespoons of batter in the center of a banana leaf.
Sprinkle with peanuts.
Fold the banana leaf along the length into a rectangle and tie it with raffia.
Steam for 20 minutes.I used the Magic Cooker lid, adding 1 cup of water and steaming for 20 minutes.
You can purchase Magic Cooker at the link.
And for those looking for ideas to cook with banana leaves, a technique very common in Asia, but also in Africa and Latin America, I recommend trying savory dishes like the Ugandan luwombo or tamales, or the pastel de masa from Puerto Rico, or the Nacatamal from Nicaragua, or sweet dishes like the cassava pudding from the Solomon Islands.
