sweet banana balls

Polish: anyż gwiazdkowy
Vietnamese: Đại hồi
Catalan: badiana
Finnish: tähtianis
Norwegian: stjerneanis
Russian: Бадьян
Arabic: ينسون نجمي
Turkish: yıldız anason
Bahasa Melayu: bunga lawang
Chinese: 八角

My first association with star anise would be the best homemade remedy for refractory hacking cough: ground star anise seeds mixed with honey-dew. I feel this smell even now, when I think about it. But it works, and only that counts :) Back to star anise, inspired by Turkish toplar and Indian laddoo, I created my own sweet aniseed balls without sugar but still sweet and with a wonderful star anise fragrance.

see also: Turkish pumpkin balls
see also: Turkish carrot balls
see also: Brasilian sweet potato balls

1 medium banana (about 100 gr)
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup hazelnuts (+ a handful more to fill)
1/2 teaspoon ground star anise seeds
1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup crumbled biscuits (petit beurre) (+ a handful more to coat)
few drops lemon juice

1. Grind pistachios and hazelnuts, add star anise powder. Mix with the rest of dry ingredients

2. Mash banana and sprinkle with lemon juice to avoid its oxygenation and becoming brown. Blend with dry ingredients

3. Form little balls from the mass. Stuff each ball with a hazelnut. Coat with crumbled biscuits. Set in the fridge for 1 hour before eating.






I am so excited... This is my first contribution to global cooking and recipes sharing :) at Think Spice... Think Star Anise, hosted by Sunita from Sunita’s World.