Kele ka phool or the banana heart is the bright pink colored tip of the banana inflorescence, this delectable vegetable ( flower ) is cooked into many countries , not only in different parts of India ....that too in many many ways and one thing is sure that all of those recipes must be wonderful.......the reason is , after cleaning those tiny flowers with clinical precision and chopping them like you are handling your own fingers , you will surely do something special with them.... they taste really great when treated nicely.
Some people par boil the flowers and discard the water as the flowers are slightly alkaline , i never do that for alkaline food is good for us ..... many useful minerals are also lost during parboiling and straining the flowers...they are so rich in potassium and iron n B-complex Vitamins ( all water soluble )....
To make them less alkaline to the palate , tomatoes or curds or both can be added for curries ( like this one) , addition of a few drops of lemon juice would be good too....One more trick to make them less alkaline to the palate is cooking them with legumes ...with green mung or with green peas it tastes great , other legumes can also be tried as the possibilities are endless...adding grated coconut also helps in neutralizing the taste...
I had cleaned the florets and kept them for making a kabab with it , the plan got changed and i made a
shallow fried pakoda using the inner heart , while the outer flowers were used for this mocha matar ....made almost like keema matar and is a good vegetarian alternative....here is a picture of chopped up flowers of banana...
Cleaning and chopping the tiny florets is a bit time consuming but it is well worth the hard work....there are many write ups on how to clean these florets on the net so i did not bother to take the pictures and come straight to the recipe.....kele ke phool aur matar ki subzi.....
ingredients...
cleaned and chopped banana florets 1.5 cups
green peas 1 cup
chopped red onions 1/2 cup
ginger 1 inch piece, 5-6 garlic cloves n 5 green chillies made into a paste
chopped tomatoes 1 cup
coriander greens with stem chopped and kept separately , a cup of both
mint leaves chopped 1 tbsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
everyday curry masala 2 tsp
special garam masala 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 2 tbsp
cumin whole 1 tsp
cloves 2
procedure...
Dissolve turmeric powder and both the masala powders in 1/4 cup of water n keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and throw in the cumin and cloves ...wait till they splutter...i love adding a whole dry red chilly too at this point but did not use this time as Arvind had instructed me to cook less hot this time..
Add the chopped onions and let them get lightly browned , add the masala paste and fry till it sticks to the base of kadai , scrape and fry till aromatic...
Add the green peas and sallt , sprinkle some water , mix well and cook covered for 5 minutes..or till the peas are 3/4 done...
Open the lid and add the banana florets along with the coriander stems in the kadai.....
Mix well and stir fry without covering for a couple of minutes ....till the banana flowers look wilted and soft...
Add the chopped tomatoes , mint leaves and the coriander leaves , mix well and cover to cook till everything is well blended , tomato puree can be used if fresh tomatoes are not available or you don't want those red specks into the curry , taste the curry by dipping your fingertip into it at this point....if it still feels alkaline to the palate , add 1/4 cup of thick curds and cook to blend well........
This is a very rich looking curry and you can add ghee on top before serving .......we like it as it is .....the pictures of the cooked curry are not very good as it was steaming hot when i clicked it..........
Yummy prep this is...... Looks very tasty & content.... And I must mention a word about your kadai...... Its totally in good shape.....
ReplyDeleteHappy Celebrations!!!!
Wish You & Your Family a Very Happy Year ahead....
Ash...
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)
wow............lovely recipe sangeetha.....it looks sooooooooooo delicious. happy new year dear.
ReplyDeleteHealthy & delicious matar curry...havent yet tried with banana florets.,Nice one sangeetha
ReplyDeleteWishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous New Year :)
This sounds so amazing! I would love to make this- I've never tried banana flowers- I really hope I can get hold of them over here in the UK. Thanks for this very unique recipe! :)
ReplyDeletelooks yummy wish u ahppy new yr 2010,..
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious....
ReplyDeleteNice combo, perfect for me. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that the banana flower could be used in so many different ways!!! and this once looks very tempting...
ReplyDeleteA very happy new year to you and your family....
Nice combo,Healthy one.Wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous New Year dear:)
ReplyDeleteDear sangeeta
ReplyDeleteForget about keema matar? No chance!!!But if you give me a choice between mocha and keema, I will go for Mocha..all vege foods are my delicacy.
This is a nice recipe..I am going to get some banana flower..But if they give me the bitter one ( the flower of the non-ripening type "Kach-Kala"(. Then I had it....)
Happy New year
happy ne wyr 2010....
ReplyDeletelove the detailed pics....
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfectly healthy way to start 2010 ... and I love your little tips Sangeeta, I am certainly going to keep them in mind. Now if I can only get my hands on some banana flowers.
ReplyDeleteWish you a very, very Happy New Year!
Dear, I would like to share Kreative blogger award with you. Please collect it from my blog!!
ReplyDeletesuch a good healthy recipe...
ReplyDelete