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Kolphul Bhaji

Banana flower florets cleaned by hand, boiled and stir-fried with potato, garlic and green chilli — patient work, rich earthy taste.

Ingredients

• 1 banana flower (kolphul), medium
• 1 medium potato, cut in small cubes
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp ginger, crushed
• 3 green chillies, slit
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp mustard oil
• salt to taste

Method

1. Rub mustard oil on your hands to avoid stains. Peel off the purple bracts one by one to reach the rows of florets.
2. From each floret, pull out the hard matchstick-like stamen (bhulot) and the thin transparent petal; these are bitter and tough.
3. Chop the cleaned florets finely and drop them straight into water with a pinch of turmeric and salt to stop blackening.
4. Boil the chopped florets in fresh water with turmeric and salt for 10 minutes, then drain and squeeze out the water.
5. Heat mustard oil till it smokes, lower the heat and add cumin, then the potato. Fry for 5 minutes.
6. Add onion, garlic and ginger and fry till the onion is soft and light brown.
7. Add the boiled banana flower, green chillies, turmeric and salt and mix well.
8. Cook uncovered on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring, till dry and lightly browned. Serve with rice.

Tip: Soak the chopped flower in diluted ghol (buttermilk) or turmeric water — it keeps it pale and removes the astringent taste.