Mochar Ghonto/Banana Blossom Curry

Bengalis would always crave for simple delicacies no matter where they go. And when they settle down in a foreign country they try to find ingredients to recreate all the recipes they grew up with, made by mothers, grandmothers and aunts. Like all immigrants, Bengalis do love to keep their traditional cuisine alive. They wouldn’t even mind to drive a long drive to get certain things they look for. We are the lucky ones to have plenty of Asian and Indian groceries close by to find the most Indian vegetables, spices, fish and seafood. It feels  home in a foreign country. 

First time seeing banana blossom in one of these groceries many moons back reminded me how my mother prepared it the night before, cutting and soaking in the salty water and cooked next day to savor with plain rice. When it comes to buying banana blossom my mother would choose banana blossom from the ripe banana tree not the raw or green banana blossom. Banana blossom from the green banana tree is slightly bitter in taste. After chopping the blossoms soaking is required with salt and turmeric for a few hours to overnight. Here in the USA it is not possible to find out banana blossom from what type of banana tree. So far banana blossom we buy that’s very good quality and it makes a great tasting dish always.                           

It was pretty intimidating for me to think of cooking for the first time as I never cut banana blossom before. Cooking part isn’t difficult at all but It’s pretty time consuming to cut it and hands gets black brown stains. It's pretty messy process. But my love for cooking didn't stop me to try it and with my mother’s helpful tips I quickly learned this famous Banana Blossom Curry aka Mochar Ghonto (in Bengali), one of the most favorite vegetarian dishes to die for in the Bengali cuisine. No substitute or canned banana blossom will bring the right taste. Only fresh banana blossom is required for authentic taste. See pictures below of cutting method. This recipe is vegan. However can be used at the end. 

Ingredients~

2 medium banana flower/ mocha

1 cup potato, cubed

1/2 cup whole Bengal gram/black chana

3 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

3/4 cup freshly grated coconut or 1/2 dry unsweetened coconut

Salt to taste

1 bay leaves

2 tbsp ginger paste

1/3 tsp cumin powder

1/3 tsp coriander powder

2-3 slightly slit green chili

1 tbsp sugar or as per taste

A tiny about an inch thin cinnamon stick

2 green cardamom

2 cloves

Method~

First Remove the large purple bracts and then separate inner florets. Remove the inner stick with a round top called pistons and the white transparent cover. Pistils are plastic type texture and it must be discarded. Chop the florets. Continue the same process until you the pale banana heart.Cut the stem off and chop the banana heart, Soak with enough water with turmeric and salt for 3-4 hours. Soak black chana until doubled in volume. Drain the water and boil together banana florets and black chana with enough water adding littles salt and turmeric until soft for about 10 minutes. Drain again and set aside. Hand grind together cinnamon, cardamom and cloves to a fine powder and set aside. 

Heat oil in a pan on medium high heat. Temper with bay leaf and cumin seeds. Fry potatoes until light brown and half cooked, then add ginger paste. Saute for a minute and add boiled banana florets, chana, coconut and rest of the spices except hand grind spices. Stir well and and 1/2 cup hot water. Cover the pan cook on low heat for 10 minutes till the mocha is nicely cooked. Give it a taste test and adjust sugar and salt balance. Sprinkle little more coconut on top and serve with plain steamed rice. Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!