BANANA FLOWER WITH MOONG DAL CURRY RECIPE (ARATI PUVVU PESARAPAPPU RECIPE)

   Banana flower is an edible flower that blossoms in a banana plant. The inner petals also called as bracts are edible part's, It's starchy and bitter in taste.

    The Banana flower has a deep magenta color covering which is peeled as layers.The entire banana plant is very useful,the shoot, leaves, fruits,flower are used for cooking.

    My grandmother planted 4 banana trees in our garden and the bananas are big in size, tasted as sweet as honey.Instead of plates we used to eat in banana leaves.

Benefits of Banana flower

• Cures infection's
• Improves kidney function
• Overcoming diabetes and anemia
• Improves lactation
• Helps in menstrual problems and weight loss
• Rich source of vitamin and minerals
• Reduces neural disorders
• Treats stomach and digestive problems
  

Ingredients 

• Banana flower
• Moong Dal 1/2 cup (soaked)
• Green chili's 3
• Onion 1 medium sized
• Ginger (finely chopped)
• Garlic cloves 5
• Red dry chill's
• cumin seeds 1 tsp
• mustard seeds 1 tsp
• curry leaves
• Turmeric 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder
• Salt as per taste
• Oil 3 tbsp
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Tamarind small piece
• water for boiling
• 1/4 cup of butter milk

Cleaning banana flower

Steps to be followed 

•  Apply cooking oil to your hands, so sap wont stick to your hands even though it is not harmful but takes some time to get ride off.
•  Wash the whole flower & gently peel off the outer bracts- Reddish leaf like portion.
  
•  Just pluck and gather all small flowers which is under the bracts. This can be done to certain limit only, then flower will be too tiny to pluck so leave the cone part.
•  Hold the flower between forefinger, middle finger and thumb. this position will be easy to remove petal & stamen.
•  Carefully open each flower or blossom, you can see the plastic textured petal & a hard stamen which must be snapped and removed entirely from the base. These parts cannot be cooked even in tender stage.
•  Discard the petal & hard stamen and collect all the soft flower.
  
  
  
• Can be stored in zip lock for later use in refrigerator.

 Before preparing banana flower for any dishes.

• Take 2 cups of water or required water and add 1/4 cup of buttermilk or 2 tbsp of curd to it and keep it aside.
• Chop the cleaned plantain flower and the cone in to desire size & immediately immerse the flower into the buttermilk water to avoid oxidation.
• Soak it for 1/2 hour.
• Drain & Squeeze the excess water & keep it ready to prepare the dish.

 PREPARATIONS

1. Boil the banana flower for 10 minutes adding little tamarind. keep aside.
   
2. Heat oil in a pan add cumin,mustard seeds,red chillis,curry leaves. let them splutter fry it for a minute.
   
3. Add green chillis, onion,garlic cloves, ginger, turmeric and toss them untill onions turn to pink color.
   
4. Add Banana blossom to it and saute it for a minute.Now add moong dal,lemon, salt and cover it with a lid.
   
5. Cook it for 10 minutes in a low flame. until it gets soft, Stir in between.
6. Add red chilli powder and garnish with coriander leaves (optinal)
   
7. Serve hot with steamed rice or roti's