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

GAYATRI MANTRA IN GANAPATHY (ZENTANGLE ART)

Today i am going to draw LORD  GANESHA Zentangle art with GAYATRI MANTRA 

I am going to write the powerful mantra in my favorite god Ganesha.

                       Om bhur bhuvah svah

               Tat savitur varenyam
               Bhargo devasya dhimahi
               Dhiyo yonah prachodayat

    The Gayatri Mantra is considered as the essence of the Vedas, Veda means knowledge. She is the mother of all knowledge. It is the most powerful prayer cum mantra which opens us to the heart of reality. If we chant this mantra repeatedly it liberates our mind's.

Goddess Gayatri is known to eliminate darkness by imparting light in our minds.

 Benefits of Chanting Gayatri Mantra

1.Regular chanting of Gayatri Mantra improves concentration and learning

2.It is known for removing toxins from the body

3.It improves breathing and functioning of the nervous system

4.It keeps your heart healthy and removes the negativity

5.Chanting of Gayatri Mantra calms the mind

It reduces stress and anxiety

    Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, also called Ganapati, elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise and is the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes and authors.Ganesha is a remover of obstacles.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

• Pencil
• Drawing paper
• Colored gel pen's(all colors)

 Zentangle art is non-representational and unplanned so you can focus on each stroke and not worry about the result.

Let's enjoy Drawing

1. Draw the out line of GANESHA 

2. Fill the Ganesha crown first.U can change the colors and pattern's as you wish.

3. Next fill the ear's.Try to use the same color gel pen on both the side's.

4. Now fill the hand's.Ganesha is fond of sweet's so in one hand there is always a laddu.

5. Fill the trunk and the stomach.

6. Atlast fill the leg's.

GULAB JAMUN RECIPIE

    It is a favorite Indian sweet.There are many versions of making it either with Khoya, Milk powder, Bread....There are many ready-made Instant mixes available in market you can use any of them.

    In parties, weddings Gulab Jamun happens to be one of the desserts served after the meals.Many Children love Gulab Jamun's. It's very easy to make So mom's prefer to make Gulab Jamun's for birthday's, festivals special occasions and sometimes to satisfy sweet cravings. It can be served hot, cold or at room temperature.

Ingredients for Gulab Jamun

• Oil for deep frying
• Gulab Jamun Mix 250gms
• Sugar 2 cups
• Water 3 cups
• Corn flour 1 tsp
• Rice flour 1 tsp
• 4 Green cardamom (powdered in a motar)

 Sugar syrup making

1. Take 2 cups of sugar in a heavy based non stick kadhai and add 3 cups of water into it.
2. Bring the mixture to boil over high flame, when it comes to rolling boil reduce the flame to medium flame.
3. Let it boil till the syrup is little sticky and stir occasionally in between.
4. Add cardamom powder and switch off the flame.

Gulab Jamun Making

1. Pour the Jamun mix in a bowl. Add 1 tsp corn flour,1 tsp rice flour. mix it very well. There should not be any lumps.
2.  Add milk and gather together to form a dough with milk. Don't knead and Mix gently.
3. Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
4. Now grease your hands with oil or ghee and make smooth surface small balls from it. Make sure that there is no crack on the surface of the balls.(If you are not able to form crack-less balls, Then you need to make the dough bit softer)
   
5. Heat the oil in a pan over medium flame.add a pinch of dough in hot oil if it comes upwards immediately without changing it's color,oil is ready. 
6. Add prepared dough balls gently in oil batch wise and deep fry them in a medium to low flame.
   
7. Once they start to have tiny golden spot's,keep on rotating them in oil,so that the jamun's are evenly browned.
   
8. Remove the jamun's and then drain them on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
9. Add fried balls into warm sugar syrup.
   
10. Use a large pan so that the gulab jamun's are not overcrowded.soak them 1-2 hours before serving.
11. Serve gulab jamun warm or at room temperature. You can also chill them and serve them cold.