Banana Flower Recipes

Banana Flower Recipes are common in South Indian meals.

They use the banana flowers to prepare delicious and tangy vegetarian recipes. But it is a time-consuming job. You need to remove all the outer layers of the flower which are colored until you reach the inner white-layered flower. Most people include the outer flower buds (florets) lined up between the layers for cooking these recipes. However, to avoid too much strain, it is better to consider only the inner white-layered flower for preparation.

This inner flower is cut into pieces and then minced in a jar to become fine pieces. While cutting the flower or stem or any banana part, your hands will become dark with its sticky juice. To avoid this, you may apply some oil to your hands before starting to cut.

I prepare two kinds of Banana Flower recipes. 

One recipe uses tamarind juice and mustard paste like the banana stem recipe.

The other recipe involves adding split green gram, which should be soaked in water for 20 to 30 minutes before preparation. It doesn't use tamarind.

I am providing detailed preparation instructions for these two types of recipes.

1) Banana Flower Recipe- Sour and Tangy

The taste of this vegetable recipe is both pungent and sour stimulating all your taste buds into action. You feel excited and delighted with the aroma of it.

Ingredients Required

• banana flower
• mustard seeds 20 grams (per medium-sized flower) for making the paste
• tamarind 20 to 30 grams for preparing juice
• oil for frying/topping (one table spoon)
• red chili pieces or powder
• split chickpea and black gram (each one spoonful)
• cumin, mustard seeds, and asafoetida for topping
• salt 1/2 spoon and turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
• you may add cashew nuts and peanuts also

Sour & Tangy Banana Flower Recipe Preparation Tips

• Keep the banana flower florets/pieces ready by removing the outer layers of the flower bunch
• Soak the tamarind in a cup of water for 30 minutes in advance and extract the juice
• Make the mustard paste by grinding the seeds in a small grinding jar and adding water slowly to prepare a soft paste
• You can cook the flower pieces in a pressure cooker or directly cook in the cooking pan
• If pressure-cooked, you will add the cooked ingredient to other items while frying them in the pan
• Similarly, you can add the tamarind juice while pressure-cooking or cooking in the deep frying pan
• If cooking directly in the deep frying pan, heat the oil and drop the ingredients of red chili pieces, mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, cashew nuts, peanuts, etc. frying them to a golden hue
• Now, add the banana flower ingredients and mix them well for some time
• Add the tamarind juice and mix again
• After that, add the salt and turmeric powder, mix well, and place a tight lid
• Keep mixing the recipe every 2 to 3 minutes to keep track of the cooking
• When the florets are finely cooked, the recipe will sport a pleasant and delicious golden/brown hue. 
• Your recipe is ready for serving. You can serve it 4 to 5 persons.

Banana Flower-Mung Bean Vegetarian Recipe

This recipe is prepared using split mung bean as a component of banana flowers.

Ingredients Required

• Banana florets/ flower pieces One-and-Half to 2 cups
• split mung bean 1/2 cup
• ginger and green chilies
• coconut grated 1/2 cup
• mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, and oil one spoonful for topping
• fresh coriander leaves

Banana Flower-Mung Bean Recipe Preparation Tips

• Before starting, keep the mung bean soaked in water for 15 to 20 minutes
• Cook the banana flower pieces/florets in a pressure cooker for a period of up to 2,3 whistles
• Cut or slice small and thin pieces of ginger and green chili as per your requirements
• Now, place the deep frying pan on the flame adding one spoonful of oil
• When the oil gets heated, drop the mustard seeds, cumin, and a pinch of asafoetida powder. Fry for some seconds and add the sliced pieces of ginger, and chili to it. Fry for some time till you hear the splitting sounds of mustard and chili pieces.
• Now, add the soaked mung bean and salt. Mix thoroughly and place a lid. Let it cook for 5 minutes at low flame. The mung bean should mix well with the banana flower and become soft and edible.
• Now add the grated coconut and coriander leaves. Mix thoroughly for 30 seconds and put off the flame.
• Your recipe is ready for serving. You can serve it to 4 or 5 persons.

Paani Puri / Gol Gappa Preparation and Serving Tips

Paani Puri is a North Indian name. In other places, it is known as Gol Gappa or golgappa.

The name "Paani Puri" refers to the composition of the snack (puri getting filled with flavored water before eating). The name "Gol Gappa" refers to the swallowing act of a round object. ('Gol' means round and 'gappa' means swallowing. It describes the sensation of the round snack dissolving quickly in your mouth.

Paani Puri is a recipe made up of small dough puffs (round balls fried in oil) stuffed with cooked chickpeas and served with sour and spicy water. It is a typical North-Indian snack popular in big cities across India. You can find it at roadside stalls on crowded streets.

"Paani Puri/Gol Gappa typically consists of a combination of three items."

They are: 1) Puri (the round ball), 2) Chickpea stuff, 3) Spicy water. All these combined, make the whole dish of Paani Puri.

Now, I am sharing the preparation instructions for all three elements of this Golgappa recipe.

Preparation of Puri for Golgappa

Paani Puri ball is prepared with rava/semolina dough rolled into small round spreads applying refined wheat flour.

Ingredients for Puri

• semolina/rava One Cup
• refined wheat flour/maida for rolling purpose in a small plate or bowl
• a pinch of baking soda & salt as required
• one or two teaspoons of oil for preparing the dough 
• oil for deep-frying the puris

Preparation Instructions for Puri

• mix the semolina thoroughly adding water intermittently to make the dough. Add the baking soda also while kneading it thoroughly. The texture should be soft and tender, but not sticky.
• Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to enable complete absorption of water. This will aid the puris to become puffy when fried.
• you can add some oil while kneading to prevent the stickiness of the batter.
• now, make the dough into small balls for rolling the puris.
• Use the rolling rod (wooden or metal) to flatten the dough into small, round, and thin shapes. The dry flour powder is used while rolling to make the flattened, handy, flat shapes that can be easily handled while frying them.
• Now, light the stove and put the deep-fry pan filled with oil on it. The oil should be filled only up to 50% of the frying pan or less to prevent spilling while working with it.
• When the oil becomes hot and emits vapor, drop the puri and fry one by one. You may press the edges of the puris holding the turner in one hand and a spoon in the other to make them puffy round balls.
• You can roll the puris first and then start the frying job, or roll and drop each one as and when rolled; according to your convenience and your speed/smartness in rolling.
• So, your puris are ready now for making the Golgappas.

Preparation of Filling for Paani Puri

The filling stuff is prepared by pressure cooking ordinary chana, Kaabuli Chana, or dry peas known as matar dal.

Ingredients for Paani Puri Fill

• one cup chana dal (chickpea legume) or similar legumes like dry matar
• 3 or 4 medium size potatoes
• 3 or 4 onions
• garlic, ginger, and green chili as per requirements to suit your taste
• 1/4 spoon of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder
• coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation Tips for Golgappa Fill

• The chickpeas or dry peas should be soaked in water overnight before using.
• Remove the water, wash again, and transfer the peas into a cooker. Add sufficient water to prepare a solid and finely-cooked stuff. Place the lid and cook on medium to high flame for about 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, check whether it is cooked fully. If not, cook for some more minutes.
• Turn off the flame and allow it to cool.
• Now, cook potatoes in another pressure cooker. After you hear 3 to 4 whistles, you can turn off the flame and allow it to cool.
• Slice the onions into small pieces. Similarly, make fine pieces of garlic, ginger, and green chilies.
• Now, place a deep frying pan on a flame with one or two spoons of oil in it.
• When the oil is heated, add the onion pieces and fry them until golden.
• Now, add the pieces of garlic, ginger, and chili and fry them.
• Peel off the cooked potatoes and add the stuff to the spices in the frying pan.
• Now, add the cooked peas, after mashing up a little, and mix all the ingredients thoroughly to make a soft stuff. Mix the turmeric powder also to it while hot.
• Your paani puri stuffing ingredient is ready. You will fill it in the puri while serving.

Spicy Water for Paani Puri

This is the third item required for serving the puris. The other two are Puri & Chickpea-Potato stuff.

Ingredients for Spicy Water

• Water as per requirement (one puri gets filled with one to two tablespoons of water)
• Tamarind seedless 10 grams to be soaked in a cup of water (if you don't get tamarind, you can substitute it with lemons or mango powder)
• Spices like pepper powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder as per your tastes
• Jaggery powder, black salt powder, and salt to taste
• You can add Pudina and Coriander leaves also for a nice look and flavor.

Preparation Tips for Spicy Water

• Prepare tamarind juice by dissolving the tamarind pods until perfectly mixed with water to make a thick juice. Remove the unabsorbed waste remnants from it.
• If you don't procure tamarind, do not worry. In place of tamarind juice, you can use lemon juice or dry mango powder (known as amchoor in India).
• Now, take fresh water in a large bowl and add the juice mixing it briskly with a spoon or ladle.
• Add the spice powders one by one mixing with the spoon. Add one or two spoons of jaggery powder and mix well. Now, add the black salt and normal salt as per requirements and mix thoroughly.
• Your spice water recipe is ready now. 

Serving Tips for Paani Puri

1. Keep all the three items at hand in separate containers. Keep small plates or bowls for serving.
2. Press the puris gently with your finger in the middle to create a hollow place for putting the cooked potato-pea recipe in it.
3. Fill the spicy water into small cups for each person. Give a plate to each and ask them to sit or stand around in front of you holding the plates.
4. Fill the stuff into the round balls, one by one, and simultaneously keep serving the customers in turns.
5. The person eating them will be filling the spice water from their cups before eating each ball. This will prevent the puris from becoming soaked and melting into soft pieces.

Banana Stem Recipes- Grooming and Cooking Instructions

Banana Stem after removing outer layers

 Banana Stem is that part of the banana plant that is   above the ground and up to the branching off leaves.   The stem is made up of multilayers containing   mostly fiber. The upper layer is greenish and hard-   textured but not as hard as that of the trees. It easily   gets bent or broken by heavy winds or even by the   weight of its own fruits and leaves. But the banana   plant is a unique plant in which each part is used in   some way or other.

Now, let us come to Banana Stem Recipes.

Like other vegetables, you can cook delicious recipes using the stem of a banana plant. If you are growing a plant, you can cut the stem from above the ground level after it has borne flowers and fruits and its season is over. The roots can give rise to fresh plants. Alternatively, you can buy banana stem pieces from vegetable markets in India. They sell the stem pieces after removing the upper layers as shown in the above image.

How to Prepare the Banana Stem for Cooking

• Take a one-foot long (or even larger piece) banana stem and remove the hard layer.
• If you experience difficulty, cut the piece vertically and, then, begin removing the layers. First, the harder-most outer layer and then the inner coarse layers. When you remove 3 or 4 layers, you will reach to a smooth-looking stem.
• Now, cut this stem into small pieces. These pieces are used for the recipes.
• You can either pressure-cook or saute the pieces as the first step depending upon the type of recipe to be prepared.
• If pressure cooking, be careful to use as little water as needed for cooking the pieces (say one or two tablespoons of water).

Now, I am sharing two types of recipes made from this banana stem.

1) Banana Stem Recipe Using Tamarind Juice

Ingredients for Sour Recipe

• Banana Stem pieces
• Tamarind Juice measuring 2 tablespoons ( for pieces from one-foot stem)
• mustard seeds (2 tablespoons for making paste & one teaspoonful for topping)
• dry red chili long-sized two
• salt & turmeric powder to taste and flavor
• split ground nuts and cashew nuts

Preparation Tips for Banana Stem Sour Recipe

• Before beginning the cooking process, prepare the tamarind juice. You should soak the tamarind for 15 to 30 minutes and then extract the juice by removing the waste from it.
• Next, to make the mustard paste put the mustard seeds of 2 tablespoons into the grinding jar and add some drops of water. You may drop one red chili also if you prefer before grinding. Make it a soft and smooth paste.
• Remove the paste into a small bowl and keep all ingredients at hand.
• You may either cook the stem pieces in a pressure cooker (up to two whistle blows) or directly begin sauteing.
• Light the stove and place the deep cooking pan adding one tablespoon of oil.
• When the oil is hot, drop the red chili pieces and mustard seeds into it and fry till you hear the spluttering sound.
• Now, add the ground nuts/ peanuts and cashew nuts and fry till they show up a golden hue.
• Add the banana stem pieces and turn them briskly for a minute or two. If you have pre-cooked the pieces in a pressure cooker, you can directly add the tamarind juice at this stage and after a minute of cooking, you can mix the mustard paste also at this stage and complete your cooking process within two minutes. Otherwise, follow the below steps one by one.
• For direct cooking of the banana stem pieces after adding the peanuts and cashew nuts, add the salt and turmeric powder and saute them for 5 minutes.
• Now, add the tamarind juice and cook for another 5 minutes. Keep turning the stuff each minute for a perfect mix and cook. 
• Check whether it is soft and crispy. When perfect, add the mustard paste to it and turn briskly for a minute to mix perfectly.
• Now, your recipe is ready for serving.

You can serve this recipe to 3 or 4 persons.

2) Banana Stem Curd Recipe

This recipe uses curd in place of tamarind juice and requires no mustard paste.

Ingredients for Curd Recipe

• Banana stem pieces of one-foot stem
• Curd one cup
• Mustard seeds one tablespoon
• Dry Red Chili (one or two)
• Asafoetida one pinch & turmeric powder
• Salt (1/2 to One spoon as per your requirements)
• Coriander leaves for topping

Preparation Instructions for Banana-Stem Curd Recipe

• Cook the stem pieces in a pressure cooker with one cup of water. You can add the salt to it before placing the lid to cook.
• Cook up to 3 or 4 whistles and turn off the flame.
• Now, prepare the curd. Take a wide bowl of half a liter or so. Put the curd in it and add a pinch of turmeric powder to it. Mix it well. You can use a teaspoon or tablespoon to mix it well. Add neatly cut coriander leaves and mix again well.
• Now, take a small frying pan to fry the mustard seeds and red chili pieces. Put some oil in it and place on a low flame. Fry the seeds and pieces until you hear the spluttering noise. Immediately add the asafoetida powder also and turn well. Put off the flame.
• Now, pour those fried ingredients into the curd and mix well.
• Check whether the banana stem pieces are cool and then add them to the bowl of that prepared curd. Mix well. Your Curd recipe is now ready for serving.

You can serve this banana-stem curd recipe to four persons or more.