Banana Flower (Bondi / Kele ka Phool) Cutlets ... A delicious cutlet prepared using finely chopped banana flower along with potatoes, onions and spices ... yummy ....
Banana flower or Bondi as called by Konkani Saraswats is a edible flower that is consumed in many ways. A little bit tedious to chop as fine threads keep coming out as you chop it. My Mom does it very well on the addoli / the sharp knife fitted to base type chopping equipment but I have somehow never felt competent enough to do it. Whenever Mom comes over I used to buy it and we used to relish the upkari / baji called bondi kirpula with lots of garlic in it always. It was a favorite in my home. Once one of my friend not knowing that I was not comfortable chopping the same brought and gave me a huge banana flower. I just gaped at it for a good one hour thinking of the tedious task before me. I had so much pressure of office work that i thought this would just go waste as I simply would not spend an hour chopping it.
That was when I just thought why not try it with my food processor. I just cut a few large bits and put them in the food processor, to my dismay the thread that sneaks out as you cut them got tangled with the blade and the gummy like thing got stuck so stubbornly that it was a complete mess. I just kept the whole lot aside as it was quite late in the night and when to to sleep. I could not get sleep and tossed a lot trying to find ways, then I thought of trying out with my new food chopper. But I could not disturb neighbors so was eagerly waiting for sunrise. This time I made smaller pieces of say about 2 inches and put them in the food chopper (Black & Decker) and Eurekha !!! I had cracked it ... I got such lovely fine pieces, that my happiness knew no bounds. Problem solved. Posting a few pictures below for reference.
** For the Cutlet Recipe ....
** Pressure cook 2-3 big potatoes, remove the skin and mash it well. Micro wave 1 cup of finely chopped banana flower for about 4 minutes and let cool or you can just cook the same with little bit of water in a kadai.
** Add it to the potatoes. Add 2 medium sized onions chopped fine. Add 1 tblsp grated ginger, 1 tblsp grated garlic, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp of red chilli powder, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp garam masala, ½ tsp fennel powder, ½ tsp amchur powder, salt to taste, some finely chopped curry leaves, pudina leaves and coriander leaves.
** Mix all the ingredients well and bind to form a rolling balling consistency. They should not fall apart when you roll them into ball and press a little bit to make small tikkis. If the tikkis break or cracks appear, you can add some cornflour and make the mixer tighter. or else it will breakup when you fry them.
** Prepare cutlets in desired shapes and keep in fridge for some time say 30-40 minutes. This is to keep them into tight phase so that they cook well when fried. Once you remove them from the fridge do not bring them to room temperature, but coat with coating mentioned below and directly fry them.
** Add it to the potatoes. Add 2 medium sized onions chopped fine. Add 1 tblsp grated ginger, 1 tblsp grated garlic, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp of red chilli powder, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp garam masala, ½ tsp fennel powder, ½ tsp amchur powder, salt to taste, some finely chopped curry leaves, pudina leaves and coriander leaves.
** Mix all the ingredients well and bind to form a rolling balling consistency. They should not fall apart when you roll them into ball and press a little bit to make small tikkis. If the tikkis break or cracks appear, you can add some cornflour and make the mixer tighter. or else it will breakup when you fry them.
** Prepare cutlets in desired shapes and keep in fridge for some time say 30-40 minutes. This is to keep them into tight phase so that they cook well when fried. Once you remove them from the fridge do not bring them to room temperature, but coat with coating mentioned below and directly fry them.
** Mix some breadcrumbs and rice flour in the ratio 1:1 and spread on a plate. Roll out the cutlets in this mixture and shallow fry carefully on medium heat till golden brown on both the sides. There are chances of these breaking up as they are a bit soft. Remove and keep it some time on absorbent paper.
** Banana Flower (Bondi / Kele ka Phool) Cutlets are done and ready to be served. Serve with any green chutney of your choice along with some tomato ketchup. They taste awesome but are a little bit delicate. So do not fry them before hand, fry them and serve immediately. Enjoy these cutlets with your family and friends. Soon I will come up with different combo for the same till then you try these out and have fun.
** For the Coriander~Pudina~Amla Chutney Recipe, Please follow the link given below ….
** You can use the search option for "Chutney" where you will get many more dishes of chutney both dry and wet. Do try out various types of chutney's to relish with dosa / Idly / roti etc. and Enjoy the same with family and friends.
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you. I have also started a food group for "Konkani Saraswats" by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" the link of which is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring".
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks.