Mocha Chingri or Banana blossom with king prawns

Even through tackling a Mocha or Banana blossom is an advanced food project , I consider this beautiful vegetable cooked together with king prawns as one of the best flavor combinations that exist in Bengali cuisine. No doubt that the preparation of the flower does take some time , patience and precision to zero it down to an edible format but , in the end , the result is worth it . To start with , make a mental map to handle this over two days . The first task is to clean up the flower (which needs to be seamlessly separated from its non – edible part) and made ready to consume. Before you begin , lay out a layer of old newspaper on your cutting space and rub your chopping knife and hands liberally with mustard oil - This will prevent the sticky sap of the flower from sticking to your knife and turning everything into a sticky mess. Start with separating the flower as per the chart below , finely chop them and keep in a bowl.

The hard red leaves on the outside of the banana flower are called bracts . You can reserve 01 - 02 of these bracts for serving your end dish . Beneath these bracts are a row of light yellow flowers that can be consumed ( off course post the clean- up ) . For the clean- up , you need to pluck the hard pistil and the outer most petal or calyx from each floret. And yes ! this has to be done for every one of them :)

Note , once you have peeled all the florets and reached the center of the banana flower , do not discard the soft core . Finely chop the core as well and add it along with the flowers . Once done, wash everything very well , two or three times under running salt water , such that , you get rid of any residual sap whatsoever . Toss this core - flower mixture into a large vessel with hot water , ½ tsp turmeric and salt for 15 mins to boil . Drain , re-wash and cool . This completes your prep - I keep things ready up-to here and store it in an airtight container and what follows is a banana flower week . You can now use this mix for various delicacy dishes like Mocha’r chop , Niramish Mocha’r Ghonto etc . Listed below is the full recipe for Mocha Chingri :

Things you will need :

• 01 cup of finely chopped boiled mocha or banana flower

• 10 – 12 pieces of whole de-veined prawns

• 01 potato , cut into chunks

• 01 tsp turmeric powder

• 01 tsp ginger paste

• 02 tsp roasted cumin powder

• 2 bay leaves + 1 cinnamon (1-inch) + 3 green cardamoms + 2 cloves

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

• 02 dry red chillies

• 01 tbsp home-made garam masala powder

• Handful of Raisins

• 02 tbsp Finely grated coconut

• 01- 03 green chillies

• Salt and sugar to taste

• 1/3 cup mustard oil

• 02 tsp ghee

Steps to follow

• Marinate the de-veined prawns with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp turmeric powder .

• Meanwhile, heat the mustard oil and add in the chopped potatoes and fry them , until golden brown and keep aside .

• In the same oil , add in the marinated prawns and saute for 2- 3 min and keep aside.

• Next , add the bay leaves, dry red chilies, cinnamon, cloves , green cardamom and cumin seeds to temper the oil .

• Once the cumin seeds turn brown , reduce the flame and add in turmeric - cumin - red chilli powder along with the ginger paste.

• Add salt and sauté continuously until the oil separates.

• At this point , add in the boiled mocha , grated coconut , raisins , fried potatoes and cook on a high flame , stirring continuously for 10 minutes ( Drizzle this with little water to prevent it from burning )

• At this stage , add in the saute'd prawns .

• Next add sugar, bengali garam masala and slit green chillies .

• Taste to adjust the seasoning.

• Lastly , mix the ghee properly into Mocha Chingri and serve this with steamed rice.

Pro - Tip : When choosing a banana blossom, select a firm one with tightly packed petals , purplelish -red in color . There should be no signs of decay. If not using, wrap it in a cling film or plastic wrap to keep the petals closed completely and store it in the refrigerator.

**Photo credits for cleaning a banana blossom : Veganmiam