Ing.- big banana flower 1 oil 4 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 tsp udad dal 2 tsp red chilies 3
hing a [inch few curry leaves thur dal 4 tsp cooked grind coconut 1/2 salt to taste
Method- remove the red petals & take out the white buds from the base.each flower has a stamen in the centre, remove it, it will be thick on top. chop & cut the flowers & put in water to which curd/ buttermilk 1 tbsp is added. Drain & Cook the flowers in boiling salted water, completely drain off the water once cooked well.
Heat a pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add the udad dal & red chilies, add cooked banana flower, cooked thur dal, mix well along with hing, curry leaves, cook on slow flame for 5 minutes. add grated coconut & serve as an accompaniment to rice & sambar/ rasam.
ps- I normally make this curry by soaking about a cup of tur/arhar dal for about an hour & grind it with 3-4 red chilies & salt to taste. Instead of steaming the dal in a pressure cooker, I grind the dal slightly watery, then grease a microwave safe dish, put the paste & micro high for 5 minutes, stirring it midway. Once it is done, at times, it may take slightly longer to get cooked, you can make it out as it will be dry & won't stick to your hands when you touch it. Then while hot, I separate the dal well, heat 4 tsp of oil, once the mustard seeds splutter, add hing, add the cooked dal, stir well for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked banana flower, mix well & adjust salt if needed.
Even beans, broad beans, cluster beans can be boiled & then the cooked dal can be added to it in the same way as above by grinding the dal. It gives a very good taste. This will be a good accompaniment to onion vathak kulambu, i.e., onion thick paste in tamarind juice minus dal, which is normally added to sambar.
This mould can be used to make murukku or the top one, will give a ribbed shape.
