Banana stem curry

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.