Kehel Muva Dadum (Banana Blossom Fry)

Kehel Muva Fry was one of my favorite vegetables growing up. I grew up in a coconut estate and we had many other fruit plants around, banana being one of them. When available my mom would make it for lunch. As I had mentioned in my previous post, when my great grandma was with us she would definitely want this fry to be made with ghee. If you did not make it with ghee you are bound to listen to a lecture during lunch about how "during our time" it was very required we made it using ghee. She had great taste buds and loved food.

Banana blossoms supposed to contain a great deal of vitamins and minerals. Phosphorous, Iron, copper, magnesium and potassium being some of them. It is also very rich in fiber. More than anything it just taste so good, especially made with ghee.

Lately in US we are able to find some good banana blossoms. You always want to make sure they look fresh. Ofcourse you will be removing most of the outer layers and inside it is still consumable. But fresh redish/maroonish is the best color for it.

So, here you go, a very easy fry you can make if you are able to acquire a fresh banana blossom where you live. It goes great with hot rice and a pappu. 

Required Ingredients:

One banana blossom. You need to peel it until you get to a tender creame color outer layer. That would be the less fibrous part. You will cut it into small pieces and put in a bowl of water with a little bit of turmeric dissolved. This will prevent the blossom from turning black.

I forgot to take pictures of my peeling the layers of the banana blossom. But as you peel the layers, you will also find small flowers inside it. These are edible as well. However, there is a small detail you need to be aware of. That is, you will find a small stick like piece in the middle of each flower. Just move the petal like pieces and you cannot miss it. Its advised you remove that part on each flower. There are so many of these tiny flowers inside the big blossom and it will take some time. So, go employ the rest of your  household into doing this fun activity. Once you remove the tiny stem, you cut them up into tiny pieces as well.

Once you have everything cut up, you will take a pan, heat some oil ( i will not give exact amounts for things like this. Its cooking lunch and you know how you fry your seasoning). You will add some slit green chilies, a sprig of curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin, a small spoon of urad dhal, and cumin into the and fry for a bit.

Once you know your seasoning is ready you will drain the cut of blossom pieces and add it to the oil or ghee. Viola!, now the frying begins. It can take anywhere between 8-10 minutes for it to completely cook. This is given that you only took the most tender part of the blossom within.

Stir it time to time. If you see if getting stuck to the bottom of the pan, you may add a little bit of water. Add salt. Taste a piece and see if its cooked. They should all be tender and dissolve in your mouth so to speak. At this point you can add a little lemon juice and turn off the stove. For a variation of it, you can also add a handful of grated coconut. Both versions taste amazing.

Below is the finished product.