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This is a recipe which I had learnt from my domestic help. She is a bengali and this recipe is called as “Mocha Aloo Tarkari”.

One day, I was wondering what to cook new with the plantain flower as I was bored to cook again the traditional poriyal that my mother had taught me.

While I was cleaning the flower and was soaking the different dals for the same, she asked me what am I trying to do. I said whatever I do let that be, can she help me prepare something out of this. That’s how it all started.

While the end result was equally good as our traditional preparation, it had an added advantage being much spicier which made it a very good side dish choice for sambar, Rasam, Paruppu etc. Not to forget, it was much simpler to prepare as well.

A variation to this is, cabbage can be made in the method with or without potato.  If you want a suggestion for another variant, you can try nicely chopped bitter gourds too.  🙂

Now, let’s see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Plantain flower  (cleaned, washed and chopped) – 1 cup

Potato – 1

Onion – 1 small, finely chopped

Green chillies (slit vertically) – 3-4

Jeera/Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon

Jeera powder – a pinch or two

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Salt – as per taste

Oil – as needed

Method:

  1. Boil potato, cut them into small cubes and keep aside.
  2. Heat oil in a kadai, splutter jeera and cook onion and green chillies until they are transparent.
  3. Add plantain flower. Stir and cook well, so that it blends with the onion and chillies.
  4. Add salt. Sprinkle a little water to cook the flower.
  5. Once the flower is half done, add the cubed potatoes and cook well.
  6. You can pour a little oil over the cooking stuff so that they cook well.
  7. Cook nicely in a simmer flame until the whole mixture gets a dark color. Check for taste, salt and spice.
  8. When you are almost done, sprinkle a pinch or two of jeera powder over the content.
  9. Stir and mix well for a few seconds. Turn off the stove.

 

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