Mochar Ghonto (Bengali Banana Flower Curry)

Cleaning a banana flower (mocha) takes patience, which is why mochar ghonto is a dish made with love for special lunches. The florets are chopped, boiled and cooked with potato, coconut, ginger and Bengali garam masala into a soft, nutty, slightly sweet dry curry.

Video by Bong Eats on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

• Serves 4
• Prep 45 min
• Cook 30 min
• Vegetarian · gluten-free
• Famous in West Bengal

Ingredients

• 1 banana flower (fresh or 1 tin, about 400 g)
• 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt
• 1 potato, in small cubes
• 2 tbsp mustard oil + 1 tbsp ghee
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 4 tbsp grated coconut
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp Bengali garam masala (cardamom, clove, cinnamon)

Method

1. Remove the outer purple bracts; from each floret pull out the hard stamen and the transparent petal. Chop finely and soak in water with a little turmeric (oil your hands first – the sap stains).
2. Boil the chopped flower with salt and turmeric for 10 minutes, drain and squeeze dry.
3. Heat mustard oil, fry the potato until golden, remove. Add bay leaves and cumin, then ginger and spice powders with a splash of water.
4. Add the banana flower, potato and coconut and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring.
5. Add sugar, garam masala and ghee, mix and serve with rice.

Tip: Tinned banana blossom from Asian shops saves the cleaning – just rinse and chop.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.