Banana Blossom Cutlets

Finger Food Fridays !!!

And this time with a Healthy Pan fried Banana Blossom and white peas spicy cutlet.

Speaking of Friday, guess where we are off to today??? 

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA.... Really!!! (I'm still pinching myself)

I'm super excited. I was in a state of disbelief until I had to pack. I hate packing. May be a little less than unpacking though. But YESSS... the tickets are booked, hotel's spoken for, the bags are packed and the Passports are out and ready to be stamped. It's been so long that we took a vacation, and we've been all working so hard in office, that this is such a welcome break.

I'd never heard of Cambodia, while Raj went on and on that we should go there once in our life. This was waaay back some 5 yrs ago. I ignored him then and we went to Phuket (which I loved loved loved). But then I saw photos of these magnificent temples online and I wanted to see them NOW. So here we are, a few hours away from actually seeing those beautiful temples, but before that we have miles to go and lots of airport wait time.

Has anyone of you out there been to Cambodia and can give me tips on what to see and where to eat and where to shop? I'm all ears. 

What this means next Tuesday, I won't be blogging live, it will be a scheduled post. Watch out for it though, it is on the lines of Caramelized Onion Mushroom Tart, only minus the mushrooms and plus some colorful ingredients, but just as delicious. But I will (hopefully) be active on Twitter tweeting our latest photos of sites we saw, food we ate (I'm excited to try out the Khmer curries, I've heard wonderful things about them) and knick-knacks we shopped for (dying to see what Siem Reap has to offer in the night market) - don't miss it out, follow @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter.

Back to Friday's finger food - Banana Blossom Cutlets. Banana Blossom or Banana Flower as it is sometimes called is a popular in South East Asian cusine (so perfect for today's post). Banana flower is very much like an artichoke in structure and in flavour. Usually, a typical Banana Blossom Cutlet uses potato along with the banana blossom to bind it. But here, I've used mushy white peas and a little bit of besan or chickpea flour to bind them. The banana flower in itself has no taste, (but it is loaded with texture), so generously use spices. 

Preparing a banana blossom needs patience, but the reward at the end is worth it. Did you know it acts as an anti-depressant? So by the time you are done eating, you WILL be happy! So back to preparing, 

• The maroon outer layer is to be discarded, the tiny flowers attached to the stem are for keeps. 
• Continue peeling away the layers until you reach a white heart where distinguishing the layers becomes difficult. 
• Chop this heart finely and immediately soak it in water with added lime juice to prevent browning. 
• For each of the tiny flowers, remove the inner filaments and chop the flowers finely and add to the water. 
• These need to be soaked for 4-5 hrs or overnight to remove any bitterness it may contain. 

The white peas need soaking too, until they can be cooked. So this would be the right time to soak them too.

After 5 hrs, cook the peas until mushy and cook the banana blossom until done. Drain both and mix. Add in besan or chickpea flour, spices, salt and mash well. Shape into patties and pan fry while spooning oil on each of the cutlets.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Goan Banana Blossom Curry - Semi dry curry made with banana blossom and white peas in Goan style
• Sabudana Vada - Shallow fried vadas or poppers made with Sabudana/Sago, Peanuts and mashed potatoes.
• Raw Banana Fry - Dry spicy curry made with raw banana or plantains in South Indian style.
• 10 minute Plantain Chips - Goan style chips made by pan frying finely sliced plantain dipped in spices and fine semolina.

Banana Blossom Cutlets

Banana Blossom Cutlets are vegan pan fried snacks made from cooked banana blossom, mushy white peas and spices.

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     8 Hours (includes soaking time)
Cook time:     1 Hour
Yield:                10-12 cutlets

Ingredients:

1 cup Banana Blossom, chopped (Refer to the post on top to see how to prepare banana blossom)
0.25 cup dried White Peas
2-3 Tbsp Chickpea Flour or Besan
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

Method:

Soak the chopped banana blossom in water overnight or for 4-5 hours. 
Soak the dried white peas in water overnight or for 8-10 hours.
Drain out the water and pressure cook for 1 whistle or cook in a sauce pan until done.
Separately pressure cook the white peas with 1/2 tsp salt for 2-3 whistles or until done.
Drain out the water from the banana blossom and the peas.
Combine the banana blossom and peas and mash them slightly.
Add in the turmeric powder, garam masala, red chilli powder, besan and salt and mix well.
Shape into cutlets.
Heat a frying pan and grease it.
Place the cutlets on the pan and spoon 1 tsp of oil on each of them. Cook on medium heat.
Flip them when the first side browns. Cook until the second side browns.
Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.