Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Banana Flower Cutlets (Mochar Chop)

The past few weeks have been tough. The internet connection also played truant which did not help matters, meanwhile Blogger closed down for a day and the following day I noticed a comment had just disappeared- why? And how?  Still trying to figure that one out, I am quite upset at losing a precious comment.


Anyway, since there is not much I can do about it, I might as well continue with the job at hand which is to post recipes. In my previous post I showed you how to clean and chop the banana flower.
If you have ventured into that territory or if you are even contemplating doing so then here is a perennially favourite snack of the Bengalis which is Mochar Chop it means Banana Flower Chop. Why Bengalis call it a chop I have no idea personally I think cutlet would be a more appropriate word.


You will notice I have not specified the measurements of the spices as I have already mentioned in my previous post, it will depend on the quantity of the banana flower. You will have to use your judgement, take care not to use  too much spices or else it will mask the inherent flavour of the banana flower.


Ingredients:

  • Banana Flower chopped and boiled (see previous post)
  • A pinch of turmeric powder.
  • Red chilli powder.
  • Cumin and coriander powder mix
  • A little ginger paste.
  • Salt and sugar to taste.
  • A small stick of cinnamon, one green cardamom and two or three cloves.
  • About half a teaspoon of cumin seeds.
  • Any cooking oil of your choice.
  • Boiled potatoes.
  • Bread crumbs.


Method:

  • Take a vessel of your choice and heat a little oil.
  • Add the boiled banana flower.
  • Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, ginger paste, cumin and coriander mix powder.
  • Stir well.
  • Add salt and sugar to taste.
  • Add a little water and cook till all the spices have blended well with the banana flower.
  • Heat a tawa or skillet and dry roast cumin seeds, cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves. Grind together into powder.
  • Add this powder to the banana flower stir well and remove from heat.
  • Transfer to a dish and add boiled potatoes.
  • Mix well, shape into small flat round equal sized round discs.
  • Roll the discs on the bread crumbs and deep fry.
  • Serve hot.
 Sending this to Flavors of Bengal event by Priya started by Nayna

    22 comments:

    1. ki korcho shilpidi? ato bhalo bhalo recipe gulo dekhiei jachho. anekdin khaina, ato byasto oi thor bori i ranna hocche ajkal.

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    2. Yummy banana flower cutlets.I enjoy it with some ketchup and hot sauce.

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    3. I remember having had mochar chop once, when a Bengali friend/colleague had brought them to office. Delicious! - though I would never have the patience to do all the hard work required to prepare the mocha.

      By the way, Shilpi, guess what? In our local Food Bazaar (the food department of Big Bazaar), they've now got a small Bengali section - khejur gur, mustard paste, that small-grained masoor dal, bori, and so on! And I found pui shaak at our local sabziwallah - am going to buy some this weekend. :-)

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    4. @Sayantani:Kinto eta to maante hobey je thor khub bhalo khete, ha, ha.

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    5. @Priti,ReshmiPushpa, glad to see you liked this recipe.

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    6. @dustedoff:Madhu, I am envious, here in Bombay Food Bazaar only has Gobindo bhog rice.Well all I can say happy eating, maybe I should make a yearly trip to Delhi.

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    7. Yes, Shilpi: The yearly trip to Delhi is certainly recommended! :-)

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    8. Dear Shilpi
      Kemon achho? Here after a long time. I hope you have fully recovered by now.
      Since I left CR Park, I have forgotten eating Mocha recipes. Of course I had Ghanto and chop during my recent visit to calcutta. It is time to go to CR park and get some non-bitter mocha and I will try your recipe..my recipe is slightly different..and it will be a great change for me too.
      Bhalo theko

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    9. @Ushnish:Glad to see you back in blogosphere.

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    10. Liebe Shilpi,

      als erstes, möchte ich dich darauf hinweisen, dass du brauchst nicht für jedes falsches Wort, mich um Verzeihung bitten. Ich bin nur eine Freundin von dir und nicht deine Lehrerin, oder? ;-)

      Mochar cutlet sieht super lecker aus. Jetzt ist es mir klar, dass man viele Sachen mit Mocha machen/kochen kann.

      Und mit den Kommentaren, mach' dir keine Sorge!! Du kriegst die nur nach ein Paar Tagen wieder zurück. :-)

      Liebe Grüße...

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    11. Cleaning part is difficult tai kom ranna kori, kintu khethe shoyti khoob shaad hoye. Onek din hoyeche mochar chop khechi bole...your pictures are tempting...

      Deepa
      Hamaree Rasoi

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    12. This recipe is completely new to me. Thanks for sharing it.I stumbled upon your blog. Loved going through your collection of recipes. Happy to follow you.

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    13. Liebe Shilpi,

      ja genau! Es bedeutet 'you'll get them back in a few days".. Meine Kommentare waren auch plötzlich weg und dann habe ich die wieder gekriegt. :-)

      Wie ist Sommer im Indien jetzt?? Ist es ganz warm? Ich glaude, im Juni, wird es im Mumbai Regen geben, oder??

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    14. Love banana flower .. we dont get it here .. cutlets look so yummy.

      Vardhini
      VardhinisKitchen

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    15. Hi shilpi, khub bhalo lagchhe ar ekjon bengali blogger ke dekhe. Tomar blog tao khub sundar. Mochar chop ta dekhe khub khete ichha korchhe. Ami r amar husband dujonei mochar sob preparation khetei bhalo basi. Thanks for sharing.....

      Chandrani
      http://cuisinedelights.blogspot.com/

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    16. Yum .... mochar chop is one of my fav especially in a rainy day lunch with steamed rice and hot onion daal but I never use bread crumbs so I will give it a try your way!

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    17. Bangali der biye barite mochar chop koto kheyechi.....but never thought of cooking it at home!! But this time I will surely try this one :)

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