Arati Puvvu Koora

Ingredients

1 banana flower (medium)
1 red onion
1 medium tomato
2-3 green chilies
½- 1 tbsp tamarind paste/ pulp
½ tbsp jaggery (optional)
1/4th tsp turmeric
1 tsp minced ginger
Salt to taste

For seasoning
2 tbsp oil
2 dry red chilies (broken)
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafetida
Curry leaves (fistful)

Cleaning
As you remove each flap from the pod, it exposes a row of florets that look like a comb. Separate the cluster. Each flower in the cluster will contain one hard and long stigma and a transparent covering. Discard the stigma and the transparent covering, leaving the other part of the flower. As you go down the pod, the stigma will no longer be hard and thick. You will also notice that the transparent covering is not more visible. When you reach this stage, you do not need to separate them anymore. Repeat the procedure until the layers of the pod can no longer be separated easily. You will see a pale creamy colored pod which looks like a conch. It has a slight bitter taste can be eaten raw or in salads. You can also add it to the dish, finely chopping then along with the florets. Now chop all the cleaned florets and immerse them in a big bowl of cold water. Clean them thoroughly at least 4 – 5 times. Using a drainer, drain the water, rest them for 10 mins. Now gently press and squeeze all the excess water from the chopped florets and keep aside

Jantikalu (Murukulu)

Ingredients

4 cups rice flour
1 cup puffed channa dal/dalia (in powder form)
2 tbsp jeera (corsely ground)
3 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp butter (at room temperature)
Chillie powder, salt to taste.
Oil for deep frying

Procedure

Heat a deep kadai with oil on medium heat. In a bowl mix all the dry ingredents. Divide the mixture into 2 portions and separate them. Take 1 portion and to this add 1 tbsp butter make a dough by adding little water. Make sure that the dough is not too soft. Use very little water as you can always add water to keep the dough moist.

Fix the jantikallu press and put small portion of the dought into it. Press the dough into hot oil and fry them till golden brown. Strain the jantikallu and shift them into an dry container. Repeat the process to make remaning jantikalu. Store them in a tight container.