Bondi Upkari (Seasoned Banana Blossom)

Bondi Upkari is a very simple side dish. Bondi in konkani means banana blossom. Bondi Upkari is my personal favorite and would love to have it any time of the year. Chopping of banana blossom(fresh ones) is little time consuming but its worth the effort. It had been a long time since I had this dish. Hence bought banana blossom in brine from a Chinese store (since fresh ones are unavailable here). To my surprise, it tasted good. So make this tasty side dish (if you find a fresh one, I would consider you lucky!) and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Banana blossom, medium sized- 1 (I used one tin)
• Grated coconut, fresh/frozen- 1/4 cup
• Jaggery- 1-2 Tbsp (adjust accordingly)
• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Dry red chilli- 1-2
• Curry leaves- Few
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

If using fresh banana blossom- wash it and chop it very finely. As it is chopped, add it to a bowl containing water (to prevent blackening and bitterness).

If using canned- drain the liquid inside the tin and wash thoroughly.

Then chop it finely.

Now heat the oil. Add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add broken red chillies and curry leaves. Fry it for few seconds and then add chopped banana blossom and mix well (add water as required if using fresh. The one which I used had enough moisture. Hence did not add any water). After five minutes, add salt, jaggery and grated coconut. Let it cook on medium flame.

The canned ones took nearly 10 minutes to cook. The fresh ones might take little longer. Once it is cooked, turn off the heat. Bondi Upkari is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves two people.