Tag: Mocha

Mocha Ghanto

Mocha is the name for Banana Flowers in Bengali. It has many minerals like Manganese, Copper, Iron and Potassium to name a few and Dietary fibers . The Purplish pink bell that is seen at the end of a bunch of banana is what is used. Cutting it and preparing it for cooking takes a little bit of time and effort. You can find pictures of how this is done in Mocha or https://dollylahiricooks.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/mocha-or-banana-flower-how-to-cut-it/

My mother in law was a wonderful cook and she was from East Bengal which is Bangladesh now and this recipe I have learnt from her.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • Mocha cleaned and boiled 2 cups
  • Potato Peeled and diced 1 cup
  • Coriander / Dhania Powder 1/2 teaspoon
  • Cumin / Jeera powder 1/2 teaspoon
  • Turmeric / haldi powder 1/4 teaspoon
  • Chili / Mirchi powder 1/4 teaspoon
  • salt 1teasppon
  • Garam Masala Powder* 1/2 teaspoon
  • Rice Gobindo bhog* or broken Basmati 1&1/2 Tablespoon
  • Ghee 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
  • Bay leaf 1
  • Cinnamon stick 1 inch piece.
  • Water 1/2 cup
  • *Garam Masala: grind together, 1 inch piece of Cinnamon, 3 cloves and 2 green cardamom.
  • * Gobindo Bhog Rice is a very fragrant small grain rice which is used in Bengali homes for Payesh, and Pulao. You can use broken Basmati rice if you do not have Gobindo bhog. Or even any rice. But the best is Gobindo bhog.

Mocha chopped and boiled with a little salt, and then strained.

Potato peeled and diced, and some Gobindo bhog rice.

The Masalas, Turmeric powder,garam masala,ghee,salt and chili powder.

Coriander, and Cumin powders.

Bay leaf and cinnamon, to season the oil. Or Tarka

Method : how to cook the Mocha Ghanto

  • Heat an Pan or Kadai /Wok, and add the ghee. When it is hot, add the Seasoning or Tarka (Foron in bengali) of Bay leaf and Cinnamon stick.
  • Add the cleaned and diced potato pieces, fry a little till it looks slighty brown at the edges.
  • Add the rinsed Gobindo bhog rice and fry till the rice is opaque.
  • Add the Mocha, stir well
  • Add all the Masalas , cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder,chili powder and salt .
  • Keep the 1 teaspoon of ghee and garam masala for later.
  • Stir well to mix the masalas, rice and potatoes. then add 1/2 cup of water and cover the pan and let it cook on medium heat till the potatoes and the rice is soft and cooked.
  • Now uncover the pan and let the extra water dry out. Keep on stirring well or it will stick to the bottom. It should be as dry as possible.
  • Add the 1 teaspoon of ghee that you had kept aside and sprinkle the garam masala.
  • Take the pan off the heat and transfer the mocha into a serving dish. Serve with hot steamed rice.

Rita's Recipes1 Comment

How to Prepare Banana Flower for Mocha Ghanto| Step-by-Step Guide

Mocha or Banana Flower

Banana Flower or Mocha

Mocha is a delicacy in Bengali homes. We cook Banana flower in many ways, but the difficult part is the cleaning and cutting of these flowers, and it takes a lot of time . I have tried to show how it is done in some photos.

TIP: Before you start to cut the Mocha rub some oil on your hands and fingers to save your hands from becoming black.

When you remove the Pink sheath/ bract, you will see a bunch of flowers. Discard the pink sheath. We will use the flowers.

These are the flowers. as you keep removing the sheaths you will find the flowers getting smaller and after a point the pink sheaths will not be there but a whitish centre.

In each flower you will find a matchstick like Stigma in the middle, if you give it a good tug it will come out, discard this as it does not cook. In the front there is a small petal like thing remove that too.

As you can see in the photo we throw away these two pieces in the front of the flower.

we will use the rest of the flower.

Each flower has to be cleaned in this way.

when all the flowers are cleaned, chop them up small.

In the center of the big banana flower is this part , you will find this as you peel off the pink sheaths.

Cut the stalk off and then divide it in half like this.

Slice the halves this way.

Chop them small, and keep them with the chopped flowers.

Heat a pan with enough water, add a teaspoon of salt and add the chopped flowers. let is boil for 5 or 6 minutes.

Drain out the water and keep the flowers on a dish, to cool.

Now this is ready to be used to make any Mocha preparation you want.

At this stage the cleaned and partially cooked Flowers can be kept frozen in an airtight container for some time in the fridge.

Before using the frozen Mocha you have to bring it to room temperature.

Use this to make Mocha Ghanto or Chop.

Rita's Recipes4 Comments