Kumro Phooler Bora (Pumpkin Flower Bhajiya)

 

This is a dish that my hubby has been wanting me to make for a while now. But since we never could find the flowers I never made it until one fine day we did find it, because of which I get to write this recipe. Its fairly simple not too much to do and it was my first time making and eating it aswell. You see im a manglorean and my hubbys Bengali so over the years we have learnt a bit of each other’s food cultures. I still don’t eat the pond fish but I have learnt to make a nice macher jhol and many other dishes along the years. This recipe would be something my MIL taught me during my visit to Bengal this year, but she used bok phool (again my first time) and not kumro phool. All in all I liked it so it goes.

 

Ingredients

 

Pumpkin flowers 10

Besan around 1/2 cup

Rice flour ¼ cup

Salt to taste

Haldi ¼ teaspoon

Chilli powder ½ teaspoon

Poppy seeds 1 teaspoon

Nigella seeds/ onion seeds/ kalonji 1 teaspoon (or as the Bengalis call it kalo jeera)

Baking soda ½ teaspoon (optional, I dint use it)

Water for mixing

Oil for deep frying

Method

Pluck the stamen from the middle of the flower, keep an inch of the stem of the flower and don’t remove the green parts at the bottom just trim them a bit if you feel it’s necessary, the wash the flowers and let them drain a bit.

In a mixing bowl put all the dry ingredients and then start pouring in the water little by little only to make a thick flowing paste, if it’s too runny just add little more besan to adjust.

 Once the dipping batter is ready heat the oil for deep frying. When oil is hot dip one flower at a time and start frying, don’t crowd the pan too much or the oil will get cold. And try to keep the heat on medium high so it doesn’t burn and gets cooked thru.

 

The typical bangla way to eat this would either be with rice and dal or at the beginning of the meal just take little rice with salt and ghee and the kumro phool bora on the side.