The Banana flowers in a tree would not form fruits after producing enough baby bananas and will just grow further down. You can collect such flowers and make delicious dishes from them. Banana flowers also contain lot of medicinal properties and is good for health.

In this instructable I will show you how to use the Florets from banana flower to make a delicious stew

Step 1: Collect the Florets

You can remove the dark colored bracts one by one from the flower and collect the florets from inside
Rinse the florets in water and keep aside

Step 2: Dip in Batter and Deep-fry

First we will deep fry the florets dipped in a batter

Take one cup of chickpea flour in a bowl and add 2 teaspoons of corn flour, one teaspoon of Red chilli powder, one teaspoon of Cumin seed powder, half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt
Add water and make a thick batter
Heat oil in a frying pan
When the oil is heated, dip the florets in batter and add to oil

Step 3: Separate Deep-fried Florets

Once the florets are fried a golden brown, remove from oil and drain out excess oil
Separate the connected florets and keep aside

Step 4: Ingredients for the Stew

50 Grams of Shallots (Small onions)
25 grams of Garlic
A lemon sized piece of Tamarind
2 Tomatoes
1 teaspoon of Mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of Cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of Fennel seeds
1 teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon of Red chilli powder
1 teaspoon of Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of Cumin seed powder
1 teaspoon of Curry masal powder
2 teaspoon of Coriander powder
1 teaspoon of Asafoetida powder
Bunch of Curry leaves
Bunch of Coriander leaves
2 Green chillies

Step 5: Prepare the Ingredients

Chop shallots, garlic and tomatoes in to fine pieces
Split the green chillies in half and keep aside

Step 6: Make Tamarind Paste

Soak the tamarind in water for about 10 minutes
press with fingers and make paste
Filter out the paste and discard the remains

Step 7: Preparation Step 1

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan
Once oil is heated, add Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds together in oil
When the mustard seeds start to crack, add shallots, garlic and bunch of curry leaves
Add chopped tomatoes, salt to taste and mix well

Step 8:

Once the raw smell disappears add all spice powders together and mix with other ingredients in the pan
Now the ingredients will get very thick. Add tamarind paste and about 3 cups of water to the pan and bring it to a boil

Step 9: Add Banana Florets

Once the mix starts to boil, add deep-fried banana florets
Cover the pan with a lid and cook over medium flame

Step 10: Garnish and Serve

Since we have deep-fried the florets earlier, it will not take much time for the stew to get ready

Once the stew thickens to the desired consistency, put off the flame and remove from stove
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and the stew is ready to serve

The stew with banana florets are very healthy and good for health as it contains lot of minerals and nutrients. Normally people do not use banana flowers and just discard it after harvesting the fruits. The flowers are little bitter in taste and stains cloths and hands. But cooking them like this recipe will make them tastier.

Serve the stew as a main course with Rice or Chapati