Banana Flower (Mocha) and Oh Calcutta

So, in the spirit of promises being meant to broken, I did not really blog much while I was in Kolkata. I needed a break and honestly the oppressive heat was not really conducive for a lot of action, but it was very good for soulful and  restful naps. I have indeed returned well rested.

Kolkata, is the city of my birth and a city that despite its teeming crowds, a city that sooths and relaxes. It is probably one of the most happening foodie cities that I know. It does not have the pace and flash of NYC but let me tell you, it certainly gives NYC a run for its money when it comes to its food obsession. For the first time in many years, I actually took notes and tried to chronicle some of my food experiences. This post will tell you about Oh Calcutta and the banana blossom or the mocha (the ch pronounced like chicken). Learning to work with the banana flower, needs is a little initiation, which I received this time round and shall happily share with you, but first let me tell you about my dining experience. The thought of eating Bengali food outside home in a city where mom is present takes some persuasion and this thought should actually be kept in mind when reading my thoughts and ideas on this restaurant.

I had heard wonderful things about Oh Calcutta, a Bengali concept restaurant by Anjan Chatterjee, bloggers have written a lot about it. It is a chain restaurant and is present in most of the metropolitan cities in India. I went in with mom (kids and Anshul, still in NY) at about 8pm and was greeted with a fairly empty restaurant, it was way too early for the conventional dinner time. I was really struck by the décor, it seemed to capture an artistic Bengali touch well, loved the old B&W photographs and of course the plates with the outline of the sky. In general, it set the mood well. The menu in my opinion was good, but a little light on the home-style Bengali dishes however did a good job of making the cuisine generally accessible and polished. This is an incredibly difficult proposition since Bengali’s do pride themselves on the general inability to commercialize their cuisine.

After some debate we settled on some of the general favorites, for an appetizer we did order the banana blossom chops. These are typical Bengali snacks of a filling encased in potatoes. The version here was thin and compact with a small amount of potatoes, I liked this, my mom was not so sure about the lack of adequate coating. They were served with an interesting cucumber relish and kasundi (a fiery traditional mustard relish). It actually might seem that we Bengalees are obsessed with mustard, this is true, what is also true however is the fact that some very simple variations in spicing can create an amazing amount of diversity in taste and texture when it comes to using mustard.

This was followed by the classic Hilsa, I choose a variation in a green mango sauce, I wanted to try the nuanced tart tastes of this gravy. I would have preferred it with a more traditional white rice, much as I like the steamed white Basmati, it does not quite fit the Bengali definition of rice. The Kasha Mangsho, dry and spicy goat meat curry with luchi’s was what sealed the deal for me. All in all I liked the place but will say that I found it a tad pricey, but definitely a must try.

Now, onto my experiences in taming the Banana Blossom, I started out with some good pictures but by the end of the process, I ended up with rather sticky hands so no continuing pictures. I had first procured this recipe a while back for blog reader BulBul, but re-tried this myself under the supervision of mom and sous chef Anima. I am wondering if I can train my kitchen helper Martha to actually deal with the cleaning of the Banana flower.

So you start with a beautiful, banana flower or blossom, as you remove each beautiful vividly colored leaf you shall see a stack of pale yellow (almost white) bananas. These need to be carefully removed. Once you have accumulated all of these the fun begins! You might want to grease your hands at this point. Remove the outer thin shell of these tiny flowers and taking about three to four at a time, line them in lateral sequence and take off about a centimeter of the tip, pulling out the stamen with it. Finely chop the remainder of the bananas. Continue this process for the entire batch. Whew! The difficult part is complete!!!

Mochar Chop – Potato and Banana Flower Croquettes

 Prep Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes (30 minutes for the chops to bind)

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves 10

 Ingredients

 For the filling

 2 cups of the chopped banana flowers (prepared above)

2 cups water

2-3 tablespoons oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

¾ teaspoon red chili powder

½ teaspoon garam masala powder

 For the casing

 2 cups mashed potatoes (a starchy variety such as russet or Yukon Gold)

1 egg beaten

½ cup water

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups of dry commercial breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

 Method of Preparation

     Place the chopped banana flower and the water in a large cooking pot. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes.Drain the banana flowers and squeeze out any excess moisture.

1. Heat the oil on medium low heat and add the chopped onions and cook for about 5 minutes. The onions should wilt, soften and begin to turn gently golden.
2. Add in the ginger and cook for one minute.
3. Add in the prepared banana blossoms and increase the heat to high and cook the mixture, stirring continuously.
4. Add in the salt, sugar and the chili powder and cook the mixture for about 5 minutes, you should have a dry and relatively well browned appearance.
5. Stir in the garam masala and set aside to cool slightly.
6. Take a small amount of the potato filling and shape into a flat cake, make a dent in the center and place about 2-3 teaspoons of the filling and then seal the filling with the potato mixture.
7. Continue this until all the banana flower mixture is used up.
8. Place the egg, water, flour and salt in a bowl and beat the mixture until the mixture is well beaten. It should be a smooth batter like consistency.
9. Spread out the breadcrumbs in a flat plate.
10. Dip the potato cakes in the batter and coat uniformly with the bread crumbs.
11. Place each coated chop in a plate, place the chops in the refrigerator and allow the chops to bind.
12. Heat the oil on medium heat in a wok and test with a bread crumb, the crumb should sizzle and rise immediately to the surface.
13. Place about 2-3 of the chops into the oil at a time and fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side until nice and crisp.
14. Drain on paper towels and serve with ketchup or your choice of a relish.