Mocha Mangsho

          Mochar Ghonto (Banana Blossom Curry) is a part of Bengali cuisine. It is quite a popular dish among most of the Bengali crowd and is an age old recipe. Traditionally, it is cooked with potato, boiled chickpeas and coconut for the vegetarian version. For the non-veg. version it is cooked with prawns / shrimps or fish head. However, today I tried with mutton and it turned out simply awesome. So do give it a try and I'm sure you'll love it.

          Mocha / Banana Blossom has a lot of health benefits as it contains vitamins and minerals. However, you need to follow few guidelines before you start to cook this delicious curry.

          First I recommend you to put on disposable gloves as the iron content in them will discolour your nails & fingers. Then peel the layers of the banana blossom & remove the florets. 

           Then from each floret discard a thick stamen from the centre & the outer cover. This is pretty time consuming so you need to be patient. It is definitely worth every effort and is just irresistible when you relish this exotic delicacy either with rice or chapati. 

          Earlier it was a simple homemade curry, but in recent times it made its way into many Bengali restaurants, especially outside West Bengal. 

• 1 medium size Mocha / Banana Blossom, cleaned and chopped finely
• 300 gms. mutton cubes
• 1/2 cup boiled black chana (chickpeas)
• 2-3 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1" cinnamon
• 2-3 green cardamoms
• 4-5 cloves
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. roasted cumin-coriander powder
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 1 tsp. ghee 
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          Soak the chopped banana blossom in tamarind water for an hour. Drain and pressure cook in required quantity of water, salt and pinch of turmeric powder for 4-5 whistles. Drain the water, rinse and mash well. Keep aside.

           Pressure cook the mutton in 1 cup water for 20-25 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle. Keep aside. 

           Heat oil in a pan & temper with cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves. Add the onion and stir fry till light brown. 

          Add the ginger paste and all the dry spices (except garam masala powder) mixed with some water. Saute till the oil separates. 

          Add the boiled banana blossom and green chilies. Saute for 2-3 minutes on high flame. Add the boiled mutton and boiled chickpeas. Cover and simmer till almost dry. 

           When done, add garam masala powder & ghee. Give it a stir and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot steamed rice or chapatis.