When the
doorbell rang early in the morning, for me this was an unusual time for the
bell to ring. But, never know when one can be there giving a call by the
ding-dong ring.
In a
hurry, as I opened the door, a middle-aged man stood there with a bunch of
yellowish-orange colour flowers in his hand. It surprised me when he stretched
out his hand and said, “Would you like to have these?”
The
question stirred my nerves and I was in no mood at this hour of the morning to
buy this bunch of flowers…never even thought in my last night’s dream what
to do if I got these flowers, kumro flowers did they really occupy my night’s
dream space, but dreams hardly traverse the awakened mind, no more but...
Why spend money on these flowers which I had not asked for. In reply I told him
I had no need of these flowers.
As he was
about to go, I recognized him, my friend's errand boy. I stop him and he smiles
for he knows I know where the flowers are coming from.
The
flowers look beautiful but they don’t get a place in the flower vase. They
adorn the kitchen and wait till they are done with to be served on the plates.
They know
they will be cut, cleaned, washed, coated with some batter and then fried in
hot oil.
A kadhai
full of hot oil reminds of childhood days when moms and grandmoms, masis and
peecees, tell story about Hell. “If you do any bad work in life, you will go to
Narak (Hell), and, there they will fry you in a huge kadhai of hot oil”. That’s
the story elders said time and again about Hell.
But, the
Kumro phool, I think never has the same nervousness about being deep-fried in
hot oil, maybe no story teller in the flower and vegetable kingdom.
The kumro
phool sat for some time till I came closer to them.
Once
close by, started off working on them.
WORKING:
First cut
the stem so that the “Stigma” of the flower is also cut off.
All that
remains is the soft petals…
The
petals washed carefully and left to dry. The washing process helps to do away
with the hairy parts on the petals.
Anyway,
the major part of cleaning and washing and drying of the kumro flowers is done.
They have to sit for a while until…
Making of
the batter:
For 8
kumro/pumpkin flowers take in a bowl
¾ cup
besan
2 tbsp
coarse rice flour
¼ tsp.
haldi powder
¼ tsp.
red chilli powder
Salt to
taste
Mix well
all the ingredients.
Add water
to make a batter thick enough to coat the kumro phool when dipped in it.
While
working on making the batter, heat enough oil for deep frying.
Now dip
each kumro phool into the batter and once it is coated fry it in the hot oil.
While
frying reduce the flame and fry over soft heat.
Once the
colour strarts getting dark on the surface remove and place it on kitchen towel
to drain the excess oil.
This
Kumro Phool Bhaja is best served for lunch and tastes so good with bhat and
dal.
Earlier
when Ma used to fry and serve this for lunch, there was so much fuss among the
children at home. Time changes and also there are challenges to be faced in the
kitchen and then this not so tasty bhaja of childhood days tastes good and the
mother in the kitchen now wants her children to relish it.
Enjoy
your Kumro Phool Bhaja if you manage to get some of these flowers which are
rare in the market but can be available in your own kitchen garden or some
friend or relative can give some from their garden.
Enjoy the
Kumro Phool Bhaja till I come up with another food item cooked in my lovely
little kitchen.
©
gouriguha 2015
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