A banana flower recipe you’ll love making over and over again.

If you’ve never tried a banana flower curry then you are in for a treat.

This banana flower(banana heart)recipe is also known as “keselmuwa curry” in Sinhalese.

I will show you how to cook the banana blossom the correct way.

banana flower(banana blossom)

Banana blossom and banana heart are some names used in reference to what we more commonly call the banana flower.

If you are wondering what a banana flower is,

Well, it’s the first stage of the banana you consume.

The banana flower left to grow through its natural stages would ultimately turn into these fruits that we love. 

When you first come across the banana flower you might find it confusing as to which part of the fruit is to be cooked. 

I’ll be making it easy for you to cook the banana heart(blossom, flower whatever you like to call it).

A step-by-step guide on how to clean, prepare and make this Sri Lankan recipe.

It’s like unwrapping a gift, layers of it have to be removed to get to the part that’s cooked.

What to serve with this banana flower curry

• You can include the Sri Lankan banana flower curry with any of the meal plans mentioned here.
  • meal plan 1
  • meal plan 2,
  • meal plan 3 or come up with your own rice and curry menu.

• Rice dishes to serve with banana blossom curry.
  • how to cook rice on the stove.
  • Sri Lankan Yellow Rice(turmeric rice)
  • Indian fragrant ghee rice(nei choru).
  • vegetable fried rice(spicy).

• Other vegetarian curries to pair with the keselmiwa curry recipe.
  • sweet potato curry(sri Lankan, bathala curry).
  • Jackfruit curry(Sri Lankan polos curry).
  • Jackfruit curry(Sri Lankan polos curry).
  • Pumpkin curry(Sri Lankan wattakka curry).
  • Potato and green bean curry(Sri Lankan, vegetarian).
  • Sri Lankan Potato curry(ala kiri hodi).

• Meat, poultry, seafood curries to serve with banana flower curry.
  • Canned tuna fish stir-fry(devilled).
  • Sri Lankan canned fish curry(tin fish).
  • Slow cooked beef curry(like my grandmother makes).
  • Beef coconut curry- Sri Lankan style(village-style, naattu aviyal).
  • Sri Lankan Jaffna curry powder chicken curry.
  • slow-cooked Sri Lankan chicken curry without coconut milk.

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Utensils and appliances needed

• Chopping board/ knife
• Large bowl.
• Large strainer(you can also use your hands to squeeze out excess water).
• Skillet or frying pan.

Where to find banana flowers?

If you live in an Asian country finding banana flowers is easy as most supermarkets and open vegetable markets sell them and they are very cheap. 

• Workflow to make banana flower stir-fry.
  • Clean, remove and discard the parts of the banana heart that you won’t use.
  • Chop it into fine pieces.
  • Soak in water for 5 minutes, strain, and squeeze out the liquid.
  • Cook the banana as per the instructions below.

Check all the Asian stores, especially the Sri Lankan, Indian and Thai stores. you might also be able to find the canned version.

• Cooking time to make the banana blossom curry.
  • Preparing the banana blossom to make the curry is where most of your time would be spent.
  • If you are not familiar with the preparation process of the banana flower it would take you about 10-15 minutes. cooking time will be roughly another 15-20 minutes.

More banana flower recipes

Banana flower fry

Storing, freezing, and reheating

This vegetarian vegan curry is best eaten within a few hours of cooking. avoid freezing, reheating, or refrigeration.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY-LITTLE CARE IS NEEDED

Ingredients to cook the banana flower

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

2-3 cups of water

4 tablespoons of Oil(extra 2 tablespoons of oil needed later in the cooking)

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder(1/2 teaspoon for soaking the chopped banana flower/ 1/2 a teaspoon used for tempering)

5-6 curry leaves(substitute with a bay leaf)

1 onion, sliced fine

1/2 tsp  red Chilie flecks (reduce or increase as per your need)

1 tbsp Maldive Fish (optional)

1 green chillie sliced

1 banana flower cleaned and chopped as per the instructions given.

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (reduce or increase as per your need)

1 tablespoon of tamarind juice(not paste which is much more concentrated and needs to be diluted with water. you can substitute with a tablespoon of lime juice)

Salt to taste

How to cook Banana flower curry

The first step of making the banana flower recipe is, cleaning and chopping it for the banana flower recipe.

How to clean the Banana blossom

Wash the banana flower.

Remove the darker outer layers of the banana flower, including the bottom part which later turns into bananas.

You can actually add these flowers to the curry by removing the stigma within it but I usually discard them.

A little too much work considering how small and how time-consuming it is.

Continue to remove the layers.

Until you come across the part that doesn’t have flowers attached to it. 

As you chop the flower, you’ll notice a sap sticking to your hands so make sure to rub some oil before you start chopping the banana flower.

Cut off the stem(bottom)and chop the flower into smaller, thinner strips.

How to cut the banana heart for the recipe

Have a bowl ready with water, salt, and turmeric(1/2 tsp)added to it.

Place the washed and cleaned(as directed above)on a chopping board.

Cut the top and bottom parts of the banana flower. cut them into thin rounds, stack them and then chop them into small thinner pieces.

Please be careful as you chop them as your fingers will probably be a little too close to the sharp knife as you try to slice them thin.

As you chop, add the banana flower pieces immediately into the turmeric water to avoid discolouration.

Soak for 5 minutes.

Once you’ve chopped the blossom,

Use a large strainer to strain the chopped flower from the water.

Squeeze any excess water and transfer to a bowl. 

You might find, getting all the tiny pieces out of your hand a bit tricky but with a little patience, you can do it.

How to prepare Sri Lankan banana flower curry

Have all the ingredients needed ready.

Place a pan over medium heat.

Pour in oil(2 tbs), then temper curry leaves(5-6), and onion(1)until they turn golden in colour.

Reduce heat to low add chilli powder(1/2tsp), turmeric(1/2 tsp), chilli flecks(1/2 tsp), green chillie(1), and cook for 3 minutes.

Turn heat to low and add the banana flowers to the pan.

Combine and cook for 5 minutes or until it’s cooked.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil only if needed and further cook the chopped banana blossom.

Pour in the tamarind(1 tbs) and cook for a few minutes(3-5 minutes).

Taste and season with salt if necessary.

Serve warm with your favourite rice and curry menu.

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