Mochar Chop or Banana Flower Cutlet

The winter is back. Remember those chilly winter evenings of vacation with soups at dinner and hot coffee all day long?? Cookies and cakes are not that much interesting now after Christmas and New Year. It is the time for something crunchy and crispy, may be spicy too. How about some Chicken Pakoda, Onion Pakoda or Peyanji or Mochar chop???

Mochar Chop or Banana Flower Cutlet is another famous street food of Kolkata which actually makes those streets famous by its aroma. Even it has the ability to transform those streets interesting and lively from the regular dullness. For these kind of fried items I can walk through those dark lanes of Kolkata again and again.

For this chop/cutlet I used some frozen left over Mochar Ghonto or Banana Flower Veggy from previous night . Fresh veggy can be prepared and used for it as well though I dint find any difference in taste.

Here is the recipe of Mochar Chop or Banana Flower Cutlet.

Ingredients:

Left over Mocha or banana flower Veggie

Boiled potato: 2-3

Raisin: ¼ cup

Chopped coconut: ¼ cup

Peanut: 2-3 tbsp

All-purpose flour: ¼ cup

Semolina: 2-3 tbsp

Water: 1/3 cup

Breadcrumb: ½ cup

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry (about 2-3 cup)

Preparation:

Peel the potatoes and smash them and make a smooth dough of it.

Dry roast the peanut on medium fame. Be careful not to burn it.

Add the left over or freshly made stir fried Banana flower into the smashed potato.

Add raisin, chopped coconut and roasted peanut and make a smooth dough. Don’t add water; it should be a bit dry. Otherwise the cutlet won’t be able to hold the shape.

Take a tbsp of the dough in your palm and give it an oval shape. Try to make it neat. Otherwise it will break apart in the oil while frying. Follow the same with rest of the dough.

Mix flour and semolina in a bowl. Mix water little by little to make a thick paste. Break the lumps if any formed. Once there is no lumps at all add little more water to make a fine paste. The batter should be able to cover the back of a spoon.

Pour breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.

Heat oil in a wok on medium flame. Dunk a small amount of the dough to check the temperature of the oil. If it sizzles immediately it is the correct temperature and turn the flame to medium-low. If it stays at the bottom the oil is not hot enough.

Dip each chop/cutlet in flour-semolina batter and then roll it in the breadcrumbs. Try to coat twice.

Line them and keep aside.

When the oil is hot enough to fry the chops/cutlets put 2-3 chops/cutlets in the hot oil at a time and fry them till golden brown.

Remove them with a slotted spoon and arrange on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serve hot with Kasundi or with your favorite dip or sauce.

I enjoyed it with Coriander Dip and Chili Garlic Dip.