An Assamese Delight: Chicken with Banana Flower

Sarika travels down the memory lane and laments that we still categorise people into regions, rather than identifying them as Indians. She shares an Assamese non-veg recipe, Kol De Kukura Mansho (Chicken with banana flower). An exclusive for Different Truths.

I was in a hurry. It was the last day to fill the form for my Masters. It was hot, humid, and pleasant too. Pune is always pleasant. My biased love for Pune is and will be always close to my heart. I love everything about it, college campus to university circle, food, people, neighbouring area, monsoon, winter – the list is long. Everything is beautiful in Pune.

Well, the queue was long. I was filling the form manually. For my birthplace, I wrote Digboi, Assam. A firm voice from behind, are you an Assamese? You look more like a Bengali.

I smiled. A few educated Indians still make indecent comments and believe that people from the North East look completely different from the rest of the country. I am still wondering when we all will be called Indians, rather than Bengali, Assamese, Telugu, Odiya….and so on.

Assam is a home to several offbeat tourist attractions, humble people, the sacred rivers, number of wildlife reserves. Assam hosts some of the most unique species like Rhinoceros and Golden Langur. The extremely rich biodiversity has made the state the ultimate destination for wildlife tourism in India. And an open secret, Assam is well known for its best quality tea. I grew up in Assam, where Bihu and Bhatyali reside together. Rabindra Nitya and Sattriya Nritya play on the same stage. We honour the creative side of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Nazrul Islam at the same time. We celebrate every festival like any other Indians.

I am a girl
From a land of kindness and warm hearts
Where hospitality is the mantra.
Blue hills and red rivers,
Will amaze you every time
And the serene beauty of the tea gardens
Will force you to love them again and again.
The loving festival called Bihu
Will enthral your heart and soul,
Oh, the untamed mighty Brahmaputra
Flowing with his own tune,
With a note
Life is beautiful!

Assam also has to offer a fascinating array of culinary delights. If you have an experimental heart, Assamese food will surprise you with the techniques and the traditions.

Today, I am going to share one of the recipes.

KOL DE KUKURA MANSHO (Chicken with banana flower)

• ·         Preparation time: 20 mins
• ·         Cooking time: 25 mins
• ·         Serves: 3

Ingredients

• ·         350 gms chicken
• ·         2 cups banana flower chopped
• ·         4 tbsps oil
• ·         1 small bay leaf
• ·         1 tsp cumin seeds
• ·         1 sliced onion
• ·         3 green chillies slit
• ·         1 tbsp ginger garlic crushed
• ·         ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ·         ½ tsp coriander powder
• ·         ½ tsp pepper powder
• ·         1/2 tsp red chilly powder
• ·         Salt to taste
• ·         Coriander leaves chopped for garnish (optional)

Method

• ·         Clean the chicken and cut them into bite-size pieces.
• ·         Clean and properly wash the banana flower followed by roughly chop them and soak in water for 30 minutes.
• ·         Drain the water nicely just before cooking them. You can finely chop them.
• ·         Now heat oil in a pan. Add the bay leaf, cumin seeds and let it splutter.
• ·         Add the onion, crushed ginger garlic, green chillies and sauté/cook for about 2 mins.
• ·         Here add the masala powders, Salt as per taste and sauté for a min.
• ·         Add the chicken pieces and fry them on high heat, make sure you need to stir it frequently for a couple of mins.
• ·         Add the chopped banana flower, give a nice mix, and stir fry on high heat for about 5 to 6 mins.
• ·         Cover the pan with the lid and cook on low heat stirring it occasionally for about 5-7 mins or till the chicken and banana flower is well cooked.
• ·         Garnish with chopped coriander leaves
• ·         Serve with steaming hot rice

Photos by the author