Edible flowers have been part of India’s long-standing culinary heritage and are some of the underrated aspects of India cooking. Aside from the influences that characterise and define regional cooking across the country, preparation and cooking styles also have a pivotal role to play in the way flowers are cooked and consumed. Below is a list of ten delicious, reasonably well-known dishes that celebrate edible flowers as their key ingredient.
Mogra Sharbat
A refreshing and cooling beverage for the summers, fragrant jasmine flowers are infused into sugar syrup and diluted with water for the most natural drink. Devoid of artificial colours or preservatives, the jasmine flowers enhance the sweetness in an aromatic manner, without becoming too overpowering. Similar to the rose, jasmine flowers also possess cooling properties – making the sharbat an ideal drink for hot days.
Kumro Phool Bhaja
Besides the usual eggplant pakoras or bhaja that Bengali cuisine is famed for, pumpkin flowers or kumro phool are also a widely eaten ingredient. Coated with a gram flour batter and deep-fried, these delicate fritters make for a delicious snack or side dish to a meal of dal and rice. This easy recipe is particularly popular during the flowering season of the pumpkin crop, and retains a bright orange hue as a result of the spices in the batter.
Mahua Flower Koshimbir
Image Credits: oForest
Koshimbir or tempered salads are an integral aspect of Maharashtrian cuisine and this particular koshimbir recipe is borrowed from the tribal communities of the Sahyadris. Fresh mahua flowers are boiled, before being mixed with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and crushed peanuts – to make a delicious side dish that one can pair with meals.
Veppam Poo Rasam
While garlic and tomatoes have often been the flavouring agents for a classic rasam, the use of neem flowers in the summer is a great coolant that is consumed after a meal, in Tamil Nadu. The mildly bitter neem flowers, punctuated by the tangy tamarind and fragrant curry leaves, make for a heady combination when consumed on its own or eaten with rice and poriyal.
Buransh Raita
Image Credits: Britannica
Bloody red rhododendron flowers or buransh, as they are commonly known in Himachal Pradesh, is often used to make sherbets – or refreshing summer drinks with a tart-floral flavour. The raita, made with the petals of this flower mixed with fresh yoghurt, hemp seed salt and a handful of spices, is an underrated delicacy that tastes best when eaten as a meal component.
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Kadamb Ki Chutney
Ever looked at a round, furry kadamba flower and wondered how it would taste when smashed into a chutney? Made by cooking onions, tomatoes, curry leaves and a bit of tamarind until mushy and blending with the petals of these flowers, the chutney has a slightly bitter but well-rounded aftertaste, ideal to pair with parathas or bhakri.
Bokfuler Bora
Find the full recipe in Bengali below:
The vitamin-enriched bok phool – a white flower that resembles the beak of birds, is popularly used in Assamese cooking to make bora or fritters. Similar to the kumro phool, bok phool is coated in a batter and deep-fried until crispy. Served with a herby green chutney made of wild edible greens on the side, these boras are also perfect to enjoy with steamed rice or as an evening snack.
Suwanjhre Jo Matho
Suwanjhro or suhanjro – also known as moringa flowers – undergo a tedious process of prepping for a Sindhi take on the raita. Typically made with a higher ratio of flower buds than the actual flower itself, the flowers are soaked and partially cooked to get rid of their imposing bitterness, before it is combined with yoghurt, grated ginger, spices and fresh coriander.
Vazhapoo Paruppu Usili
Image Credits: Archana's Kitchen
One of the most popular types of ‘flowers’ – the banana flower – is finely chopped, soaked in buttermilk and cooked along with a coarse lentil mixture in this South Indian preparation known as paruppu usili. The astringent flavour of the banana flower, turns into a mild, vegetal ingredient that perfectly complements the savouriness of the ground lentil mixture.
Coconut-Shiuli Rice
The Parijata flowers – also called Ganga shiuli or night jasmine – is famously used in Assamese cooking as a replacement for saffron. However, these fragrant flowers bask the spotlight in this delicate and comforting preparation of rice cooked with these flowers and coconut milk, to pair with spicy meat or vegetarian curries.