From mahua, makhana, moringa to banana blossoms and teeta phool - the evergreen flowers of Indian cuisine

Vazhaipoo (banana blossoms) is used to make a poriyal in the south of India. (Photo: David Clode via unsplash)

The arrival of vazhaipoo (banana blossoms) at the Iyer home is always marked by frenetic activity. Fingers are generously oiled before diving into the purple bracts to get to the blossoms underneath. A large bowl of thin buttermilk will be on standby to dunk the chopped flowers.

“The buttermilk stops the flowers from changing colour and also neutralizes some of the bitterness,” explains Sakshi Iyer who grew up eating banana blossom poriyal with freshly grated coconut at her Chennai home. The purple bracts will be reserved to make a chutney the next day.

Flowers are an integral part of Bengali cuisine, too, says chef and cookbook author Ananya Banerjee. “My mom makes a scrumptious subzi using drumstick (moringa) flowers and fresh green peas. We also stuff pumpkin flowers with chena (crumbled fresh cottage cheese) and deep fry them. They make delicious sides for rice dishes. Even neem ke phool are deep fried and had with rice mixed with ghee. While banana blossoms are used to make mochar ghonto, a stir fry, heron flowers are deep fried and had as delicious bhok phool bhaja.” 

In Assam, banana flower with pigeon meat and pepper makes for an exotic dish called Koldil Paro Mankxo Anza. It’s eaten especially during the harsh winters to keep the body warm. Food writer Sanjukta Dutta also chargrills the blossoms to make a deliciously smoky chutney. “Assamese food is sublime, with minimal oil and less or almost no masalas. The flavours come from the meat, fish and vegetables. Historically, flowers were added to the dish to enhance colour and intensify flavour. They are consumed for their medicinal benefits, too, as most of these flowers are iron- and fiber-packed,” explains Dutta. 

Flowering dishes since centuries

Cooking with flowers is not new for Indians. Long before it became fashionable to perk up plates and cocktails with flowers in high-end restaurants, flowers were being consumed in Indian households.

Many ancient and medieval Indian literature, too, have spoken of them. For instance, Lokapakara, a book written in the 11th century mentions a cooling drink made with buttermilk and ironwood flowers flavoured with spices such as black pepper, dry ginger and cumin.

Then there is Ni’matnama, a fascinating and quirky book of recipes put together in the late 15th century by Ghiyath Shah, the Sultan of Malwa, and his son Nasir Shah. The book details how a variety of flowers such as roses, jasmine, water lilies, champa, jujube and trumpet can be used to flavour oils and brew interesting spirits.

More recently, Digvijay Singh, the former maharaja of Sailana in Madhya Pradesh in his book Cooking Delights of the Maharajas has detailed a recipe using tesu ka phool or palash flowers, also known as flame of the forest. The dish requires the petals to be first boiled and then cooked in oil with onions, garlic and spices such as cumin and mango powder (amchur) to make a semi-dry curry.
“Indians discovered the scrumptious secrets of edible flowers long before the west made it popular. Our palaces were privy to several edible flowers that were used both in the royal cuisine and as princely garnishes,” says Gautam Mehrishi, Executive Chef, The Westin Mumbai Powai Lake.

“Rose is one of the most common flowers used to make gulkhand, desserts, ice creams, beverages and even in some biryani! Hibiscus is a very popular choice to flavour tea, cocktails and soups. We have all relished the lotus stem in oriental dishes, but Indians have been making an excellent curry with the stem. But my personal favoruite is the jasmine. It truly enhances rice and is a surprise element in some of our Indian mains,” Mehrishi adds.

The flavours of edible flowers range from sweet or snappy to astringent, and can complement different vegetables, lentils, meat dishes and drinks.

Marigold's earthy flavour lends itself to many dishes. (Photo: Rahul Setia/Unsplash)

What’s cooking

Blossoms such as moringa, mogra, hibiscus and even pumpkin flowers have been fried into fritters, steamed into teas and cooked into gravies for aeons.

“Moringa flowers are a delicacy in Goan cuisine. The plant itself is widely cultivated here, not only because of the tropical climate but also because it is drought-resistant – and we all know the intensity of a Goan summer. In addition to being used in a simple 'bhaji' or deep fried into pakodas, the flowers are also cooked in interesting ways with clams in a dish called tisreo and to make bhujne with cockles,” explains Sahil Desai, Executive Chef at Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa, Goa.

The other flowers that find their way into Goan cuisine are pumpkin flowers used to make phodi and kappa, and spring onion flowers for a delicious prawn tonak, a coconut based prawns curry. 

The teeta phool, which literally translates to bitter flower, has a special place in Assamese cooking. “This medicinal flower is our answer to antibiotics. We make khar (alkaline) with it or just a usual subzi for lunch, as we avoid consuming bitter or khar post sunset,” says Dutta who uses aparajita or Asian Piegeonwings flower to colour her rice and curries.

Mahua flowers, best known for the liquor produced with them, also get turned into health tonics with ghee and honey, jams, flour to make breads and distilled into juices. 

According to Anuradha Medhora, Founder of Charoli Foods, a cloud kitchen specializing in the royal cuisine of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, there are recipes for blue water lilies stuffed with plain boiled rice, tied with a string and cooked in a pot; pickles made with horseradish flowers and mango flowers; kheer made from petals, flowers coated and fried like pakodas, delicious sherbets made from extracting the juice and meat cooked with seasonal flowers. Gulab ki kheer made with basra roses that are known for their fragrance is a popular item on her menu.

In Bundelkhand, dried mahua flowers are deep-fried and eaten as a snack. Talking of snacks, makhana (fox nuts) roasted with spices and sprinkled with chat masala make for an amazing tea-time snack. These nutritious seeds are also used to make kheer, raita or makhana curry. Bihar's Mithila makhanas got a GI tag in December 2021. 

Mahua growing in Kanha, Madhya Pradesh. (Photo: Nagarjun via Wikimedia Commons 2.0)

A bouquet of possibilities

Edible flowers today have made the swift move from grandmas’ kitchens to upscale restaurants, cafés and five-star hotels. One of the fastest moving dishes at Beach House, Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa, Goa, is a salad of Pulled Chicken with Banana Blossoms.

And fresh rose petals find themselves starring in gulab jamun, barfi and laddoos at this hotel.

“In today's social media-fuelled world, food is not just about taste and flavour but also about appearance and texture. Flowers such as pansies and nasturtiums not just add colour and eye candy, but their sweetness also imparts a subtle flavour to the dish. Edible flowers can also take centre stage by being the primary flavouring of a dish. Flavouring cocktails with hibiscus, rabri with fresh rose petals, cookies with lavender and a mundane tea with chrysanthemum are great ways to showcase edible flowers in cooking,” believes Swanand Thipsay, Sous Chef, ITC Grand Central.

Flower power

Edible flowers don't just provide taste and texture but nutrients too. Banana blossoms are high in vitamins A and C and are also known to provide natural menstrual-pain relief whereas rose petals cool the body and help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Moringa flowers have played protagonist in ancient medicine for decades, considering the amount of fibre, magnesium, potassium and protein they contain. So how about instead of saying “finish your vegetables” we say “eat your blooms”?