Cooking Pumpkin flowers

While growing up in India we were always told - Cow is the most useful animal and Banana plant is the most useful plant. While, I don't refute this, now I have found another plant that I can add to the list of most useful plants - Pumpkin plant.

Pumpkin belonging to family cucurbitaceae has a large number of cultivated varieties. We in India most commonly grow Cucurbita maxima (Buttercup squash). The plant is annual, creeper, often developing very woody stem. The plant grows profusely in hot summer, but does not like to climb on support like other vines. It can grow on roofs very happily though. In 2-3 months the plant produces large number of yellow showy flowers. These flowers are very delicious if cooked properly.

In order to cook the flower, follow these steps:

1. Remove the calyx.
2. Slit open the corolla and remove the large yellow stamen.
3. Separate the corolla from the gynoecium as shown in picture.
4. Now wash the petals as well as the gynoecium thoroughly in running water.
5. Mix little bit of besan(or rice flour), very little salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and little water. Mix all the parts well(As shown in picture).
6. Pour little bit of oil on a pan and smear it.
7. Fry the flowers for 2-5 mins.

Apart from the flowers, the tender leaves, stems also form very delicious eastern Indian Cuisine. To cook the leaves:

1. First get the very tender leaves and wash them thoroughly.
2. Soak 1/2 cup mung dal in water after washing it.
3. Start boiling mung dal in slow flame, meanwhile get vegetables like Ridge gourd, pumpkin, brinjal, green peas, beans etc. Wash them and cut them and put them into the half boiling mung dal. Allow them all to cook for 5 minutes.
4. Cut the pumpkin leaves and stems into small pieces and put them into half cooked vegetables and mung dal. Allow this to cook for 5 minutes. Stir them as necessary.
5. In another pan just add little bit of oil and put few mustard seeds and allow them to burst. Then add crushed garlic and green chillies let it fry for 2 minutes and then add lots of cut onion and fry. After they all become golden brown put them into the boiling pan having all the vegetables. Mix them properly, add salt as needed and cook them for 1 more minute, a very healthy and tasty pumkin leaf dish is ready.