Banana flower. Photo: iStock
Food

My Food Story: A traditional Odisha recipe dedicated to underprivileged pregnant women

‘Banana Blossom Millet Patties’ are an affordable and healthy option for disadvantaged women

Sabita Mohalik

Special dedicated to underprivileged pregnant women, this traditional Odisha recipe, often made by my grandmother, has been innovatively adapted by me with a unique chutney.

It is an affordable and healthy option for disadvantaged women, utilising readily available ingredients and minimal oil. Rich in fibre and iron, it helps combat malnutrition-related issues during pregnancy, such as constipation and low haemoglobin.

Banana Blossom Millet Patties

Ingredients

For cutlet

Oal/sweet potato /raw banana

Beetroot

Some vegetables like carrot and capsicum

Onion

Green chilli

Banana flower chutney

Banana flower

Tamarind

Ginger garlic paste

Drumstick for slurry/sauce

Foxtail millet for coating

Drumstick – 4 pieces

Salt

Method

Cut all the vegetables. Sauté and boil in oil. Add kalami saag. Roll in foxtail millet, make a cutlet shape and shallow fry.

For chutney, clean banana flower and grind it. Add the spices in oil and then add turmeric, salt and all other ingredients.

For slurry, boil /burn the drumstick. Take out the pulp and grind it. Add some butter and some black pepper powder to the pulp.

My Food Story is a collection of stories and recipes that celebrate India’s traditional plant-based ingredients sourced from local biodiversity. You can see these recipes on our interactive dashboard (https://www.cseindia.org/page/myfoodstory).

Join us as we showcase the recipes shared with us by the participants of a recently concluded recipe contest.

Sabita Mohalik is a nutritionist from Jharkhand