One of the reasons that I love Indian cuisine is that there is such a multitude of vegetables that are consumed. I love meat (and I love Indian meat dishes), but vegetables are a great accompaniment. Unfortunately, with American food and grocery stores, diversity in vegetables is somewhat hard to come by. And for this, I cherish trips home to my mom’s house. The last time I visited, my mom, Tricia, and I ventured out to one of the local Indian markets in central Massachusetts. In looking for vegetables for dinner, we came across a banana flower. This is a rare treat that is usually not found even in Indian stores around here. The banana flower is literally the flower that precedes the fruit of a banana tree. You can peel it and eat the heart and the bracts (the pods that will develop into banana fruits), which are absolutely delicious. The catch with a banana flower is that it is a bit of hassle to get the bracts and heart out. But Tricia and I made a team effort out of it and the end product was absolutely worth it!

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