Drumstick Flowers Cutlets ~ Shevagyachya Fulanche Vade

Drumstick Flowers Cutlets is a unique but authentic recipe from Konkan. They are edible and taste like mushrooms or meaty. These are also used to make curry, chutney, dal and dosa.

My aaji/granny used to make these vade. Because we children didn't eat drumstick flower curry and she was very insistent that we had to eat all kind of seasonal vegetables. Drumstick flowers prevent frequent infections of the throat, chest and skin.

Drumstick Flowers:

Ingredients:

• Drumstick flowers, roughly chopped- 1 cup
• Scraped coconut- 2 tbsp
• Onion, finely chopped- ½ cup
• Bengal gram flour (besan)- 2 to 2½ tbsp (I roast besan slightly.)
• Rice flour- 1 tsp
• Tamarind thick pulp- ¼ tsp (optional)
• Roasted cumin powder- ½ tsp
• Coriander powder- ¼ tsp
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing)- ¼ tsp 
• Green chili-coriander leaves paste- 2 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Oil- as required

Method:

• Wash the flowers and drain.
• Combine drumstick flowers, onion, coconut, chili-coriander paste, tamarind paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, hing and salt to taste in a bowl and mix well. 
  
• Divide into lemon sized balls. Shape them into flat patties. 
• Heat a pan, sprinkle oil. Roast on low heat till crisp and golden brown. (You can deep fry also, but they absorb too much oil.) 
• Serve hot with tamarind chutney and coriander chutney. 

Notes:

• Select fresh and unwilted flowers. They should be whole and not broken.
• You can store drumstick flowers in refrigerator. Wrap in damp cloth or air-tight container  for upto 3-4 days.
• You can use red chilli powder and chopped coriander instead of green chili-coriander paste.

Drumstick Tree (Shevaga/Shekat):