SoyBean Sprouts diye Mochar Ghonto

For the uninitiated that's a Vegetable dish with SoyBean Sprouts and Potato.
Ok so every person on the face of this earth , know why soy bean is good for you, that it contains plenty of vitamins and blah, blah, blah. If you still want to enrich your mind with all the good facts about soy, go here , soybean in wiki.
What many don't know is, Mocha(ch pronounced as in charm and not as in choir) or Banana Blossom/Banana Flower is deep purplish-crimson-coloured and is used as a vegetable from South East Asia.
Mocha holds a much esteemed position in Bengali Vegetarian cooking, and though the mocha preparation is delicious, the act of peeling the outer bracts and extracting the inner flowers is a pretty tedious job according to me. I have never attempted it but watched my Ma, Dida go through the process.
Some pretty brilliant person had this idea to make mochar ghanto using SoyBean Sprouts, because I guess in the days of yore, Mocha was not a vegetable easily available in the US. I on my part, learnt it from a friend, and found it tastes pretty well, is easy to prepare and also a pretty healthy dish. Even my epicurean hubby, who being a Bangal(ancestors going back to East Bengal now Bangladesh), is more tuned to the finer points of these delicacies, agreed that it comes pretty close.


What You Need

SoyBean Sprouts (fresh Soy Bean sprouts in your local Chinese store) ~ 1/2 or 3/4 lb
2 medium sized Potatoes
2/3 Green Chillies
Grated Coconut ~ fresh or from the frozen section of your indian/asian grocery store
Ginger Paste ~ 1tbsp
Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Tej Pata/Bay Leaves
Red Chilli Powder (Optional)
Jeera Powder
Turmeric Powder
Garam Masala Powder

How I do it

Chop the Bean Sprouts in small pieces, you can use your blender to chop them, if you don’t have the patience. Don’t make a paste though, just chop
Cut potato in cubes
Heat oil in Kadai/Frying Pan
Add the whole Jeera/Cumin seeds and Tej Pata/Bay Leaves, wait till they sputter.
Add the potato cubes in the oil with a pinch of haldi/turmeric powder
Saute the potato lightly till they develop a golden tinge. Do not over or deep fry them.
Add the ginger paste
Add Jeera Powder, chopped green chillies and red chilli powder
Sprinkle water as needed and fry till the masala is cooked, you see the oil separate from the masala.
Add the chopped bean sprouts.
Continue cooking/frying in medium heat till the masala has mixed nicely with the sprouts



Add salt and sugar. At this point if you find the sprouts a little pungent in taste, add sugar/splenda to overcome that
Add a little water, cover and cook till the Potatoes & Sprouts are done and the water has dried up.
Add grated coconut, garam masala powder and mix well.
Add a dollop of ghee to get the authentic taste.
I like to have this dish with white rice, but it would go well with roti too.

Trivia :Banana flower helps increase progesterone hormone in women. Soybeans contain isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen, that are considered by some nutritionists and physicians to be useful in the prevention of cancer and by others to be carcinogenic and endocrine disruptive.