Spring is in the Air

Spring is in the Air
With their powerful and unique flavors, textures and colors, edible flowers have gained popularity as a creative and innovative ingredient for the culinary world.

Flowers are added to foods to provide taste, aroma, and color.
They can be part of a main dish, a salad, or a dessert.
They can be added as a garnish.
Flowers can be incorporated into beverages as flavorings, or used to make teas or wines.
They are added to spreads such as butter or fruit preserves, and to vinegar, marinades, and dressings.
Some are dried and used as medicinal or culinary herbs.
Flowers are also consumed for subsistence.
Many flowers that are technically edible can be far from palatable.

For best flavor, flowers should be fresh and harvested early in the day.
Wilted and faded flowers, and the unopened buds of most species, can be distasteful, often bitter.

Hat tip maria nasir super post another reason to go to your part of the
World

Originally shared by maria nasir

Do you eat flowers ?
Far more flowers show up on elegantly styled dinner plates than they did a while ago, not just as garnish but as an essential ingredient of the dish .

Come Spring and the first thing I yearn to cook is Kachnaar .
The ones in the pictures came from my own garden as a very pleasant surprise. The plant is still young but we got enough buds to make a meal.

Though I was a choosy eater as a child and particularly avoided many vegetables but the mild, pleasant aroma of Kachnaar always pulled me to the dinning table. I’m sure I eat with my nose first, then with my eyes and finally comes the tasting stage.

Never heard of Kachnaar ?! Well, this deciduous tree of the Bauhinieae plant family is native to South Asia and South East Asia, and is known by many different names …such as Indian Orchid tree, Camel’s Foot Tree and Mountain-ebony.

For cooking we use the young and tender buds of the tree…when the buds open up they can’t be added to a curry. The buds last a very few days, the early days of spring and for this reason Kachnaar is considered a delicacy and sold at a very high price.They have a meaty texture and bitter-sweet taste which is balanced by the generous use of tomatoes and yogurt in the curry.

Want to try Kachnaar Gosht, Bauhinieae Buds in Lamb Curry ?
Here is the link to my recipe :
http://www.foodaholic.biz/kachnaar-gosht-bauhinieae-buds-in-lamb-curry/

#marianasirrecipes
#edibleflowers