7 traditional and unique dishes made with flowers across India

The beauty of Indian kitchens is that every part of a plant or tree is used in making delectable treats that are full of nutrition and taste. While fruits and vegetables often take the spotlight, flowers too have long been a part of traditional cooking and add taste and nutrition to everyday meals. Take a look at some of the traditional and unique dishes made with flowers across India.

It is a Bengali dish made with banana blossoms and is called Mochar Ghonto. It is a dry curry cooked with banana blossoms, diced potatoes, grated coconut, and a blend of Bengali spices like cumin, ginger, and garam masala. (Image: istock and Instagram/esplanade_blr)

It is a speciality of Kerala and is made with banana blossoms (vazhaipoo or vazhachundu) and grated coconut.Once chopped, the blossoms are soaked in turmeric water to prevent discoloration and bitterness and are stir-fried with grated coconut and mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilies, and onions in coconut oil. (Image: istock and Instagram/reejims_flavours)

This one is made in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is a stir-fried sabzi, where Agasti phool, white blossoms of the Agasti tree are sauteed in mustard oil or ghee with onions, garlic, green chilies, and tomatoes. A pinch of turmeric and red chili powder balances the bitterness, and some people also add moong dal or potatoes to make it more hearty. (Image: istock and Instagram/keertidacooks)

This dish is mostly enjoyed in Bengal, Odisha, and Assam, where the fresh pumpkin flowers are dipped in spiced gram flour batter and deep-fried until crisp and served with chutney. (Image: istock)

This dish is enjoyed across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Maharashtra, where moringa phool is converted into bhaji along with oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and green chilies. The dish also uses onion, garlic, salt, turmeric, and grated coconut or moong dal as key ingredients. (Image: istock and Instagram/nibble_o_gram)

This is native to hills of Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh, where the fresh petals of buransh flowers are boiled in water and then mixed with sugar or jaggery. It is like a syrup which is diluted with chilled water and served as a rejuvenating sherbet during summer months. (Image: istock)

This dish is native to Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, where the dried mahua flowers are blended with wheat flour, sooji, or millet flower along with ghee, nuts, and jaggery to make healthy laddoos. (Image: istock)