By Raul Dias
There's just something about the twinning of the words 'flowers' and 'Thailand' that seems so very natural and organic. While the South East Asian nation's national flower--the orchid is flown into India by the plane-load almost every day straight from the Pak Khlong Talat wholesale flower market in Bangkok, decorating many a wedding mandap, it's edible counterparts are na'er too far away!
And while we've seen the 'blooming' of chrysanthemum flowers and syrups in several cocktail
preparations across India, it is another flower that's been recently painting the Mumbai dining scene a vivid shade of blue. Enter the butterfly pea flower.
Now, this flower of the clitoria ternatea plant when steeped in water has been a perennial rite herbal tea in Thailand for centuries where it is known as nam dok anchan. It’s also renowned for its healt benefits taking care of everything from conjunctivitis to enhancing memory and brain power.
Distilling all this into one bizarre looking, but super flavourful rice preparation is Mumbai's newest Thai restaurant Nara Thai. Khao Phad Samunprai or Butterfly Pea Flower Rice may be a tongue-twister of a name, but this novel rice preparation is a delicious blend of pre-cooked short grain rice, sliced lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves that are wok-tossed with young peppercorns, deep fried red chilli and splashed with the unusual white soy sauce and a decoction of dried butterfly pea flowers steeped in warm water.
At first luridly blue, this rice takes on a shocking purple hue when one squeezes a bit of lime juice over it, with the acidity of the lime juice reacting enough with the butterfly pea flower to change colours.
How's that for a touch of psychedelia on your plate!
(This column first appeared in the 22nd October 2017 issue of The Hindu newspaper's Sunday Magazine section on page 8 http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/butterfly-pea-flower-rice/article19895112.ece)
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