We have a few Mata Raton trees at our farm. The tall trees with many branches all bloom during the same time, from January to February every year. When that time comes, the white/purple/pink petals from the blossoms would fall from the trees on our harvested rice field as if springtime has arrived.

Grandma would sometimes ask P’Kamphol to pick up a few of the blossoms in order to make curry. This local dish follows other similar curry recipes that we make at the farm. We simply use the blossoms instead of other vegetables.

The curry paste consists of garlic, lemongrass, shallots, finger roots, chili, shrimp paste, and sun-dried fish. Put the water to boil, then add the curry paste to it. Let the paste dissolve in hot water and add the flowers to the soup. Feel free to add salt, palm sugar, or fish sauce however you want. If you want it to be more sour, you can add some tamarind juice.

See below for a brief video on how it’s made from picking the flowers to adding them to the curry.

Enjoy!