Kepala flowers are the little red flowers from the Western Ghats. I have seen this plant grow on the rocky patches specially in areas that is rich in laterite rocks. (what we call as Murakallu in Kannada). This also explains the name Guddada Dasavala (Gudda= hills in Kannada, Dasavala = hibiscus); the little red flowers from the hills.
When I was walking in Apsarakonda recently, I came across these flowers in large numbers on the solid red hills overlooking the pristine blue water of the Apsarakonda beach! I instantly decided that I have to show the recipe using these beautiful flowers. The plant also bears small red fruits which is sweet to taste.

Kepala flowers is specially used during Deepa Namaskara or Durga Namaskara pooje rituals. As you can see, various flowers are kept on the specific Rangoli designed for Deepa Namaskara. The red flowers in the picture are the Kepala flowers which is Devi’s favourite.

Read on to get the recipe from these special flowers!

Kepala Tambuli | Guddada Dasavala
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Kepala Tambuli | Guddada Dasavala

Recipe by Anushree SPCourse: LunchCuisine: KarnatakaDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

5

minutes

Tambuli’s are curd based dishes eaten with rice at the beginning of the meal in households of Western Ghats and Coastal Karnataka. Tambuli is mostly made with easily available fresh ingredients like herbs, flowers, vegetables or with dal powders like urad dal, methi powder and so on. One such easy recipe is Tambuli made from Kepala flowers.

Ingredients

  • Kepala flowers – 1/2 cup

  • Jeerige | Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

  • Green chillies tossed in oil/ghee – 1

  • Coconut – 1/4 cup

  • Curd | Butter milk – 1 cup

  • Rock salt | Kalluppu – as per taste

  • Pepper (optional) – 2 to 3

  • Butter | Ghee – 1 tsp for frying

  • Tempering

  • Ghee- 1 tsp

  • Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

  • Curry leaves – 4 to 5

  • Dried red chilly- 1

  • Hing – a pinch

Directions

  • Quick Steps:
  • Separate the flowers into individual strands.
  • In a pan, take butter or ghee to fry the ingredients. First, add in pepper and jeera followed by the separated flowers. Toss for about 2 to 3 minutes. Let it cool down.
  • In a mixer, add in grated coconut, fried ingredients from step 2, a green chilly(tossed in a tadka pan with little ghee to calm the spice) and rock salt.
  • Grind smoothly with water.
  • In a serving bowl, take whisked curd or butter milk. Add in the ground mix from step 4.
  • Finish the dish with a tempering.
  • Detailed instructions with step by step photos:
  • Separate the flowers into individual strands.
  • In a pan, take butter or ghee to fry the ingredients. First, add in pepper and jeera followed by the separated flowers. Toss for about 2 to 3 minutes. Let it cool down.
  • In a mixer, add in grated coconut, fried ingredients from step 2, a green chilly(tossed in a tadka pan with little ghee to calm the spice) and rock salt.
  • Grind smoothly with water.
  • In a serving bowl, take whisked curd or butter milk. Add in the ground mix from step 4.
  • Finish the dish with a tempering.

Happy Cooking!