The stem of the
banana plant is widely used in south India which is called as Vazhaithandu.Most
of the people will be unaware that banana stem is in fact edible.It has been
used for a long time in Asian cuisine,especially South Indian for making soup,salad,raita and other form of curries.It is well known for its numerous
health benefits and it’s highly fibrous nature.Some of the important health
benefits are
- An excellent cure for Kidney stones
- Good for weight loss.
- Good for diabetic people.
- High in fibre content.
- Good in some of the stomach ailments like acidity, constipation etc.
The common recipe made using banana stem is 'vazhathandu poriyal' a dry
side dish where coconut and spices like mustard, jeera etc are tempered in oil,
and then freshly chopped veggies are tossed in and sautéed until cooked.The
best part of a poriyal is that the tempering and spices are mild and the real flavor
of the veggies is left to shine through.
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| Banana stem (we use only central round part) |
Banana stem is
extremely high in fiber content and good for your tummy. The only hard part
with this recipe is cleaning and prepping the banana stem. Once you get that
done, this poriyal doesn’t take you more than 10 to 15 minutes from start to
finish.I got to know
about this banana stem dish from my patient cum friend Nandini who is native
from kerala.Last Sunday when I had been to local vegetable market I found fresh
banana stem and thought of trying the recipe,which turned out to be really
delicious.
Ingredients (serves around 3-4)
- Onion - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
- Salt - 1/4 tsp (adjust per taste)
- Banana stem - 2 Cups (cleaned and finely chopped)
- Turmeric - 1/8 tsp
- Freshly Grated coconut - 1/4 Cup
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| Ingredients for seasoning |
For tempering
- Chopped garlic (2-3 bulbs)
- Oil - 2 tsp
- Hing – 1/8 tsp
- Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Urad Dal – 1/2 tsp
- Jeera - 1/2 tsp
- Dry Red Chili - 1
- Green chili - 1 (slit)
- Curry leaves (4-5)
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| Slit and Remove outer hard part |
 |
| Inner soft part used for making dish |
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| Inner soft part cut into discs |
How to clean the banana stem
- The banana stem is usually available in 8 to 10 inches long sizes. The outer fibrous layers have to be removed.
- Lay old newspapers on the kitchen platform before starting to cut this vegetable.
- Wear an apron as this leaves stains that cannot be removed.
- Remove the outer porous layers. Sometimes you may have to discard two to three layers until you reach the hard and firm inner layer.
- Take a wide bowl and fill it with water, add the curd into this and mix and keep aside. Now you have a cylindrical inner stem, cut this into discs and put them inside the curd-water.
- After the entire stem is cut into round discs, take 2 to 3 discs and stack them on a chopping board and cut them into small pieces.
- Put the pieces
back into the curd-water. Drain this water while making the dish.
Discs are then chopped and soaked in water
Method of preparation
- Heat a pan with oil.Once the oil is hot enough add all the ingredients given in tempering one by one. Saute until the urad dal turns golden brown.
- Add the onion to the pan along with the salt and sauté until the onion turns translucent.
- Now, add the banana stem and saute for 30 secs. Add the turmeric powder, grated coconut and mix well and cook covered in medium flame for about 10-15 mins or until the banana stem is cooked nicely.
- Serve hot as a side dish with rice.
Note
- Banana stem will appear hard because of high fiber content, but will cook quickly. You do not need to add additional water for cooking but you can add very little water if required.
- Cut banana stem into thin slices. If long, thread like fibers are seen between the slices, wind them round your forefinger and discard. Very tender stems do not have these fibers.
Happy cooking !
