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Home » Vegetarian » Side Dishes » Dry Curries / Stir Fries » Banana Stem Stir Fry / Vazhai Thandu Poriyal

Banana Stem Stir Fry / Vazhai Thandu Poriyal

Posted on Jun 12, 2013 · Last Updated on Mar 11, 2021 by Uma Ramanujam · 16 Comments

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Before my marriage, I and my sis used to go to our native during weekends and my mom prepares some of our favorite vegetarian dishes using the fresh vegetables grown in the nearby farms. To be specific, she cooks bitter gourd for me and banana stem for my sis. My sister is a great fan of this stem. Sometimes she prepares juice out of it and drinks and ends up giving me a big lecture about its medicinal properties. I eat it occasionally when it is prepared at home for my sister. As days flew I couldn’t remember how I developed an affinity for this health dish. Now I have started cooking this dish at home. Thanks to my sis who helped me to eat this healthy veggie.

Basic Information:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients:

Banana stem / Plantain stem / Vazhai thandu – 1 no, large size

Yellow moong dal – 2 tablespoons (optional)

Small onion / Shallots / Chinna vengayam – 1/4 cup, chopped

Green chillies – 3 nos, slit

Coconut – 3 tablespoons, grated

Turmeric powder – a big pinch

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 teaspoons

Mustard seeds and Urad dal – 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves – 2 strings

Water – 4 cups (see notes)

Butter milk – 1/4 cup (see notes)

Method:

1) Wash and soak moong dal for 15 minutes. In a deep vessel, mix both water and buttermilk.

2) Wash and remove outer skins of banana stem. You need to use only the core part for preparing the stir fry.

2) Cut the core stem in round discs and again cut them into small parts. Remove the fibre that comes while chopping.

3) Transfer the chopped banana stem to a buttermilk water mixture. This helps to avoid discolouration.

4) Dip a steel or wooden skewer in to the vessel where you kept the chopped banana stem and swirl it for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, take the skewer out and if you see any fibre then slowly remove these fibres. Repeat the swirling step until you don’t see any fibre.

5) Heat oil in a pan. When it is hot, add mustard seeds and urad dal. Allow it to sizzle. Add curry leaves, slit green chillies. Saute it for few seconds.

6) Add chopped onion and saute it till onion becomes soft and translucent.

7) Simmer the flame and drain the water from chopped banana stem and moong dal. Add it to the pan. Mix well. No need to add water. The moisture in the banana stem is enough. Close the pan using a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes.

8) After 3 minutes, remove the lid. Add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well. Continue cooking in low flame. Stir well in between for even cooking. Cook till the stem becomes soft.

9) When the stem is well cooked, add grated coconut and mix well. Turn the flame off.

10) Serve hot with steamed rice and any of your favourite gravy.

Notes:

1) The water that is used for washing rice can also be used instead of buttermilk and water mixture to avoid discolouration of banana stems.

2) Try to use the stem within two days after purchasing it. Otherwise, the stem turns to dark color quickly when chopped.

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Previous Post: « Banana Oats Peanut Butter Muffins
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Deepthi KR
Deepthi KR
11 years ago

wonderful recipe!

0
Divya Shivaraman
Divya Shivaraman
11 years ago

perfect unnipindi upperi…yummy

0
Preety
Preety
11 years ago

simple and comforting..

preetyskitchen.blogspot.com/

0
great-secret-of-life
great-secret-of-life
11 years ago

simple, healthy stir fry

0
Janani
Janani
11 years ago

Delicious dish so healthy and best eaten when it is farm grown looks like u had a wonderful childhood vacations to remember very nice uma

0
Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

wow delicious looking fry dear 🙂

0
Sona
Sona
11 years ago

delicious and healthy!

0
saraniskitchen
saraniskitchen
11 years ago

Healthy stir fry…

0
GEETHA ACHAL
GEETHA ACHAL
11 years ago

I love this poriyal very much…Miss it so much…

0
Vimitha Durai
Vimitha Durai
11 years ago

Very healthy stir fry

0
divya
divya
11 years ago

looks wonderful n yummy…

0
Shanthi
Shanthi
11 years ago

Healthy one…lovely color…

0
Chitz
Chitz
11 years ago

I sooo love this one !! Missing this veggie here 🙂 Great post dear !!

0
Priya Suresh
Priya Suresh
11 years ago

Love this healthy stir fry with a bowl of rice,even am missing it here.

0
Shree
Shree
11 years ago

healthy recipe ! looks really yum !

0
Anonymous
Anonymous
11 years ago

This recipe looks delicious and easy to prepare. I truly sure my son will like this recipe because he really loved banana. I will ask my sister to help me to cook this recipe for our dinner tomorrow. I wish we can do it right and I hope you will post more Stir Fry Sauce recipe. Thank you very much.

0

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I am Uma Ramanujam who manages this Food blog. Food & its various cuisines have always fascinated me. I love traveling to new places, enjoy their heritage, explore their cuisine and finding out the unknown, forgotten recipes. Read More About Me!

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