Vazhai Thandu Poriyal (Plantain Stem Poriyal)

Every part of the banana tree is useful... including the Banana stem (Vazhai thandu). Banana stem has lot of medicinal properties too. Doctors recommend banana stem juice for kidney stone problems. Preparing the Vazhai thandu for cooking is much time consuming as you need to remove the fibers between the disks but considering the goodness of banana stem we need to do this.. :-)

Ingredients:

Vazhai Thandu (Plantain Stem)	1 Medium Size
Salt	To Taste
RedChilli	1
Cumin Seeds	1/2 Teaspoon
Grated Cocunut	3 Tablespoon

For Seasoning:

Oil	2 Teaspoon
Mustard Seeds	1 Teaspoon
Urdhal	1 Teaspoon

Preparing Banana stem for cooking

Remove the outer rings of the stem so that there are no more rings seen in the cross section.
Cut the stem into thin disks. Remove the fibers between the disks by one of your fingers.It is the most frustrating part of preparing Plantain stem for cooking :-)
Slice the disks into a smaller pieces and immerse the same in the butter milk and water mixture as this will preserve the original color of the stem otherwise this will turn out to be black in color

Vazhai Thandu Poriyal (Banana Stem Poriyal

Method:

Banana stem (Vazhai Thandu) Poriyal

Heat the pan, add oil and once the oil becomes hot, add the mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds start to sputter add urdhal and fry it till the dhal becomes golden brown color.
Add the sliced banana stem and sprinkle some water on it and cook it till it becomes soft. Add the salt also.
Grid the grated cocunut along with cumin seeds and red chilli in a mixer and then add it to the cooked banana stem

The yummy Vazhai Thandu poriyal (Plantain stem poriyal) is ready to Serve