Friday 5 April 2013

Vazhai Thandu Raita


Vazhaithandu is an excellent vegetable. It has many nutritive and health benefits. It is a rich source of dietary fiber and minerals like potassium. It is also rich in Vitamin B6, which helps in production of hemoglobin. The veggie also helps lower blood pressure and also aids weight loss. Even the water that  the fresh pieces of Vazhaithandu is soaked in can be used as a refreshing and healthy drink.

My family loves having Vazhaithandu curry and raita. I am sharing with you the recipe along the photos to give you a step-by-step glimpse of the curry and raita preparation . For those who love Raitas , here is a recipe worth trying. I am supplementing the steps with images for understanding the simple steps with visual impact. I hope you will enjoy.

Ingredients
Quantity
Vazhaithandu
_
Half piece
Ginger         
_
Small piece
Curry Leaves
_
6 to 8
Coconut pieces
_
quarter coconut
Green Chillies
_
2 to 3 Nos
Curd
_
250 ml approx
Jeera
_
10 ml
Salt
_
to taste



Step 1: 
Slice 2-3 millimetres from each sides of the banana stem. Mark the portion which you want to use for the day’s cooking. Remove the sheath till the portion which you want to use for the cooking.



Step 2: 
Slice discs from 3 to 4 mm thickness approx. And group them 4 or 5 discs together. Make the cuts in one direction and then cross wise as shown. 




Step 3:
Fill a vessel with 200 ml of water and add 100ml of butter milk. The addition of buttermilk helps prevent discoloration of the banana stem pieces. Now add all the cut pieces  to this buttermilk water. Let it soak for a while.



Step 4:
Cut small pieces of the coconut suitable for the mixer grinder. Clean the Green chillies before adding into the mixer. Add 10 ml of jeera to the mix. 

Step 5:
Grind the ingredients in a mixer. Add a small quantity of water just enough for grinding. After the grinding , clean the inside of the lid with small quantity of water and pour the mixer back into the contents . This will avoid the wastage.



Step 6:
Decant the banana stem pieces and separately keep the liquid and the banana stem pieces.

Step 7:
Transfer the banana stem pieces and the contents from the mixer to a cleaned kadai. Cook the contents adding water and covering with the lid. Open the lid a couple of times , adding more water if necessary and turning the contents . Test a single piece by pressing between your fingers and the softness indicates the mixture is cooked . Heat the mixture in a simmer mode till the first bubbles appear , adding salt as per taste.


Step 8:
Turn off the heat and now add about 250 ml of curd .   



Step 9:
After the contents have cooled , turn the banana stem pieces and mix the contents evenly. At the end , add 6 to 7 curry leaves. The Vazhaithandu Raita goes well with ragi dosas or any any other dosas as a side dish. 



Step 10:
Add a pinch of salt to the decanted Vazhaithandu-buttermilk-water  and enjoy the drink 2 to 3 hours after the food.  If you enjoy the refreshing taste, you can contact me. I will tell you more.

Rangarajan Ramaswamy   Bangalore 05.04.2013  03:00 pm


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