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.
