Vazhaithandu soup, banana stem soup recipe with quick video and step by step detailed pictures. Banana stem soup recipe with step-by-step photos and videos. Banana stem soup recipe is a healthy and tasty peppery soup from South India.
Vazhaithandu refers to banana stem and is used in various soups, stews, curries, stir fries and other dishes. It is the part which is present inside the banana tree stem. As soon as you harvest the banana bunch from the tree, you can chop off the trunk and peel the outer skins from the banana tree. As you keep on peeling you will find a white firm banana stem. From this banana stem we can prepare many dishes such as banana stem stir fry (vazhaithandu poriyal), banana stem cooked with lentils (vazhaithandu kootu), banana stem tempered and garnished with coconut are popular in Tamil Nadu.
Health benefits of Banana stem:
Banana stem is rich in potassium and vitamin B6 just like the fruit. Vitamin B6 helps in production of haemoglobin and insulin. Again, it improves the ability of the body to fight infection. Potassium helps in the proper functioning of muscles, including the cardiac muscles.
The magnesium in the banana stem is also good for your kidneys. Magnesium combines readily with the oxalates in foods we consume and prevents the growth of calcium oxalate crystals.
Banana stem juice is diuretic in nature, and as a result it helps in removing toxins from your body. This helps in keeping your urinary tract in check. Banana stems play a very important role in preventing various Urinary Tract Infections. It is recommended to drink banana stem juice thrice a week at least.
Consumed with fibre, banana stem slows down the release of sugar and fats stored in the body’s cells. It also improves metabolism, and contains very few calories – meaning that it can be consumed without guilt cramps!
If you’ve got frequent problems with acidity, banana stem juice helps in regulating the acidic levels in your body, and restoring balance. It provides relief from heartburn and discomfort and burning in the tummy.
Reading so many health benefits, start prepare this nutrient rich soup often and make our family healthy. To make kids to drink we can do improvise many things in soup preparations. always prefer freshly ground cumin powder, fennel powder and pepper powder. Just use less quantity of ginger garlic paste so that it doesn’t over power the soup. Here I’m not using any thickening agent, if you want use legume for thickening, you can use a little quantity of any dal or soaked along or corn flour so that it thickens the soup. Always serve hot, that’s the speciality of soup.
Banana stem soup | Vazhaithandu soup recipe | Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
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Take banana stem, to avoid discoloration after chopping keep ready the bowel contain water with curd.
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Wash banana stem well. Cut it into thick slices. As you slice them into rounds you will find fibrous stuff. Remove it using your fingers. Just swirl and remove it. You can dispose the fibers.
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Chop roughly into cubes.
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Chop everything and immerse in curd water.
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Take one rough stick and dip in to this water swirl vigorously to remove excess fibrous part in it.
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Heat oil in the pan.
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Add bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cloves.
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Add chopped onion and green chilli sauté till onion get translucent.
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Add ginger garlic paste sauté till raw smell goes off.
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Add chopped banana stem.
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Sauté in oil itself in medium flame.
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Add freshly ground cumin powder and fennel powder and mix well.
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Add required volume of water.
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Add salt to this soup.
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Cover and cook in medium flame for 15 minutes. As banana stem is rich in fibers, it takes more time to get cooked.
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Once banana stem is cooked well, it will be soft.
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Remove whole garam masala used for seasoning and green chilli.
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If you feel more banana stem present in soup you can remove half from it.
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Allow to cool and grind them as fine paste.
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Transfer these ground stem in to sieve to take filtrate.
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Add these cooked banana stem extract in to soup again.
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Mix and cook for another 5 minutes.
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Switch off the flame add black pepper powder.
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Finally add chopped coriander leaves.
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Tasty and healthy banana stem soup is ready to serve.
Note
- Always use young tender banana stem to get authentic taste.
- To thickening you can add little corn flour or any cooked and mashed lentils.
- Serve this soup topped with cornflakes, crunchiness from corn flakes goes really well with recipe.
- Always serve soup hot.
