Vazhaithandu / Plantain / Banana Stem Soup

The stem of banana plant is called Plantain or Vazhaithandu. It is cooked to make subzi (poriyal), juice, sambhar, soup and some people eat it raw too. As it is rich in fiber it helps in weight loss. The medicinal value of plaintain stem includes antibacterial, antifungal and digestive aiding properties. It cleans the urinary tract, lowers cholesterol levels, can treat asthma, tuberculosis, relieves ulcers, burning sensation, acidity. It can prevent Kidney stones. It has a cooling effect on the body.

Now, into the details of the recipe…..

Ingredients:

Banana Stem – 1 medium size

Onion – 1

Garlic – 2 pods

Tomato (small) – 1

Corn flour – 1 tsp

Tomato Sauce – 1 tsp

Soya Sauce – 1 tsp

Chilli Sauce – 1 tsp

Salt – as needed

Pepper Powder - as needed

Preparation:

Please follow this link to find how to clean and chop banana stem / Plantain Stem /Vazhaithandu…

Chop the plantain stem into fine pieces.

Chop onions, tomatoes, garlic into fine pieces.

Method:

Pressure cook the chopped plantain stem and tomato for 5 whistles by adding water good enough to cover the chopped plantain stem.

Allow the pressure from the cooker to release by itself.

Take a handful of cooked plantain stem and keep it aside.

Now grind the remaining cooked plantain stem along with water in the food processor. If required you can add some more water.

Now strain the water form the grinded banana stem and preserve the water.

Now take a wide pan, add butter and fry the chopped onion and garlic till golden brown.

Now add the strained water to the pan and let it to boil.

Mix a teaspoon of corn flour with half a cup of water.

Add the corn flour water to the pan and mix it well so that no lumps are formed.

Now add handful of chopped plantain stem that was kept aside, salt, pepper powder, tomato sauce, soya sauce, chilli sauce and wait till the soup thickens and remove from the flame.

That’s it, soup is ready to be served.. You can garnish it with coriander leaves, spring onions.