Vazhaithandu poriyal

Vazhaithandu or banana stem is a very common dish for lunch in most homes in the southern part of India,especially Tamil Nadu…rich in fibre and proven to be excellent for prevention of gall bladder stones,this vegetable with it’s crunch is a delicious accompaniment for rasam and rice or green gram dhal and rice .Thandu as it is commonly referred to adapts itself very well to the flavours of onion,salt and chili…the only reason people may avoid cooking it regularly is because the process of cleaning it is a little time consuming…
The flavours in a Thandu poriyal are truly delicious ! If introduced to the children at an early age,it is definitely one super healthy food that their palate will learn to love and thereby benefit into adulthood…I owe my parents for making us eat and develop a liking, for this veggie in particular because the health benefits are infinite…I find the only people who may shudder at the mention of Thandu are the ones that have not really eaten it in this simple way,it’s a dish most people learn to relish…and my guests from Europe will certainly vouch for that !!!

Cleaning Vazhaithandu
After removing the hard exterior ,the best way would be to slice it into discs…the fibre that you see in between,can be wound around a clean bamboo skewer or your finger and removed…
Another way would be to soak in water and wash a few times,then while it is still in the water,the extra fibre will loosen and float around….with the help of a long skewer,it can be wound around repeatedly until it is all removed .
Now slice it into tiny cubes soak in a pan of water or buttermilk
Remove just before cooking.