Vazhaipoo Poriyal/Banana Blossom Sabzi or Banana Flower Stir fry is a very tasty side that goes perfect with a simple dal rice or perfect with chapathis. Made with potatoes and coconut, this is a vegetable which is very special and extremely healthy.
Vaazhai poo or Banana blossom/flower is widely used in Asian cooking. Known for it’s health benefits, this is also extremely tasty and rarely found in the markets.
Cleaning the banana blossom is quite a tedious task. It involves removing the outer purplish layer(bracts or petals), peeling the florets and meticulously removing the stigma and the plastic cover(perianth). It is so worth it!!
I learnt how to clean and cook this Vazhaipoo or Banana flower from my mom in law and her sister. They make it often and they have patience to clean a bunch of them. Late afternoons, they sit on the large dining table, oiling their hands and ready to take on the task of cleaning four to five banana flowers. They make amazing Vazhaipoo Vada, a fritter made out of the banana flower, which is so tasty. But, I love this poriyal that they make.
Their version of this Vazaipoo poriyal has less potatoes and chopped florets. I’ve kept the florets whole since I love to see what I’m eating and I think it adds to the texture.
There are many ways to use this Banana Flower: Vazhaipoo Poriayal, Vazhaipoo Vada, Vazhaipoo Kootu, Vazhaipoo Podimas, Vazhaipoo dosa, so many ways. One of my favorite is this Vazhaipoo poriyal.
If you make this Vazhaipoo Poriyal/Banana Blossom stir fry, give the recipe a thumbs up, star it and tag me on social media #foodfashionparty.
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- Banana Blossom flower - Cleaned
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil ( don't skimp on the oil)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp urad daal
- 1 tbsp channa daal
- 1 onion - finely chopped
- 15 curry leaves
- 1 large potato- diced to small pieces
- 1 teaspoon sambhar powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ⅓ tsp turmeric powder
- salt
- ¼ cup freshly grated coconut or about 2-3 tbsp frozen coconut
- Clean the banana blossom well. Remove the stye and the stem with the bulb and soak it in buttermilk and salt. Let it soak for about 15-30 minutes.
- Keep a kadahi or any pan. Add oil, mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal and channa dal. Let it brown and pop for 30 seconds. Add the onions and curry leaves. Saute it for about a minute or two until it softens a bit. Toss in potatoes, add sambhar powder, chili powder, turmeric and salt. Cook this on medium heat covered for about 5 minutes. The potatoes should be cooked for about 60 percent. Remove the lid and add the banana blossom flowers, you can use the yogurt and drain the yogurt and just use the flowers. Toss it well and cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes.
- Open the lid and add the coconut and let the mixture dry out a little bit. Serve hot with daal rice or chapathis.
