Vazhai Thandu Kootu

Vazhai Thandu Kootu is a South Indian dish made with banana stem (Vazhai Thandu), lentils, and coconut. It is a healthy and nutritious dish that is usually served with rice or roti. The banana stem is known for its medicinal properties and is rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. To make Vazhai Thandu Kootu, the banana stem is cleaned, chopped, and cooked with lentils, spices, and coconut paste. It is a flavorful and delicious dish that is popular in South Indian households.

Vazhai Thandu Kootu

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Recipe by S Kamala
Course: KootuCuisine: Indian, TamilDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes

Learn how to make Vazhai Thandu Kootu, a nutritious South Indian dish packed with fiber and essential vitamins. Perfect with rice or roti!

Ingredients

  • Banana Stem – Foot long

  • Green Gram Dhal – ½ cup

  • Sambar Powder – 1 teaspoon

  • Turmeric powder – a pinch

  • Coconut gratings – 2 tablespoon

  • Seeragam (Cumin) – 1 teaspoon

  • Rice flour – 1 teaspoon

  • Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste

  • For seasoning:
  • Oil – 1 teaspoon

  • Mustard – ½ teaspoon

  • Urad Dal – 1 teaspoon

  • Asafoetida powder – 2 pinches

  • Red Chili – 1

  • Small Sambar onion – 4 Nos

  • Curry leaves – few

Directions

  • Begin by slicing the banana stem into round pieces, meticulously removing any fibers, then dice them into small cubes. Immerse these cubes in water; for a tip to prevent them from turning brown, a splash of buttermilk can be mixed into the water.
  • Next, tenderly cook the green gram dal with a pinch of turmeric until it achieves a soft texture.
  • Transfer the prepped banana stem cubes into a cooking pot. Sprinkle in sambar powder, a dash of turmeric powder, and a pinch of salt for taste. Pour in just enough water to submerge the banana stem pieces, and allow them to simmer until they become tender.
  • Incorporate the previously softened dal into the mixture, blending it thoroughly. Maintain the dish over a medium flame to ensure even cooking.
  • For an added burst of flavor, blend together coconut, cumin seeds, and rice flour until you achieve a smooth paste, then introduce this mixture into the kootu, stirring it well to combine.
  • The final flourish involves tempering the dish. Heat a small amount of oil in a pan, then add mustard seeds, urad dal, a sprinkle of asafoetida powder, a red chilli for heat, curry leaves for aroma, and finely chopped small onion for a hint of sweetness. Once these ingredients are fragrant and the mustard seeds start to pop, pour this tempering over the kootu, stirring it one last time to infuse it with these aromatic flavors.

Recipe Video

10 Comments

  1. This is one of my favorites. Never had it in USA, though….I wait till next trip to India!

  2. Hi Jennifer,

    Thank you for visiting my site.

  3. Nithya Praveen

    This is my fav one.I miss having this here.I believe this one helps one who has kidney stones….healthy veggie.First time to ur blog…u hv a nice one out here.

  4. Nithya Praveen

    This is my fav one.I miss having this here.I believe this one helps one who has kidney stones….healthy veggie.First time to ur blog…u hv a nice one out here.

  5. hi kamala……..
    i tried this recipe. good one. really liked. but i have a doubt… should i use raw rice or cooked rice? i tried with cooked rice… please clear this

  6. Hi Thushara,

    Thank you for visiting my site. You have to use raw rice. Normally to thicken Kootu or Kuzhambu little rice powder mixed with water is added. Instead of adding rice powder, we used to add raw rice while grinding coconut. It acts as thickening agent.

  7. thank ukamala for clearing my doubt…. wil keep trying ur recipes…

  8. Ramasubramanian

    Mami, all of your receipes are good. I would love to try my hand

  9. Nice receipe very useful for those who start cooks easy n simple

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