Monday, December 3

Vazhaipoo kuzhambu (Banana flower/blossom curry)

This is a simple and easy to prepare kuzhambu prepared with banana blossom ,which is a very healthy vegetable and has lots of medicinal properties too. This is my MIL's recipe and I love to share this with you all.


Ingredients

Vazhaipoo(banana flower/blossom)-1
onions- 2 medium sized
green chilli -1 slitted
coconut milk- 3/4 cup( If using canned coconut milk just use 4 tbsp)
chilli powder- 1 tsp or acc to taste
coriander powder- 1 tsp
jeera powder- 2 tsp
oil- 4-5 tsp
salt to taste

Method

Wash the whole blossom in water and start peeling the outer purple layers and the flowers inside them.
Keep on peeling the layers. The color of the purple cover will change to a pale hue and the flowers will become more tender as you reach the inner part.
Collect these tender flowers and keep peeling the layers till whole blossom becomes small enough to hold in ur palm.
Slit the blossom vertically into two.
Soak the blossom and the flowers in yogurt water to pervent it from turning brown.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker/pan and fry the chopped onions and green chilli. When the onions turn transparent add chilli,coriander and jeera powders. Fry for a minute and add the coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water to it.
When the coconut milk boils add the banana blossom along with the tender flowers. Check salt and pressure cook for one whistle.
Serve hot with rice.

Note

Cleaning the flower takes time and will make ur nails dirty. Apply yogurt or cooking oil or wear gloves in ur hands and clean them.
The peeled flowers before the tender stage can be used to make poriyal.
You can make mushroom and cauliflower kuzhambu too by follwing the same method.

30 comments:

Bong Mom said...

This curry looks delightful, cutting the banana flwers is a lot of work though

Seema said...

Looks great. I love anything out of Valai Poo or Valai Thandu. But unfortunately dont get it here :-( Lovely recipe!

KayKat said...

*so* good! I always craved for the days when my mum made this when I was a kid! And now I crave for the days when I can make it (though it doesn't taste as good) :)

Thanks for the inspiration!

Linda said...

Hi Prema, I've only attempted banana blossom once -- this dish is making me want to try again. Looks soooo tasty! :)

USHA said...

Hi Prema,

I need to check in patel...I love to do vadai or kootu....but this style of chopping blossom and preparing kuzhambhu seems to be new for me.

But i liked the recipe verymuch...let me try with cauliflower or mushroom...

By the way today i tried your version of Thattai.It has coem out very well.Thanks.

Richa said...

gravy looks so good, prema!
wow, i never saw it in the stores, here.

Anonymous said...

My florist has tons of recipes that includes the banana flowers, the traditional dishes just outrightly tastes light years apart from the original recipes.

Raks said...

I always make vadai or usili with vazhai poo..This sounds different!Will try it out next time:)

indosungod said...

Prema, looks really tasty, thanks to MIL I am going to cook it, I am late adopter of Vazhaipoo, when it was readily available I did not much care for it, now I look for it every chance I get.

Pravs said...

Looks really yummy..like a meat curry :) Don't get fresh banana flower here to try.

remya said...

love the rich gravy...looks yumm...very creative

Kribha said...

Oh...I did kootu with it for yesterday's dinner. I wish I had seen this before. Looks like a non-veg gravy. I will surely try this.

Pooja said...

this is a new recipe for me . i always see baanana flower here in stores, and wonder how to make curry of that, now got the recipe :) . thanks for sharing :) . is it spicy or mild flavored in final result ?

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

oh, you found a banana flower in the place where u live? thats gr8! the picture looks yummy!!

Prema Sundar said...

It is not very spicy pooja as u add coconut milk. It all depends on the amt of chilli powder u add..
Ramya I get it in a korean store near my place.

Laavanya said...

My this is one looker of a curry Prema... I haven't tasted this at all. I usually just make paruppu usili with this.

Sagari said...

wow curry looks deleciousssss

Bharathy said...

Sluurp..Look at that oil topped curry!..
Just now I minced the vazhappo for tommorrw's poriyal.Yes my fingers are dirty and black..will try your method to get rid of that..
The curry can be done only with the tender inner part or can we add the down stalks as well??

J said...

Looks good Prema. i rarely buy this sine I don't like to dirty my fingers :)

Shilpa said...

When I saw the first picture, I thought it was a chicken dish, sonno why :D.

I have not cooked banana blossom anytime. Mom makes a curry with it though. I will have to try this sometime

DEEPA said...

Wow!!!this is awesome ...my grandma used to make it often ..She loved this always ...

Kavitha said...

Kozhambu looks great. I didnt know you could just slice and use the last part of the flower as is.
Its a lot of work though. Would probably try it with mushroom. Should I add more spices for mushroom?

delhibelle said...

Looks delicious !

delhibelle said...

Hi,
I have linked your post to one of mine on banana blossom. Hope its OK!
Thank you for a wonderful post:)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Your valaipoo kulambu looks yummy.
I used to add tamarind extract to the gravy. nice inspiration. I will try your method.Visit me here.
http://elitefoods.blogspot.com/

? said...

Loved the pictures of the banana flower!

Amazing Flower said...

at my place, we usually use jackfruit for the curry and it tastes so delicious. Singapore Florist

Reinvention said...

just made the curry. Luckily my maid chopped it for me. It is looking delicious. Which part of India is it from?

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious. I am going to try it out tomorrow. I just got a fresh flower from my tree in the backyard. It's nice and fresh. thanks for the recipe.

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