Vazhakka Thoran | Kerala Style Raw Banana Stir Fry

Vazhakka Thoran is an easy and classic dish made with Raw banana and coconut. This version of stir fry can be easily served with rice or rotis.

In the last few months, the state of Kerala has been in the news because of floods and devastation across the state. Many people have lost their near and dear ones. In the middle of all this devastation, news channels also  showed us resilience and positive vibe that the people of Kerala have.

As an ode to the state of Kerala and its people, for this month’s Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge, us food bloggers are cooking recipes from Kerala.

This month i was paired with Anu Kollon from Ente Thattukada and she gave me coconut and raw banana as my secret ingredients. This gave me the perfect opportunity to make the traditional Vazhakka Thoran.

My quest to make a very traditional dish using coconut and raw banana led me to my neighbour’s (Aruni’s) house. After chatting with her on various recipes like kallan or erissery, i decided to make a simple dry raw banana preparation to go with rice last week.

Did you know this about Banana??

Did you know the banana plant might be the only plant where almost all parts of the plant get used and nothing goes waste?? Let me write how 🙂

• Banana plant Stem / trunk – Also known as Vazhai thandu in tamil, this part of the plant is used in south indian cuisine to make a raita or a dry sabzi.
• Banana leaves – The leaves which are large and water proof, are very commonly used as plates to serve food in marriages or family functions. It is also used to make eco-friendly containers in India.
• Banana flower – In south India this part of the plant is used as a vegetable to make dry sabzis or even tasty vadas (fried lentil fritters).
• Raw banana – Raw banana is very versatile and can be used in curries / sabzis as a vegetable or gets used to make some yummy chips.
• Ripe banana – What can i say, that you dont know, in Banana cake, in fried bananas or had just as a fruit, so many options to eat these.

Coming back to the recipe, I made the Vazhakka Thoran as an accompaniment to sambar/rasam rice for lunch, but it can also be served with mixed rice varieties or rotis.

More recipes using Raw Banana / Vazhakka:

1.  Gujarati Undhiyu
2. Vazhapoo Parappu Usili ( Banana flower and coconut dry sabzi)

Mixed rice varieties:

1. Mango Rice
2. Mustard & Coconut Mixed Rice

Print Recipe

Vazhakka Thoran | Kerala style raw banana stir fry

Course

Main Dish, Side Dish

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

To saute

• 2 nos Raw banana
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 5-7 leaves Curry leaves
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Salt (according to taste)
• 1.5 cups water

To grind

• 3/4 cup Grated coconut
• 3-5 nos small onions (sambar onions)
• 2-3 nos Green chillies
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds (jeera)

Course Main Dish, Side Dish Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 20 minutes Servings people Ingredients To saute 2 nos Raw banana 1 tbsp Oil 1 tsp Turmeric powder 5-7 leaves Curry leaves 1 tsp mustard seeds Salt (according to taste) 1.5 cups water To grind 3/4 cup Grated coconut 3-5 nos small onions (sambar onions) 2-3 nos Green chillies 1 tsp Cumin seeds (jeera)

Instructions

1. Remove the skin from raw banana and chop them into small cubes (add them to a bowl of water so that they don't oxidize and turn black)
2. Heat 1.5 cups of water in a medium sized wok / kadhai and add the chopped bananas to it
3. Add some salt and turmeric powder and cover it for 5 - 7 minutes
4. Once the raw bananas is par cooked ( almost 90% cooked), remove from heat, drain the water and set aside the cooked bananas in a plate
5. Grind / pulse the ingredients given to a rough paste and set aside
6. Heat oil in a kadhai / wok, add mustard leaves, curry leaves.
7. Once the mustard splutters, add the ground mixture and raw bananas and mix well
8. Cook for a couple of minutes and remove form heat
9. Serve with hot rice and rasam or with rotis