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:
Mixed rice varieties:

Prep Time | 20 min |
Cook Time | 20 minutes |
Servings |
people
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- 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
- 3/4 cup Grated coconut
- 3-5 nos small onions (sambar onions)
- 2-3 nos Green chillies
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds (jeera)
Ingredients
To saute
To grind
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- 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)
- Heat 1.5 cups of water in a medium sized wok / kadhai and add the chopped bananas to it
- Add some salt and turmeric powder and cover it for 5 - 7 minutes
- 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
- Grind / pulse the ingredients given to a rough paste and set aside
- Heat oil in a kadhai / wok, add mustard leaves, curry leaves.
- Once the mustard splutters, add the ground mixture and raw bananas and mix well
- Cook for a couple of minutes and remove form heat
- Serve with hot rice and rasam or with rotis
34 comments
The sabzi looks super inviting, and sounds delish! Will try this out for sure. 🙂
thank you Priya
Delicious side dish with sambar rice ..I make it Chennai style. Next time will make this one.
do try it out and let me know
I guess I am coming on your blog for the first time… 🙂 Vazhakka thoran is one of my favorite sides for rice… so flavorful, such a comfort food… so well made, lovely clicks too…
welcome to my blog Rafeeda…hope you liked the blog 🙂
Thorans are a Kerala Specialty and Vazhakka especially is one of my favourites. My recipe is very similar, except being a Palakkad Iyer, we skip the pearl onions in the thoran at home. Very filling with just one serving along with Kootu or Sambar of your choice. Loved it.
the pearl onion addition was a new thing to me too ..courtesy my neighbour
Oh is it ? that’s nice – small tips like this, elevates the taste so much right?
This is one of my favourite Thorans best had with Rasam and rice! You have presented it so beautifully!
oh yes with rasam ..it is absolutely delicious
I love this thoran. One of my favourites. Deliciously done.
thank you 🙂
All time favourite thoran, seriously fabulous and i love this thoran with hot poping rasam rice or sambar rice, mouthwatering already.
yumm with rasam rice
Thoran looks delicious. Loved this easy yet super yummy dish. I always in search and experiment with raw banana. Now I have a new recipe to try. Thanks for the simple and delicious traditional recipe. Awesome share.
Thank you Sujata..do try the recipe and let me know
Delicious and yummy. After seeing so many revipes of raw banana I really need to cook this. Your looks apt for this fasting season.
yes you can omit the onions if you require for the fasting season 🙂
The dish looks delicious and these are my all time fav sides for rice. Photography is superb.
Thank you Anu your the kind words 🙂
Priya, vazhakka thoran looks very inviting. You just gave me an idea to make this without the onion for fasting. Always looking for new recipes for fasting and this one is not only filling but also healthy.
Mayuri..yes minus the onions you could make it for fasting..you could also use sweet potatoes or potatoes
Thoran with Rasam rice and papad is a mathch made in heaven. I cook the vegetable in other ways, this Thoran with onions is so inviting !
Hei…this thoran with onions had a very different taste
What is it about this simple dish that can elevate any meal and in my case, my mood? It is true indeed that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
simple foods are the best comfort foods isnt it 🙂
Banana in every stage is useful. Love this simple dish, it tastes so yumm.
every part gets used..such a versatile plant
My mom always made plain vazhakkai, and the I get these gorgeous ones from my friend with shallots and broken bits of chillies. one day we exchanged boxes and i bunked classes to go show my mom. I could see my moms red face till today, he couldnt believe I bunked classes for vazhakka thoran!!! thanks for bringing back the memories
ha ha ..i can only imgine your moms reaction..superb
A flavorful side dish to pair with rasam and rice. Love raw banana , but hardly use them in curries. Would try our this thoran for sure.thanks for the share.
Such a tasty looking dish. And I love the purple mat it is resting on! The thought of the flavours that the shallots and coconut would bring, is mouth watering. I must try this version with hot rasam and rice sometime.
Thank you Sujatha..trying different mats in house as props 😉