Vazhai Poo Usili (Banana Blossom with Lentil) and Rasam

Banana flower or plantain flower (also known as banana blossom) can be used to prepare tasty Usili. Vazhai Poo Usili is a mix of vazhai poo and lentil cooked. The water used for soaking dal can be used to prepare rasam, as a combination with usili.

Serves: 6

Cooking time: 45 minutes approximately except dal soaking time.

Ingredients

• Cleaned and cut vazhai poo – 1 cup
• Toor dal (Tuvaram paruppu) – ¾ cup
• Bengal gram dal – 2 table spoon
• Red chilli – 6 to 8 no
• Turmeric powder – ½ tea spoon
• Asafetida powder – ¼ tea spoon
• Salt – as per taste
• For seasoning
  • Mustard – ½ tea spoon
  • Urad dal (split black gram) – ½ tea spoon
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Oil – 1 table spoon

Method

• Wash well and soak toor dal and Bengal gram in 2 cups of water for 2 hours; drain and keep the water to prepare Rasam.
• Without adding water, grind soaked dal with salt, red chilli, asafetida powder and turmeric to a coarse paste.
• Now mix with cut vazhai poo and steam cook (this reduces oil for frying) like idli for 8 to 10 minutes.

• Cool and mash nicely without any lumps.

• Do seasoning, add vazhai poo mix and fry in low flame for 5 minutes.

• Now Vazhai poo usili is ready.

Rasam with dal soaked water

Dal soaked water contains nutrients of those lentils and can be used to prepare rasam.

Ingredients

• Dal soaked water – 1½ cup
• Tomato – 1 no
• Green chilli – 2 no
• Rasam powder – ½ tea spoon
• Salt – as per taste
• Asafetida – pinch
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tea spoon
• Curry and coriander leaves – few
• Tamarind – as per sour taste you need
• For seasoning: ½ tea spoon mustard, ½ tea spoon cumin seed, few curry leaves and few drops of ghee/oil.

Method

• Cut tomato, green chilli and curry leaves; put it in 2 cups of water with tamarind juice , salt, turmeric, rasam powder and asafetida.
• Boil this for 4 to 5 minutes till raw smell of tamarind goes; add dal soaked water, 1 cup of normal water and keep it in the flame till foam like appear on the surface (just before boiling); remove, do seasoning and garnish with coriander leaves.

Vazhai poo usili and Rasam suit well with hot steamed rice.

Tips

This usili can also be prepared with other vegetables like beans, cluster beans, cabbage and banana stem.