How to clean vazhaipoo / banana flower / plantain flower with video - Cooking basics

Written by: 7aumsuvai
Vazhaipoo / banana flower is a powerful vegetable that has the immense health benefit in it. Cleaning the banana flower is a time-consuming process, but it is worth the effort. Also, I have planned to share Vazhaipoo puli kuzhambu / Saiva meen kuzhambu recipe in the upcoming week. Before posting that recipe, I thought of doing a post on “how to clean vazhaipoo?” that would be useful to you all.
how to clean vazhaipoo / banana flower

Few health benefits of banana flower are as follows:
The banana flowers possess the Vitamin C, A, E, fiber and potassium which are the sources of healthy nutrient. It reduces the level of blood sugar and raise the hemoglobin in the body as it is rich in fiber and iron. It helps to cure the excessive bleeding, maintains healthy uterus, restrict constipation during pregnancy and promotes lactation.
Recipes with vazhaipoo / banana flower:
  • Vazhaipoo vadai
  • Vazhaipoo puli kuzhambu / Saiva meen kuzhambu (yet to be posted)
how to clean vazhaipoo / banana flower
How to clean banana flower:
  1. Apply oil on both hands to avoid sticking.Take off the purple outer cover and remove the bunch of florets inside. Repeat the process until you reach the center.
  2. The tricky part is to remove the stamen with bulged head and a pink color petal which is nothing but a hard pink layer found in each florets.
  3. Separate each flower from the bunch and remove the stamen from each flower. You may use the banana flower as it is in any curry or chop the florets and soak them in buttermilk with a pinch of salt to avoid discoloration.
How to clean vazhaipoo
how to clean vazhaipoo / banana flower
Notes:
  • The purpose of removing stamen and pink petal from the banana flower is because they are a very hard to cook and digest.
  • When you reach the center part, it would not be easy to remove the stamen and petal from the banana flower. At that stage, you may use the flower as it is in your cooking because the stamen and petal are not so hard to cook and digest.
  • You may chop and use the white cone (tender part) when making curries.
  • You may even clean banana flower and store it in a ziplock bag for later use ( the next day or two).
  • You may directly use chopped banana flower/vazhaipoo instead of soaking them in buttermilk.
how to clean vazhaipoo / banana flower

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