Name: Vazhai Thandu Neer Mor / Spiced Banana Stem Buttermilk
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2 Servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: Buttermilk: 2 cups; Banana stem: 1 cup; Oil: 1/2 tsp; Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp; Curry leaves: Few; Green chilly: 1; Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp; Water: 1 tsp; Lemon juice: 2 tsp; Salt: To taste

Ingredients

2 cups Buttermilk

Preferably diluted

1 cup Banana stem

Cut into small cubes

1/2 tsp Oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

Few Curry leaves

1 Green chilly

optional

1/4 tsp Asafoetida

1 tsp Water

2 tsp Lemon juice

To taste Salt

Directions

Vazhai thandu neer mor is a very flavourful healthy drink best had during the summer months.

Vazhai Thandu Neer Mor

Generally neer mor or the diluted buttermilk with added salt and lemon juice is taken during the summer. Here in Chennai, people come out in large number to distribute the neer mor for free for the people who work in the scorching sun. When the same neer mor has the added flavour of the banan stem , it not only changes the taste subtly but it is also more healthy with the benefits added from the banana stem.

Here are some health benefits of Banana stem

Banana stem is a diretic, which means it helps in flushing out of toxins.
Use of banana stem regularly helps in reducing the formation of kidney stones and gall bladder stones
It is high in potassium, Vitamin B6 and iron and said to regulate the insulin levels
With the high fiber content it is said to help in weight loss.

These benefits should motivate us to use the banana stem in our cooking regularly.We can use banana stem in curry as Vazhai Thandu curry, in kootu as vazhai thandu kootu, in Mor kootu. The only problem many face in cooking banana stem is to remove the fiber while cutting the stem.The trick is to cut into small pieces, add it to a bowl of very thin buttermilk, then insert a skewer in the center and churn. After a few churns , you will see that the fiber is rolled on to the skewer. Remove the finer and repeat the process till no more fiber clings to the skewer

For this week of Foodie Monday Bloghop, Amrita suggest that we cook with the theme of “1 tsp oil “. I have used less than a tsp oil for this Vazhai Thandu Neer Mor which can be had anytime of the day in summer months.

Steps

1 Done	Remove the thick skin of the banana stem. Cut into small pieces and add it to a bowl of water to which 1 tbsp of curd is added. This helps the banana stem in retaining the colour.
2 Done	Discard this water and take out the banana stem pieces only and transfer it to the mixer jar along with the green chilly. Grind it with 1 cup of water into a paste
3 Done	Pass the above paste through a sieve and collect the juice.
4 Done	Mix the juice, lemon juice, buttermilk and salt.
5 Done	Heat the oil in a small pan, and when sufficiently hot add the mustard seeds. Once this crackles add the curry leaves and asafoetida. Pour this on the prepared neer mor and serve cold