Banana stem Bajji/ Baledindina Bajji/ Plantain stem pakoda

Banana stems are packed with nutrients and have amazing health benefits. To list a few, banana stem improves digestion as it is great source of dietary fibre. This eases bowel movement reducing constipation.  As water content is high, it is good for body re-hydration if consumed uncooked. Good for the people having kidney stones issues. So far I have used this only in curries, salads, palya (stir fry) or in dosa. Recently I have attended pooja in a relative’s house with my family. The bajji that I ate during the lunch was so yummy and actually I could not recognize what it was made up of. Finally I came to know that it was prepared from banana stem that too after a family member revealed it. Today I got a fresh plantain stem in our own garden and I could not resist myself from preparing this out.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Banana stem – 1 foot long

Gram flour/ Kadle hittu – ½ cup

Corn flour/ Corn starch – 3 teaspoons

Red Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon (adjust according to taste)

Salt – 1 spoon (to taste)

Ajwain/ Om kalu – ¼ teaspoon

Asafoetida – A pinch

Garam masala powder – ¼ teaspoon

Oil – for deep frying

Method:

• Remove the outer layers of banana stem that come out clean.
• Wash and clean the innermost tube and cut into round, thin slices. Soak in water for 5 minutes and remove from water. Allow to dry.
• Sprinkle little salt, half spoon of the red chilli powder and garam masala.
• Toss once in order to apply the salt and chilli to all the pieces. Cover and keep aside.
• In a vessel, take gram flour, corn flour, salt, chilli powder, ajwain/ carom seeds, and asafoetida.
• Add little water at a time to prepare the batter. The batter should not be too watery.
• It should form a thick cover to the vegetable.
• When batter is done, heat the oil in a frying pan. To check the readiness, drop little batter into oil. It should float immediately without sticking to the bottom of pan.
• When oil is ready, dip the vegetable in the batter and drop this batter covered vegetable in the oil.
• Fry until it turns to golden brown in a medium flame. Serve hot with choice of sauce like tomato sauce.
• Enjoy the banana stem bajji, its ideal for an evening snack or during a South/North Indian meal time.