Pirandai Thuvaiyal Recipe made with Pirandai stems / thandu. This Tamil style Pirandai thuvaiyal / thogayal has a lot of health benefits and used in Ayurveda and Siddha as medicine. Recipe with step by step pictures in English.
Pirandai is also known as Veldt grape or adamant creeper. Its believed to strengthen the bones and joints in Siddha and Ayurveda. It grows really quickly and is literally a zero maintenance plant. I grow this in my small apartment balcony garden and it grows beautifully. I make this chutney quite often these days. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition an year back and my aunts recommended this as a home remedy. According to me, if there is no harm to try, just do it. Its called as Pirandai Keerai (greens / spinach) in Tamil. Its a stick like vine with small leaves. The leaves are not used in cooking.
The tender part or the top part (about two feet ) of the vine is what is harvested and used in the kitchen. The bottom segments can be very hard and can cause itchy hands while cutting and itchy tongue while eating. So do not use the bottom parts / segments of the vine even though they look inviting. As the creeper has rough edges, always apply oil to hands while handling it to avoid itchy hands. The edges / the outer strings are removed just like how we would string the beans.
I make a Pirandai thuvaiyal / chutney that goes well with rice for lunch. Do try this at home. My mom says that Pirandai is available in vegetable markets these days in Tamilnadu. You can buy this plant in a nursery. Its even available online.
Here is how to make healthy and easy Tamil style Pirandai Thuvaiyal / chutney at home
Harvest only the top segments from the plant. Do not go beyond two feet as the bottom parts are very stringy and can cause itchiness in the tongue. Apply oil to hands as pirandai causes itchiness. Remove all the leaves. Also cut the joints from the segments. The joints are hard and itchy. In folk medicine they say that the joints is just a resemblance of human bone joints.
After removing the joints, we will remove the rough outer skin. String the Pirandai to remove the outer rough skin.
It should easily come off.
This is how it will look after removing the outer skin. If the stem is very tender, then you can leave it as is.
Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add in the chana dal. Roast the chana dal on a low flame. When the chana dal is roasted, add in the dried red chillies. Roast for a few seconds till the chillies fluff up. Do not roast the chillies for long as it will burn and become black. Remove the chana dal and the chillies from the pan and set aside on a plate to cool.
Retain the oil used for roasting the lentils and the chillies. Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, the prepped pirandai, tamarind and curry leaves. Saute for a good 4-5 minutes on medium flame till the onions are soft and the pirandai has shrunk a bit.
Add in the coconut and the salt. Saute for a minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Grind with half a cup of water to a smooth paste / chutney like consistency.
Tempering of Tamil style Pirandai Thuvaiyal / chutney Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add the urad dal. When the urad dal is slightly brown, add in the mustard seeds, green chillies and dry red chillies. The green chillies adds a nice flavour to this thuvaiyal. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the curry leaves.
Add in the tempering to the chutney.
Serve the Tamil style Pirandai Thuvaiyal / chutney with rice.
Main Ingredients for Pirandai Thuvaiyal
- 1/2 cup cleaned pirandai segments
- 1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon chana dal
- 4 - 5 dried red chillies
- 1/2 cup onions, chopped
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch piece ginger
- 1/2 inch piece tamarind
- 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 1/3 cup fresh shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water to grind the chutney
Tempering of Tamil style Pirandai Thuvaiyal / chutney
1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon urad dal
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 green chillies, slit
2 - 3 dried red chillies
2 sprigs curry leaves
Harvest only the top segments from the plant. Do not go beyond two feet as the bottom parts are very stringy and can cause itchiness in the tongue. Remove all the leaves. Also cut the joints from the segments. The joints are hard and itchy. In folk medicine they say that the joints is just a resemblance of human bone joints. After removing the joints, we will remove the rough outer skin. String the Pirandai to remove the outer rough skin. It should easily come off.
Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add in the chana dal. Roast the chana dal on a low flame. When the chana dal is roasted, add in the dried red chillies. Roast for a few seconds till the chillies fluff up. Do not roast the chillies for long as it will burn and become black. Remove the chana dal and the chillies from the pan and set aside on a plate to cool.
Retain the oil used for roasting the lentils and the chillies. Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, the prepped pirandai, tamarind and curry leaves. Saute for a good 4-5 minutes on medium flame till the onions are soft and the pirandai has shrunk a bit.
Add in the coconut and the salt. Saute for a minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Grind with half a cup of water to a smooth paste / chutney like consistency.
Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add the urad dal. When the urad dal is slightly brown, add in the mustard seeds, green chillies and dry red chillies. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the curry leaves. Add in the tempering to the chutney.
Serve the Tamil style Pirandai Thuvaiyal / chutney with rice.
Author: Suguna Vinodh
Main Ingredients for Pirandai Thuvaiyal
- 1/2 cup cleaned pirandai segments
- 1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon chana dal
- 4 - 5 dried red chillies
- 1/2 cup onions, chopped
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch piece ginger
- 1/2 inch piece tamarind
- 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 1/3 cup fresh shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water to grind the chutney
Tempering of Tamil style Pirandai Thuvaiyal / chutney
1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon urad dal
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 green chillies, slit
2 - 3 dried red chillies
2 sprigs curry leaves
Harvest only the top segments from the plant. Do not go beyond two feet as the bottom parts are very stringy and can cause itchiness in the tongue. Remove all the leaves. Also cut the joints from the segments. The joints are hard and itchy. In folk medicine they say that the joints is just a resemblance of human bone joints. After removing the joints, we will remove the rough outer skin. String the Pirandai to remove the outer rough skin. It should easily come off.
Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add in the chana dal. Roast the chana dal on a low flame. When the chana dal is roasted, add in the dried red chillies. Roast for a few seconds till the chillies fluff up. Do not roast the chillies for long as it will burn and become black. Remove the chana dal and the chillies from the pan and set aside on a plate to cool.
Retain the oil used for roasting the lentils and the chillies. Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, the prepped pirandai, tamarind and curry leaves. Saute for a good 4-5 minutes on medium flame till the onions are soft and the pirandai has shrunk a bit.
Add in the coconut and the salt. Saute for a minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Grind with half a cup of water to a smooth paste / chutney like consistency.
Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add the urad dal. When the urad dal is slightly brown, add in the mustard seeds, green chillies and dry red chillies. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the curry leaves. Add in the tempering to the chutney.
Serve the Tamil style Pirandai Thuvaiyal / chutney with rice.
Author: Suguna Vinodh
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/pirandai-thuvaiyal-recipe/
Easy Recipe for Vazhaipoo Poriyal / Valaipoo Poriyal – Banana Flower – Banana Blossom Stir-Fry. Detailed recipe video explaining how to clean, cut and store Vazhaipoo.
Here are the other recipes on the site using Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower Vazhaipoo – Banana Blossom Recipes Banana Blossom is a rich source of Potassium and Vitamin A and E. Its also rich in fiber making its benefits so compelling to have it regularly. Here is the Video of how to make Vazhaipoo Poriyal Recipe, Banana Flower – Banana Blossom Stir Fry
How to clean and prep banana flowers / banana blossoms I have used a small head of banana blossom today for this recipe. The banana blossoms needs to be cleaned well before it can be cooked with. Cleaning the banana blossom may stain your fingers. The black sap that comes from the florets may leave stained fingers and clothes. Apply oil to your hands before cleaning. If you remove the reddish leaves, there will be yellow tipped florets that we will be cooking with. These are soon to be bananas. The florets needs to be cleaned though.
Remove each floret and pull the stick like pistil with a bulgy top to the right. This is very bitter and inedible, When you pull the pistil to your right, the calyx (the small, thick, light pink color petal like thing) will come out. Remove that too.
Remove the pistil and calyx and discard. They are inedible. We will be cooking with the florets.
After removing 5-6 layers of the maroon leaves, the florets inside will be very young. They need not be cleaned. They can be used as such. The inner hearts are also edible. They can be cut and used.
Take a bowl and add water to it. Add a tablespoon of plain vinegar to the bowl. Finely Chop the vazhaipoo / banana blossom. Add the chopped blossoms immediately to the water-vinegar mixture. Many people in India use buttermilk. But I have found that vinegar + water solution keeps the florets from becoming bitter and more effective. You can keep this in the fridge and use it the next day. Drain the water completely and wash once to remove the vinegar before using.
Here is how to do Vazhaipoo Poriyal – Banana Flower / Banana Blossom Stir-Fry Recipe Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and green chillies. Saute for a few seconds. Let the mustard seeds crackle.
Add in the chopped onions and saute till the onions are soft. I like to add a lot of onions as the onions tend to cut the bitterness of the Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower a little and also is very tasty in this stir fry. So use a lot of onions.
Once the onions are soft, add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and asafoetida. Saute for a few seconds.
Drain the Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower and wash once to get rid of the residual vinegar from the Vazhaipoo. Drain Completely. Add in the drained Vazhaipoo to the pan.
Saute on a low flame for 7-8 minutes. The Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower will shrink in size. Add in the salt and the fresh shredded coconut. Saute briefly for a minute. A note on salt: Always add the salt at the end while making the Vazhaipoo Poriyal recipe. Adding salt in the beginning to the Vazhaipoo makes it very bitter.
Serve the Vazhaipoo Poriyal – Banana Flower / Blossom stir fry along with rice.
A very healthy Vazhaipoo Poriyal, Banana Flower – Banana Blossom Stir Fry is ready.
You can even make a fantastic Vazhaipoo Oothappam or Dosai with the Vazhaipoo Poriyal. It tastes so delicious. Here is the video of how to make Vazhaipoo Uthappam
For Prepping Vazhaipoo – Banana flower/blossom
1 head of Vazhaipoo – Banana flower 1 tablespoon Plain Vinegar Little oil for applying on hands
For making Vazhaipoo Poriyal – Banana Blossom Stir Fry
2 Tablespoon Indian Sesame Oil 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds 2 Sprigs Curry Leaves 4 Dried Red Chillies 2 Green Chillies, Slit 1.5 Cups Onions, Chopped 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder 1/4 Teaspoon Asafoetida 3/4 Teaspoon Salt 1/3 Cup Fresh Shredded Coconut
Here is how to make Vazhaipoo Poriyal / Valaipoo Poriyal – Banana Flower – Banana Blossom Stir-Fry.
- Clean and Prep the Vazhaipoo – Banana Flower. Set aside.
- Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and green chillies. Saute for a few seconds. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the chopped onions and saute till the onions are soft. I like to add a lot of onions as the onions tend to cut the bitterness of the Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower a little and also is very tasty in this stir fry. So use a lot of onions.
- Once the onions are soft, add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and asafoetida. Saute for a few seconds. Drain the Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower and wash once to get rid of the residual vinegar from the Vazhaipoo. Drain Completely. Add in the drained Vazhaipoo to the pan.
- Saute on a low flame for 7-8 minutes. The Vazhaipoo / Banana Flower will shrink in size. Add in the salt and the fresh shredded coconut. Saute briefly for a minute.
- Serve the Vazhaipoo Poriyal – Banana Flower / Blossom stir fry along with rice.
Notes
A note on salt: Always add the salt at the end while making the Vazhaipoo Poriyal recipe. Adding salt in the beginning to the Vazhaipoo makes it very bitter.
Author: Suguna Vinodh
Prep Time: 20m
Cook Time: 20m
