Vazhaipoo biryani recipe, Banana flower biryani

Banana flower biryani/ Vazhaipoo biryani is a delicious, healthy and interesting one pot recipe where sauteed banana flower and rice is cooked to perfection along with spices. Banana flower/ Vazhaipoo is not liked by much for its bitter taste but adding it to our diet in an yummy way is a must as it rich source of vitamins, minerals, helps nursing mothers, cures anemia, regulates menstrual cycle and much more benefits.

We usually make stir fry, some variety rice or the popular vadai with banana flower so when I asked my mom I was bored doing the same recipes every time with this banana flower she suggested this biryani recipe of her’s using seeeraga samba rice an aromatic short grain rice used for making biryani in Tamil Nadu. So tried making this recipe at home and it was sure hot at home, the bitterness of the flower was lost completely and the biryani tasted yum.

You can also use regular rice or basmati rice for making this biryani in that the water quantity will change accordingly. Also I did a no whistle method using pressure cooker and turned out good, you can do in the same method or pressure cook it with whistle as well according to your convenience. Also you can clean the banana flower the previous day night and store in the fridge or clean it just before preparing the biryani. So I served it with some raita. So do try this unique biryani at home and let me know your comments. So let’s get to the making!
You may be interested in other recipes below:

- Banana flower vadai
- Banana flower bajji

Vazhaipoo biryani recipe, Banana flower biryani

2020-03-12 23:40:50

Serves 3

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

30 min

Total Time

45 min

Ingredients

1. Vazhaipoo/ Banana flower – 1 ½ cup
2. Seeraga samba rice – 2 cups
3. Onion – 1 (medium sized)
4. Tomato – 1 (small sized)
5. Mint – ¼ cup
6. Coriander/ Cilantro – ¼ cup
7. Green chilli – 2
8. Ginger garlic paste – 1 ½ tsp
9. Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
10. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
11. Red chilli powder - 1 ½ tsp (depending on spice level)
12. Salt – to taste
13. Water – 3 cups (approx)
14. Oil – 2 tbsp

WHOLE SPICES

1. Bay leaf - 1
2. Cardamom - 2
3. Clove - 2
4. Cinnamon stick - 1
5. Fennel seeds - ½ tsp
6. Cumin seeds - ½ tsp

Note

* 1 cup = 235 ml

Instructions

Open the banana flower leaves one by one inside it you will find a batch of banana flowers which are edible. Now remove it gently from the banana blossom.
Now pull the feathery plastic like petal back. Discard this feathery plastic petal as it is not edible.
Now look for the matchstick like stem inside the flower and remove it as well. Discard this one too as it tastes bitter. Now repeat the process for each banana flower till you see tiny white part which can be eaten raw.
Wash and soak rice in water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of soaking drain the water and keep the rice aside. Slice onions thin, tomatoes thin, chop mint and cilantro finely, make slit in green chilli.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaf, clove, cinnamon stick and cardamom. When aromatic add sliced onion and green chilli. Saute well and add ginger garlic paste. Saute well until the raw smell goes. Now add sliced tomato, chopped mint, cilantro, required salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Saute well.
Now add the cleaned banana flower snd saute well. We want the raw flavors of banana glower to go fully before adding rice and water.
When the banana flower is sauteed well and 3 cups water and lemon juice. Mix well. Allow the mixture to boil well. When the water is boiling well add soaked rice. Now allow the mixture to boil well.
When the mixture has started to boil close it and pressure cook for 2 whistles in medium flame. When the pressure has subsided allow it to rest for 5 more minutes. Now open the cooker.
When the rice looks done take it from the sides using spatula and fluff it gently. Serve it hot with raita! (As shown in the picture I dint put the whistle so what I did was kept the flame in high for 4 to 5 minutes then put the flame to low for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes I switched off the flame snd allowed the rice to rest for 5 more minutes. So after 20 minutes open the pressure cooker when the rice looks done fluff gently from sides and serve it hot with raita)

By Sandhya Riyaz

Sandhya's recipes https://www.sandyathome.com/

How to make Vazhaipoo biryani with step by step images

Open the banana flower leaves one by one inside it you will find a batch of banana flowers which are edible. Now remove it gently from the banana blossom.
Now pull the feathery plastic like petal back. Discard this feathery plastic petal as it is not edible.
Now look for the matchstick like stem inside the flower and remove it as well. Discard this one too as it tastes bitter. Now repeat the process for each banana flower till you see tiny white part which can be eaten raw.
Wash and soak rice in water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of soaking drain the water and keep the rice aside. Keep the vazhaipoo ready. Slice onions thin, tomatoes thin, chop mint and cilantro finely, make slit in green chilli.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaf, clove, cinnamon stick and cardamom.
When aromatic add sliced onion and green chilli. Saute well and add ginger garlic paste. Saute well until the raw smell goes. Now add sliced tomato, chopped mint, cilantro, required salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Saute well.
Now add the cleaned banana flower and saute well. We want the raw flavors of banana glower to go fully before adding rice and water. This should take about 5 minutes.
When the banana flower is sauteed well and 3 cups water and lemon juice. Mix well. Allow the mixture to boil well. When the water is boiling well add soaked rice. Now allow the mixture to boil well.
When the mixture has started to boil close it and pressure cook for 2 whistles in medium flame. When the pressure has subsided allow it to rest for 5 more minutes. Now open the cooker. When the rice looks done take it from the sides using spatula and fluff it gently. Serve it hot with raita! (As shown in the picture I dint put the whistle so what I did was kept the flame in high for 4 to 5 minutes then put the flame to low for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes I switched off the flame snd allowed the rice to rest for 5 more minutes. So after 20 minutes open the pressure cooker when the rice looks done fluff gently from sides and serve it hot with raita)