Pickle recipes for an Indian Summer – Banana Stem Pickle

By Priya Narayan

The sweltering heat has just begun, marking the beginning of the summer season. The hot summer days bring along with them fond memories of mangoes, chilled glasses of falooda, lassi and cold drinks. It is also the perfect season to make pickle, papads and masalas.

I am sure, right now flashing in your mind is your childhood memories of eating mango with your hand, sitting cross-legged on the floor, with the juice running down your hand, ummmmmm, helping your mother and grandmother dry the papad in the sun, by volunteering as a scarecrow to shoo the birds away and last but not the least smacking your lips with the leftover masala of the pickle, once  it is stored in the jars.

Pickles are perfect accompaniments to almost every dish – paratha, idli, dosa, khichdi and the list goes on. Let’s see two unique pickle recipes that are not only mouthwatering but also very healthy and easy to make.

Banana stem pickle

Manju John is a homemaker who resides in Palakkad, Kerala. She is an extremely passionate cook and creates magic with anything that she lays her hands on. Here is her unique Banana stem pickle.

Ingredients: 

1. ½ kg banana stem
2. ½ cup garlic
3. ½ cup sliced ginger
4. 1 tablespoon crushed mustard
5. 4 Green chillies (sliced)
6. 2 tablespoon red chilly powder
7. 3 tablespoon sesame oil
8. 2 tablespoon vinegar
9. 2 cups of water
10. 1/2 teaspoon Asafoetida powder
11. 1/4 teaspoon Fenugreek powder
12. Salt – to taste

Method:

Preparation:
1.Cut the banana stem into thin round slices.
2.Remove the outer layer of fibre.
3.Cut each of the round slices into 4 pieces.
4. Put the pieces in a bowl filled with water.
5. Take a wooden spoon and keep stirring the water for few minutes so that all the remaining fibre gets entangled in the spoon.

Cooking:
1. Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds. Add the minced garlic and ginger, green chillies, red chilly powder, asafoetida, fenugreek powder, mustard powder. Then stir-fry for a couple of minutes
2. Pour the 2 cups of water into the pan.
3. Drain the chopped banana stem and add it to the pan. Add required salt and cook till it boils.
4. Switch off the flame, and add the vinegar to the pan.
5. Adjust the salt, chilli powder and vinegar according to your taste. Now you are ready to serve the pickle.

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