Vegan Vazhakkai Podimas Recipe

Podimas is usually cooked in tons of oil, but this recipe is totally oil-free!

Whole Food Plant Based Vazhakkai Podimas Recipe

Course: Course 2: Vegetable Dish for Lunch & Dinner Meals, Snack
Cuisine: Tamil Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 people

INGREDIENTS

2 Vazhakkai / Raw Bananas
2 tbsp Dhaniya / Coriander Seed Powder
1 tbsp Jeera / Cumin Powder
1 tbsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
1 pinch Asafoetida / Perunkaayam / Hing
4 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
2 tbsp Mildly Roasted Peanuts, Powdered, Not Browned
2 tsp Coriander Leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel and chop raw banana into bite-sized pieces. Steam for 10-15 minutes until cooked. If boiling, use minimal water so there is no excess water after it is cooked.
2. Grind or mix dhaniya powder, jeera powder, turmeric powder, black pepper powder, miso paste, and asafoetida / perunkaayam into a powder. Toss cooked vazhakkai with the powder to coat all of them evenly. Set aside to cool down completely.
3. Garnish with peanut powder and fresh coriander leaves and serve fresh!

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Vazhakkai Podimas Recipe

1. Serve Vazhakkai Podimas along with a watery dish, such as raitha / pacchadi, to balance out the dryness.

Nutrition Science Highlights for Vazhakkai Podimas Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why not frying? Oil is a processed food, even if it is cold pressed oil. In whole nuts, the calories from the oil are balanced out with the fiber and nutrients in the nut. For example, peanuts are healthier than peanut oil, sesame seeds are healthier than sesame oil. Hence, a healthy diet excludes oil and includes whole nuts. We can easily achieve a 'fried' effect of different recipes by baking the same dishes instead, like this one!
3. What's wrong with baking? The brown color we get on baking whole grains, tubers, legumes, or nuts is due to the formation of carcinogenic AGE compounds. We can eliminate the formation of these compounds by baking at or below 120 deg C. Up to 160 deg C, the formation of AGEs slower rises, and after that, rises exponentially. It can also be reduces by adding spices and herbs, and in case of breads and cakes, cutting off the crust before serving.
4. Why wait until starchy vegetables are cool? When cooked starchy vegetables are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, the starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the starchy vegetable healthier.
5. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!