The banana is not just valued for its fruit. Its stem too is becoming a popular food in Tamil Nadu. At least half-a-dozen small agro-industries have sprouted in the state that process, package and sell ‘banana stem dices’. In fact, the stems are selling in tonnes.
Banana stem has always been cooked and eaten as a vegetable in villages. The outer layer of the stem is dried and used as a rope. After peeling several layers, what remains is a cylindrical white tube, a ‘tube light’. This is the inner stem that is. . .
