Yam Fry | Elephant Yam Fry Recipe | Senaikizhangu Varuval | Masala Coated Yam Fry | Chena Fry Recipe - 2 Methods

This yam fry is one of my most favourite and go-to side dish during Saturdays as a non-veg equivalent :) Coz I do not eat non veg during Saturdays.. As most of my recipes are, this too is very easy to make and tastes as good as a non-vegetarian roast or dry fry would do :) So this is a family favourite as well. Here I have detailed 2 methods of making this fry. First one is the one I follow when I do not have much time in hand. It is just mix the masalas and marinate the yam with it and just shallow/pan fry them. 

The second method is slightly elaborate with the peeling of the shallots and grinding a paste to make the marinade. It is the same masala that I use for my fish fry. So if I have that masala handy or if I have time to make them from scratch I go for this method. This is obviously more tastier coz of that extra work involved ;) So let's see how to go about to make this yummilicious fry :)

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

I Used:

Elephant Yam/Chena	-	150 gm (1¼ cup after cutting)
Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Garam Masala	-	½ tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste	-	1 tsp
Asafoetida	-	2 pinch
Oil	-	2-3 tbsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Scrape the skin of the yam. Rinse them in water. Then cut them into slightly (not very) thick slices

2. In a plate take the red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, asafoetida, ginger-garlic paste and salt and mix well. You can add 1-2 tsp of water and make a paste or you can mix it without water

3. Then coat the yam slices on both sides with the masala paste and place them in a bowl

4. In a pressure cooker take about 1-2 glass of water. Place the plate used for double boiling in the cooker. Then place the bowl with the yam pieces on the plate. Close the cooker and put on the weight. Pressure cook it for 1 whistle. Don't cook for more else the yam will get very soft or mashed and cannot be used for the fry

5. Heat oil for shallow frying in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, reduce the flame to simmer and arrange the yam slices

6. After 1-2 minutes, flip the yam slices gently using a spatula

7. After another 1-2 minutes flip one more time. Slightly increase the flame and allow the slices to get roasted and get a nice deep red colour. It may take about a minute or two. Be cautious not to get the slices burnt

8. Now flip over and get the other side also a deep red colour. Switch off the flame. If you have another batch to fry, then proceed with the next batch

Serve with rice and a mild gravy 

Method 2:

I Used:

Elephant Yam/Chena	-	150 gm (1¼ cup after cutting)
Shallots	-	5-6 nos
Garlic	-	3-4 nos
Pepper	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Scrape the skin of the yam. Rinse them in water. Then cut them into slightly (not very) thick slices

2. Take the yam slices in a pressure cooker. Add the coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Add about ¼ cup of water and give a gentle mix

3. Pressure cook for 1 whistle. Don't cook for more else the yam will get very soft or mashed and cannot be used for the fry

4. Meanwhile in a mixer jar add the shallots (or onions, preferably shallots),peppercorns and garlic. Grind it to a smooth paste with little water

5. Now take the paste in a plate. Add red chilly powder and salt to it and mix well. Coat the yam pieces with the paste and keep aside

6. Heat oil for shallow frying in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, reduce the flame to simmer and arrange the yam slices

7. After 1-2 minutes, flip the yam slices gently using a spatula

8. After another 1-2 minutes flip one more time. Slightly increase the flame and allow the slices to get roasted and get a nice deep red colour. It may take about a minute or two. Be cautious not to get the slices burnt

9. Now flip over and get the other side also a deep red colour. Switch off the flame. If you have another batch to fry, then proceed with the next batch

Serve with rice and a mild gravy 

Notes:

• If you may like, add a 1 tsp of tamarind paste also while marinating the yam pieces. Some add it as the yam can make the tongue itchy sometimes

• If you like your yam fry more crispier, add 1 tbsp of rice flour & besan flour also to the marination. But I like the fry without them itself. So I never add them

Cheers,
Chitz

Green Mochai Puli Kuzhambu | Mochai Chenakizhangu Puli Kuzhambu | Field Beans Gravy with Elephant Yam

This post is in my drafts for over an year now :D Now don't go 'Ohh my' so fast.. I have some more drafts that dates back to 3 years as well ;) Sometimes I feel the pic is not good, sometimes I feel the recipe is not up to the mark, maybe the measurements need a lil more fine tuning ;) So whatever the reason maybe, I am working on it and at the earliest planning to clean my drafts. Either rectify the issues or discard the draft and start fresh. Let's see how great it goes :)

So today's recipe is one with fresh field beans. I was very skeptical about cooking with this bean as it was the first time I was seeing the fresh variety though I have had the dried bean so many times during my childhood days :) But my mom convinced me (over phone) that they too taste great if made into a puli kuzhambu (tangy gravy with tamarind) with elephant yam.. And I didn't think twice. I had the yam too handy.. So went ahead and made this lip smacking gravy. It is easy to prepare and uses the pantry staples. Do try if you get hold of some fresh field beans and let me know how you liked it :)  

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

I Used:

Green Mochai/Green Field Beans	-	⅓ cup
Chenai/Yam (diced)	-	½ cup
Onion (sliced)	-	1 medium sized
Tomato (quartered)	-	1 medium sized
Red Chilly powder	-	3 tsp
Coriander powder	-	3 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Asafoetida	-	½ tsp
Tamarind	-	A small lemon sized
Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Salt	-	As Needed

To Temper:

Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard seeds	-	¼ tsp
Curry leaves	-	2 sprigs

The Way:

1. Soak tamarind in ½ cup warm water for 20-30 minutes. Then extract the pulp and keep aside

2. Remove the mochai (field beans) from the pods just like you de-shell the green peas

3. Grind the coconut in a mixer jar along with little water to a smooth paste and set aside

4. Clean and cut the yam into 2 inch cubes. Also slice the onions and chop the tomato into 8 pieces

5. Now take the field beans, cut yam, sliced onions and cut tomatoes in a kadai or clay pot that you are going to use to make the gravy

6. Add red chilly powder, coriander powder (or sambar powder - refer notes), turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt. Add 1 cup of water as well

7. Mix together and switch on the flame. Allow it to boil and then lower the flame and cook it covered for 5 minutes

8. Now open the lid and add the tamarind juice. Allow it to get cooked in low or medium flame. This will take around 10-12 minutes

9. When the beans and yam are cooked, add the ground coconut to the gravy and mix well

10. Allow it to blend in the gravy and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Once the gravy has reached the desired consistency and the flavours have mixed in well, switch off the flame

11. In a tadka pan, heat oil. Splutter mustard

12. Add the curry leaves and switch off the flame. Add this tempering to the gravy and mix well

Serve with steamed rice and a stir fry of your choice.

Notes:

• Instead of red chilly powder and coriander powder you can add 2-3 tbsp of sambar powder. It will be more flavourful. Or you can add 2 tbsp of sambar powder, 2 tsp of red chilly powder and 2 tsp of coriander powder as well

• While grinding coconut, you can add a tsp of fennel seeds or poppy seeds as well. If then take care to boil the gravy well so that you do not get the raw smell of the fennel seeds 

• If yam is not available you can try with raw banana/plantain as well or maybe skip yam altogether. But yam does impart a earthy flavour to the tangy gravy. Do not skip if you can get hold of some

Cheers,
Chitz

Chena Upperi | Chena Mezhukkupuratti | Kerala Style Elephant Yam Stir Fry

Do you like recipes that are ready in a jiffy or do you love elaborate cooking process and the satisfaction that you get from it? I do love elaborate cooking but i'm quite lazy nowadays ! So ready in a jiffy seems to be doing great in my vocabulary for now :D Maybe the effects of running day long behind my toddler ;) Well, anyways there was a stage in my cooking days where I was scared of dishes that used minimal ingredients.. You know, you have to get the dish right with those limited number of spices or ingredients. And the actual taste lies in using those ingredients subtly ! Well, I wouldn't say I am completely past that phase but I'm way better from where I started :) 

And talking about ready in a jiffy and minimal ingredients, this recipe does justice to both those terms. We use pretty much the same process for many of the stir fries like this yam, raw banana, chinese potato, potato and likes.. It is a fast recipe and elephant yam (chena) can actually make you feel better on days when you do not eat non-veg right? So as I would like my non veg roasts, I serve this stir fry also with some moru curry and pappad :) So check out the recipe and thank me later for saving your time packing lunches on a busy morning :)

Recipe Source: Mil

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 3-4 persons 

I Used:

Chena/Elephant Yam	-	1 cup heaped (after cutting to cubes)
Salt	-	As Needed
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Coconut Oil	-	2-3 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Curry Leaves	-	2-3 sprigs

To Coarsely Grind:

Shallots	-	10 nos
Garlic	-	5 medium sized pods
Red Chilly	-	2 nos

The Way:

1. Clean chena/elephant yam by removing the outer skin and rinsing it well in water. Then cut them into bite size cubes (1 or 1/2 inch according to your preference)

2. Pressure cook them long with salt, turmeric powder and a little water (less than 1/4 cup) for 1 or 2 whistles till cooked. Do not keep for more than 2 whistles else it will become mushy. Good variety of yam gets cooked in 1 whistle

3. While the yam is cooking, take grated coconut, shallots, red chilly and garlic in a mixer jar and give a coarse blend. 3-4 pulses is sufficient. Do not grind to a smooth paste

4. Now take coconut oil in a kadai/pan. Splutter mustard. Then add curry leaves

5. Then add the coarsely ground coconut - shallot paste. Saute for 3-4 minutes till it's cooked and the raw smell of the garlic and shallots goes off

6. Now add the cooked chena/yam and give a gentle stir. Allow it to simmer for another 3-4 minutes till it's mixed well. Then remove from fire and serve

Serve with red rice, moru curry and pappad!

Cheers,

Chitz

Kerala Style Aviyal Recipe | How to make Kerala Avial | Onam Sadhya Recipe Aviyal

Aviyal.. The word literally translates to concotion or a mixture of different things! That's what this dish is also all about. It is a beautiful collection of different veggies cooked together along with curd and coconut. And it is a potpourri of all different kinds of taste like salt, sour, sweet and bitter.. Curd gives the sourness and a little bit of bitter gourd gives the bitterness. 

According to Wikipedia, the origin of Aviyal is 

'It is supposed to have been invented by Bhima (one of the Pandava brothers) during their exile. According to the legend, when Ballav (Bhima's name during this time) assumed his duties as the cook in the kitchen of Virata, he did not know how to cook. One of the first things he did was to chop up many different vegetables, boil them together and top the dish with grated coconut. There are mythological variations. Bheema is said to have prepared Avial, when there were unexpected guests for King Virata and he needed to serve meals for them. There was no sufficient vegetables to cook any single recipe for side dish, so Bheema used what ever available vegetables to make a new dish, which came to be known as Avial'

Different parts of Kerala cook this dish in a slightly different manner from one another. Some use cumin seeds while some don't. Some cook the veggies in curd whereas some add curd in the end. My version of this recipe is from my MIL who makes them in Malabar (to be exact, Nilambur) style. I am specifically saying that coz the Calicut version (which is just a 1.5 hour drive from Nilambur) has an entirely different taste ! And my fussy eater (when it comes to veggies) hubby doesn't seem to like any other version other than this ;) But I must confess, that this is one of the best aviyals that I have had as well. I have lived in many places in Kerala like Trivandrum, Kollam, Kottayam, Kochi, so I can very well vouch for this version ! And this is one dish that I actually look forward to whenever I visit Kerala :) 

The key and the time consuming part of making this dish is cutting the veggies. All the veggies should be cut to equal lengths. And make it as thin as you can so that it cooks faster and blends in well ! During Onam, it seems that it was Deeps' duty to cut these veggies to perfection. And this is done on the night before Thiruvonam. Veggies are cut and kept ready for cooking the next day so that it is easier to finish off that big list of dishes for the Sadhya.. So let's move on to see how this lipsmacking traditional Kerala style aviyal is made !

Serves: 5-6 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Ash Gourd/Kumbalanga	-	Around 200 gm
Drumstick/Murungakya	-	2 medum sized
Elephant Yam/Chena	-	Around 100 gm
Kaya/Raw Banana	-	1 medum sized
Carrot	-	1 medum sized
Bitter Gourd/Pavakka	-	A quarter of a medium sized one
Long Beans/Payar	-	Around 10 nos
Curd	-	½ - ¾ cup
Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp
Curry Leaves	-	A sprig

To Grind:

Coconut	-        ¾	cup
Green Chilly	-	2 nos
Curry leaves	-	2 sprigs

The Way:

1. Cut all veggies into thin slices lengthwise of approximately 2 inches of length. All the veggies should be cut to the same length. The thinner the better. It will get cooked faster

2. Now take all the cut veggies in a wide pan or uruli if using one. Add salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder and little water (approximately 1/4 cup) give a gentle stir

3. Allow it to come to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, reduce the flame and cover the pan and cook till the veggies are almost done. The yam and long beans take the longest time to cook. So the test is to check if they are cooked

4. Meanwhile grind together grated coconut, green chillies and curry leaves in a blender. Do not add water. It should not become smooth. 3-4 pulses should be enough

5. Now add whisked curd. Whisk the curd once using a whisk or give a quick pulse in mixie. If the curd has lumps it will be difficult to get it blended with the veggies

6. Cook uncovered till there is on water content. Now add the ground coconut and give a quick gentle stir. Leave for about a minute or two

7. Now add the coconut oil and curry leaves and give a gentle stir. Aviyal is ready to be served

Notes:

• The curd should be really sour. That gives the needed tanginess for the aviyal

• Do not add more curd as the aviyal will turn watery and the veggies will get over cooked then and turn into a mash. Key is to use really sour curd so that less quantity would be sufficient

• Add very little bitter gourd else the dish will turn out very bitter

• Add little water to cook as you do not want the veggies to be over cooked and become mushy

Cheers,
Chitz