Koorka Upperi | Kurka Ularthiyathu | Kerala Style Koorka (Chinese Potato) Stir fry

I know that this is not the season for Koorka (Chinese Potato). But I so love them that I have been dreaming about them for the past couple of days :D They are very tasty but slightly difficult to clean ! To know more about them read my Koorka Thoran post. You can actually call this a cousin of potato. But I feel it's more tastier than potato coz of the fibrous feel in that every bite :) I know I'm praising this tuber too much but if you can get past the cleaning and make this stir fry you wouldn't think twice to agree with me ;) And today's recipe is an easy stir fry with koorka and that also without coconut. My family is little partial to Koorka Thoran which is with coconut. But this also tastes excellent. Pair it with moru curry or moru kachiyathu and a non veg ularthiyathu or just some hot pickle, you will definitely go for that extra helping of rice :D So let's dive into the recipe!

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Recipe source : Amma

Serves : 4 persons

I Used:

Koorka	-	250 gm (around 2 cups after slicing)
Coconut Oil	-	3 tbsp
Mustard	-	1 tsp
Curry leaves	-	2 sprig
Shallots/Small Onions	-	10 nos
Red Chilly	-	2 nos
Garlic Turmeric powder Salt	- - -	5 nos  ¼ tsp As Needed

The Way:

1. Soak the koorka/chinese potato in water for half an hour to one hour. Then scrape the skin off it using a knife. Alternately you can pressure cook the koorka for 1 whistle and then peel the skin off like you do for a potato. Or there is a third method that is predominantly followed in many Kerala families, you take the koorka in a jute or sack or a gunny bag and hit the bag gently on the floor repeatedly. After a while you can see that the koorka skin comes off easily

2. Once the skin is removed completely, rinse them again in water. Then chop them or slice them, as you prefer, to bite sized pieces

3. Take 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. Heat coconut oil in a pan/kadai. Splutter mustard 

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

6. Then add turmeric powder and salt. And then add the curry leaves

7. Now add the koorka and give a stir. Allow it to cook in low flame with the lid of the pan closed. This will take around 15 minutes or so. In between remove the lid and give an occasional stir so that it does not get burnt 

8. If needed sprinkle water. Do not add more water as the koorka will turn soggy. Once cooked, remove from fire and serve

Serve with red rice, moru curry and pappad!

Notes:

• There are a few ways in which you can clean koorka like
• Soak the koorka/chinese potato in water for half an hour to one hour. Then scrape the skin off it using a knife. 
• Pressure cook the koorka for 1 whistle and then peel the skin off like you do for a potato
• This method is predominantly followed in many Kerala families, you take the koorka in a jute or sack or a gunny bag and hit the bag gently on the floor repeatedly. After a while you can see that the koorka skin comes off easily
• Always if possible, parboil the koorka, drain off the excess water and use it. Or cook the koorka normally like potato as detailed in this recipe. Pressure cooking the koorka reduces it's taste. It tastes much better while cooked normally 
• I have used lesser quantity of garlic here as my family prefers it that way. If you like the flavour more then you can add more

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

Vazhapindi Upperi | Unnipindi Mezhukkupuratti | Banana Stem Stir Fry | Plantain Stem Stir Fry | Vazhaithandu Poriyal (without coconut)

Is vazhapindi a veggie that you like? I like it the most in sambar.. Ehh, u didn't know that you can add them in sambar? You sure can.. Cut them into round disks and add them in sambar just like you add radish.. Once it is cooked and soaked well in the sambar it justs tastes yum :) I know you will thank me for it once you have made and tasted it ;) I have already posted a kootu recipe from vazhathandu here, so today it's an easy upperi or stir fry from Kerala that can be made ready in a jiffy. It tastes really well with rice and a tangy gravy.. So let's see how it can be done. 

Recipe Source: Mil

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 50 minutes

Serves : 4 persons 

I Used:

Banana Stem/Vazathandu/Unnipindi	-	1 ½ cup (after chopping)
Coconut Oil	-	2 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Red Rice/Kuthari	-	3 tbsp
Re Chilly	-	2 nos
Curry Leaves	-	2 sprigs
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Clean the plantain stem/vazhaithandu by removing the outer rings till you reach the hard core central pith. Then slice them into 1/4 inch thick round disks. There will be fibre surrounding the disks, remove and discard them. now chop the round disks into small cubes an keep them immersed in water or preferably buttermilk (so as to retain the colour of the stem) 

2. Now take the chopped stem along with salt, turmeric powder and a 1/4 cup of water in a pressure cooker and cook them for 3-4 whistles in medium flame. If it is a good variety stem it will get cooked well else will take longer. See if it becomes soft and is cooked after 3-4 whistles, if not cook again till done. Alternately you can cook them in a pan also. If then refer step 5

3. Once the stem is cooked, heat the coconut oil in a pan. Splutter mustard

4. Add the red rice and broken red chillies. Saute on low flame for 3-4 minutes till the rice starts popping. Add the curry leaves

5. Finally add the cooked stem along with water if any. Give a nice stir and allow the water to dry. If you are not pressure cooking the stem, add them now with enough water (1/4 -1/2 cup) and allow it to cook covered over medium flame for 15-20 minutes. Cook till it is done and becomes soft and transparent. Also it should become dry

Switch off the flame and serve with red rice (or white) and a tangy gravy like puli kuzhambu or fish gravy!

Cheers,

Chitz

Koorka Thoran | Kerala Style Kurka Thoran | Chinese Potato Stir Fry

Many of you might not know this veggie or tuber vegetable 'Koorka'. This is a well know veggie in Kerala and is a winter vegetable. You find it mostly during the months of November, December. The best translation that Google could find me was 'Chinese potatoes'.. Don't ask me why or how, I just don't know :D All I know is that it's a very tasty veggie and is a family favourite and slightly difficult to clean ;) But don't lose heart. It's worth the effort as it tastes really yum :) 

It looks very similar to Arbi (taro root) but not slimy like it.. Since it's small and has different small twists and turns like ginger and hence cleaning or scraping it's skin is a little tedious. You can make a thoran (stir fry with coconut) or a upperi/mezhukkupuratti (stir fry without coconut). Both tastes awesome but we are slightly partial to thoran.. I will post both recipes here.. And today I'm posting the thoran, and you guessed it right :D

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Recipe source : Ma

Serves : 4 persons

I Used:

Koorka	-	250 gm (around 2 cups after slicing)
Coconut Oil	-	3 tbsp
Mustard	-	1 tsp
Curry leaves	-	2 sprig
Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Shallots/Small Onions	-	10 nos
Red Chilly	-	2 nos
Garlic	-	5 nos

The Way:

1. Soak the koorka/chinese potato in water for half an hour to one hour. Then scrape the skin off it using a knife. Alternately you can pressure cook the koorka for 1 whistle and then peel the skin off like you do for a potato. Or there is a third method that is predominantly followed in many Kerala families, you take the koorka in a jute or sack or a gunny bag and hit the bag gently on the floor repeatedly. After a while you can see that the koorka skin comes off easily

2. Once the skin is removed completely, rinse them again in water. Then chop them or slice them, as you prefer, to bite sized pieces

3. Take the sliced koorka in a kadai or pan. Add salt and turmeric powder along with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water and cook them till done. It takes about 10-12 minutes. You can touch and see to see if it's cooked. You should get a similar feel like that of cooked potato. Once done, drain off the excess water and keep the koorka aside. If you had pressure cooked the koorka in the first step then omit this step

4. While the koorka 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

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

6. 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

7. Now add the cooked koorka 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!

Notes:

• There are a few ways in which you can clean koorka like
• Soak the koorka/chinese potato in water for half an hour to one hour. Then scrape the skin off it using a knife. 
• Pressure cook the koorka for 1 whistle and then peel the skin off like you do for a potato
• This method is predominantly followed in many Kerala families, you take the koorka in a jute or sack or a gunny bag and hit the bag gently on the floor repeatedly. After a while you can see that the koorka skin comes off easily
• Always if possible, parboil the koorka, drain off the excess water and use it. Pressure cooking the koorka reduces it's taste. It tastes much better while cooked normally 
• I have used lesser quantity of garlic here as my family prefers it that way. If you like the flavour more then you can add more

Cheers,
Chitz

Beetroot Thoran Recipe | Onam Sadya Recipes | Kerala Beetroot Thoran | Beetroot Poriyal

Beetroot sauteed (stir fried) with pounded coconut-shallot and Indian tempering

With Vishu around the corner, I thought I will post some Sadhya recipes. And so here is the first among the series, a simple thoran with beetroot. I love making sadhyas, but never get an opportunity to make a full fledged one as we will always be at Deeps' hometown and there the seniors take care of that.. We are expected to cut some veggies or just give company ;) Actually with proper planning, making a full fledged Sadhya is an easy job and rather an enjoyable one ! To read more on thoran, check out my Beans Thoran recipe.

Other Sadhya recipes:

Beans Thoran

Cabbage Thoran

Mathanga Erissery

Mathan Erissery | Mathan Vanpayar Erissery

Mampazha Pachadi | Pazhutha Manga Pachadi

Mambazha Pulissery | Mambazha Kaalan

Chembu Kumbalanga Moru Kootan | Taro-Ash Gourd Pulissery

Pulissery | Kachiya Moru | Mor Kuzhambu
Sambar | Kerala Style Varutharacha Sambar with no Coconut

Homemade Ada for Adapradhaman

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

I Used:

Beetroot	-	2 nos (medium sized - diced)
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Red Chilly powder Salt	- -	2 tsp As needed

To Temper:

Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Curry leaves	-	A sprig

To Pulse:

Coconut	-	3 tbsp
Shallots/Small Onion	-	2 no
Garlic	-	1 pod
Cumin Seeds	-	¼ tsp

The Way:

1. Peel the skin of the beetroot. Rinse them nicely in water. Then dice them into small bite sized pieces (like really small cubes) (Refer notes)

2. In a vessel, add the chopped beans along with ¼ tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp (refer notes) red chilly powder, salt and 2 tbsp of water (optional, you can also omit water and allow it to cook in the steam of the pressure) 

3. Now pressure cook the beetroot in medium flame for 2 whistles. You can use double boil method as I have done. Take some water (around 2 cups) in a pressure cooker and keep the plate in the cooker and on top of that keep the vessel with the beets. Else you can directly add the beetroot in the pressure cooker and cook

4. Coarsely pulse together the ingredients under 'To Pulse' in mixie without adding water. Do not grind to a smooth paste. Just 3-4 pulse until all the ingredients get crushed and mixed well would be sufficient.

5. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard seeds. Then add the curry leaves

6. Now add the boiled beetroot and give a quick stir

7. Then add the ground coconut paste and saute for another minute or two till the raw smell goes off. Switch off the flame and serve with a gravy of your choice

Serve along with brown rice, Sambar and pappad or as a side dish in your Onam Sadhya :)

Notes:

• You can also grate the beets instead of dicing. In that case no need to pressure cook them. Once the tempering is done add the grated beets along with turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt and cook it closed for 5-6 minutes or till done

• Adjust red chilly powder according to the sweetness of the beets. If you are unsure of how much to add while pressure cooking them, you can add it at a later point, while tempering as well 

Cheers,
Chitz

Easy Capsicum Sabzi for Chapathi | Capsicum Stirfry | Kudamilagai Poriyal

I have been cooking and trying some really good recipes and bakes for a while now. But Dhruv and my Cuemath classes keeps me busy and away from the blog for a long while. I do regret that but when I think of the beautiful times and memories I'm making with Dhruv, I feel that's ok :) This time can never be retrieved and I do not want to regret that in my future. You do agree with me on that right :) 

So, you all know that I try on a lot of veggies and mostly sticky to 'easy to make' and 'tasty ones'! And in that regard, this is a very easy stir fry with capsicum and tastes absolutely awesome with phulkas or rotis. It is a bit sweet as sugar is added to retain the color of the capsicum. You can omit it if you do not like that taste. Easy to make and even one who doesn't eat capsicum is sure to like this simple sabzi :)

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

Capsicum	-	1 no (medium - big sized)
Onion	-	1 no (medium sized)
Oil	-	2 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Cumin Seeds	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Sugar	-	½ tsp
Soya sauce (optional)	-	½ tsp (substitute with lemon juice if need)
Salt	-	As needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the capsicum in water and cut them into two. De-seed the capsicum and remove the white inner portion (optional). Then cut the capsicum into cubes. Also cut the onion into cubes

2. In a pan heat oil. Splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Take care not to burn the cumin seeds

3. Add the cubed onions and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes till they turn transparent

4. Now add the red chilly powder and turmeric powder and saute for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of goes off

5. Now add the capsicum and saute. Leave it for a minute or two. 

6. Then add the sugar and give a nice stir. 

7. Close the pan and cook till the capsicum is done (another minute or so). It will not take long for the capsicum to cook. It is better to leave it crunchy as the flavor and taste is best then

8. Before switching off the flame, add the soya sauce (can substitute with lemon juice) and give a quick stir. The sabzi is ready to be devoured !

Cheers,
Chitz

Turnip Stir fry | Noolkol Poriyal | Madhuramullangi Thoran

Turnips & Shallots stir-fried & served with coconut dressing

Turnips, I seriously am not sure what they are called in Tamil or Malayalam or any other Indian language for that matter :D When I asked my mom she said, 'It's Nukal na??' But somewhere else I read Nookal is actually called 'Kohlrabi' in English & it means German Turnip. When I asked my fellow bloggers in FB, Sangeetha, Nithya & Princy also told me it's Madhuramullangi in Malayalam & Nookal in Tamil. Anyways, the turnips that I got here does not exactly resemble the one that we get in India. This is white in color & does not have those antennae-like shoots from the bulb. Rather the bulbs are smooth & round and they have the leafy extensions from the top of the bulb (like in carrots). 

So putting aside the confusion on the name, I went ahead & prepared it just like how mom makes the Nukal poriyal. It tasted almost the same as the original Nukal that we get back in India. So do not hesitate to try them out as they are very low in calories & also rich in Vitamin C & dietary fiber. Moreover it is a very easy & simple recipe to prepare. 

Recipe Source: Ma

I Took: 30 minutes

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Used:

Turnips	-	1 cup - diced
Shallots	-	8-10 no - sliced
Grated Coconut	-	3 tbsp
Mustard	-	1 tsp
Red Chilly	-	2 no
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Oil	-	1 tbsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Peel the skin of the turnips & rinse them thoroughly. Dice into small cubes
2. Boil the diced turnips along with salt & turmeric powder (optional). Avoid turmeric powder if you want to retain the yellow color 
3. In a frying pan, heat oil. Splutter the mustard seeds. Add red chilly & the sliced shallots
4. Saute them for a while until they turn slight brown. Add the curry leaves & the boiled turnips. Mix well
5. Allow them to become dry. Add the grated coconut & give it a nice stir. Switch off the flame & serve

Cheers,

Chitz