Senai Kizhangu Fry | Yam Fry

Today I am sharing a simple recipe for Yam Fry (Senai Kizhangu Fry). It is one of my favorite vegetable since childhood. It was only after marriage I came to know that this vegetable is also know as Karunai Kizhangu. In English this is called as Elephant foot yam or just as elephant yam. My mom makes different recipes with this yam but the one I love the most is deep fried yam seasoned with salt and chilli powder. Whenever she makes this I would finish my food without any complaints. I tried to recreate the taste of it in this recipe without actually deep frying it. My kids loved this too. 

What are the ingredients needed?

Senai kizhangu / Elephant yam, 250 gm
Oil, 2 Tablespoon plus more as needed
Mustard seeds, 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves, 1 sprig
Split Urad dal, 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder, 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

How to make Senai kizhangu fry?

1. Peel the skin the yam. Wash well and then cut it into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottomed non stick pan, add mustard seeds and when they crack, add urad dal and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
3. Then add turmeric, chilli powder and turmeric powder to this and mix well. 
4. Now to this add the chopped yams along with required salt, mix well and about 1/4 cup of water. Reduce the heat and cook keeping it covered till it is the yam is cooked. Take care it does not get overcooked and turns soft.
5. Then open the lid, increase the heat and saute till all the sides of the yam cubes are crispy. If needed add another Tablespoon of oil now. But be there to mix it scrapping the bottom of the pan, so that it gets crispy evenly and not get burnt.
6. Turn it off and serve it warm.

Tips:

• You can steam the yam till it is half cooked and then add too.
• Using non stick pan will help in the frying process and does not need much oil too.If using an ordinary pan, make sure you add more oil to get the desired result.
• Instead of adding chilli powder and coriander powder, if you have ready stock of home made Sambar powder, you can add 1.5 Tablespoon of it too. It will be more flavorful.