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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Koorkka Mezhukkupuratti / Stir Fry

This tuber produce is known as koorkka in Malayalam and if I am not wrong, known as Chinese potato that is available in asian stores. Now a days you get to see bigger sized koorkka, that are grown with fertilizers to make them bigger. Originally they were small in size and small ones tend to me more tasty.
Cleaning koorkka is bit tedious, if you have to clean a whole lot of them. After a long time, being back in India, I get to prepare some fresh koorkka. I had a bag full of koorkka to clean, which was covered with dirt. So I rinse off the dirt and just then get to know from my MIL that, putting these in a gunny bag, tying the bag loosely, then beat or toss the bag on a hard surface gently will help remove the skin off. Which really makes the hard part of cleaning so easy.
You don’t have to rinse the koorkka, if you are going to use gunny bag. Put it in dry. Take tossed koorkka out of the gunny bag and rinse off the dirt well. Scrap off any skin remaining on the koorkka.
Soak the cleaned koorkka in water, since oxidization will turn the koorkka brown. Another thing to keep in mind when cleaning koorkka is to use a gloves to avoid hands getting strained. Now this is a very simple recipe and the end result is a delicious koorkka mezhukkupuratti / stir fry.

Ingredients

4 cups – Koorkka, cleaned ( about 1 kilo )
2 tbsp - Garlic, coarsely crushed ( about 15 big flakes )
½ cup – Shallots, coarsely crushed
1 tbsp - Red chili flakes
¼ tsp – Turmeric powder
2.5 cup – Water
Salt to taste

Seasoning

1.5 to 2 tsp – Mustard seeds
3 to 4 sprigs – Curry leaves
3 tbsp – Coconut oil

Method

1 ) Quarter koorkka to small pieces. Use a mortar and pestle to crush garlic and shallots. Or chop very finely.

2 ) Heat a kadai or wok with 3 tbsp coconut oil, on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and pop it. Then add shallots, curry leaves and fry lightly for a second. Then add garlic and fry lightly just till garlic looses the raw smell. Don’t brown the garlic. Then add turmeric powder and chili flakes. Stir and fry till you get a good aroma of the powders fried on a low flame. Add salt to taste and stir in.

3 ) Add koorkka stir and mix in well. On medium heat, stir and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, so that the spices are infused into the koorkka. Then add 2.5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the flame to the minimum. Cover with a tight lid and cook till koorkka is cooked and soft. Check in between to see if the koorkka is well cooked and soft. Once soft, take off the lid and dry off any excess water on high flame.


Serve as a side dish with rice or roti.

21 comments:

Willie said...

Nice food i,m hungry now, keep it going.

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amna said...

its been ages since i had koorka. miss it :(

Unknown said...

nice entry.. is it Arvi(seppankizhangu)???

Kalai said...

Awesome stir fry, Pravs! Looks delicious, girl! Thanks for the sweet words on my blog. Will see you when I get back from vacation. :)

Pravs said...

Willie : Thanks.

Nags : Oh dear ! :)

Srikars : No, its not arvi. Not sure of the english name for this tuber.

Kalai : Thanks kalai. Have a great time :)

Suganya said...

Koorka sounds new to me. Ur dish looks so good. Nice recipe. YUM!. Nice click....

Mallika said...

I'm interested to know what it's called in English. Looks v tasty.

Anonymous said...

oops,everywhere its koorka? even then it makes me drool..yummy picture pravs

Anonymous said...

looks delicious... i had it last time when i to india... can u tell me where i can get it in US..

Anonymous said...

Hi pravs..
Koorkka mehzhukku adipoli..i love this dish ...
love
veena

M.H. said...

this is simple and nice.. i love potatoes!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...looks yummy! I have to google to find out what koorka means :)

Purnima said...

Hey Pravs, thats a yummy koorka dish! I get fresh koorka here, once a week in shops, so would try this as well! Very yum!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO U n YOURS! :D Have a great year ahead!

Anonymous said...

Hi Pravs,this is Ann again..I was just surfing through all your posts..Its awesome yaar..All the photographs,write ups,recipes altogether,you have an amazing work..Sincere and dedicated..Loved the spirit and now its my favourite blog.Keep the good work on and have a more wonderful 2009 Blogging..

Pravs said...

Sunkanya : koorkka is the malayalam name for this tuber. I think it is called chinese potato in english. Very popular in kerala. Do try if you can find this tuber.

Mallika : I think its called chinese potato in english.do try if you can find this.

Ann : Thank you so much for the kind words. Very encouraging and movitating indeed. Good wishes to you too.

Sindu : Please check in freezer section in asian stores.

Veena : Thanks :) There is no need to say anything further to a keralite about koorkka, right. ?:)

Mf : Taste of the tuber when cooked is amazing. Do try if you can get it.

Homecooked : I am not sure how common this tuber is outside kerala. I am sure you will get more info when you google.

Purnima : Thank you :) wishing you and yours too a good year ahead.

Joie de vivre said...

I have never heard of this tuber before but your dish looks wonderful!

Suganya said...

Happy New Year!!!!.....

Aathira Nair said...

My first time here, was searching for a chicken pickle recipe, found it

This looks amazing. Just that I was wondering, what if you cook the koorka and then de-skin it? Does that also work here?

I find the removing of the skin painful, so I have tried this, though it is slightly sticky after the boiling and peeling.

Pravs said...

Aathira : I have not tried.. boiling and then de-skinning. Using gunny bag is very helpful. Most of the skin is removed by this method.

Rekha said...

The english name for Koorkka is "Chineese Potato"

Reflections said...

I make this the same way like u except tht I add coconut pieces[the same size like in beef curry].
Its really tasty.

Ur pictures are really good:-))!!!