Elephant Foot Yams can be used to prepare a variety of dishes like yam roast, masiyal, kootu, chutney, kababs, cutlets etc. It is know as Suran in Hindi, Senai Kizhangu in Tamil and Chena in Malayalam. The highest consumption of the elephant foot yam is in Africa, followed by some Asian countries such as India. Let us see a few health benefits of elephant foot yam before going to the recipe. Yam is high in fiber and is considered to be a healthy low-fat food. So it is said to promote weight loss. It is a rich source of essential fatty acids which are known to increase the good cholesterol levels in the blood. The elephant yam is widely used in the treatment of patients suffering from piles.It is a natural cure for constipation and irregular bowel movements.Yams are also a good source of vitamin B6, it provides relief from pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) as well.Yam offers special health benefits to people with diabetes as it has a very low glycemic index. It is also a good source of potassium, magnesium and phosphorous and has traces of minerals like selenium, zinc and copper. It provides relief from hypertension as it produces cooling effect to the body. Today we will learn how to make senai kilangu varuval following this easy recipe.
Elephant Foot Yam Fry
Prep time – under 15 mins
Cook time -under 30 mins
Serves -2
Ingredients needed
Senai/elephant foot yam -1/4 kg /250 grams
Tamarind – small gooseberry sized ball or 3/4 tsp tamarind paste
Spice powder
Chilli powder -1 tsp or as needed
Coriander powder -1/2 tsp
Cumin powder -1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Kadalai mavu/besan/bengal gram flour -2 tsp
Hing – a pinch
Salt
Oil for tawa frying
Preparation
Peel the skin, wash and cut the yam into slices as shown below. It should not be too thin nor too thick. (Wear a disposable gloves or grease your hands with oil when cutting yam to prevent itching)
Soak tamarind in warm water, extract the juice and discard the pulp.If using tamarind paste, just mix it with needed water. Parboil the yam slices in tamarind water adding turmeric powder and salt.
Drain the water completely. Add all the spice powder and leave it to marinate for 15 minutes. You can adjust the spices as per your personal preferences. Since we have added salt while cooking the yam, add less while marinating.
Heat a tawa, arrange the yam slices, drizzle a tsp of oil around each yam pieces and fry both sides until golden brown. Repeat the same process for the rest of the yam slices.
Note -You can also deep fry the yam pieces if you prefer but I normally do not prefer deep frying.
I used freshly roasted cumin and coriander powder just to add flavor. It is optional.
More Elephant foot yam recipes
Health benefits references -wiki, whfood,health books
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Super recipe,I like it.Thank you
Healthy recipe and very informative post.
Hi padhu, did this fry today. I made into cubes and deep fried.it's a nice combo for rasam.loved it .
I like recipes and enjoyed to cook specially tomato chutney
yummy recipe…
Good & different one.:)
This is a very good recipe. I really did not like the taste of Yam. But, Yam cooked with this recipe, tastes great.
how many minutes do you have to parboil the yam?
Tried this today .came out well n tasted yummm..thanx for the lovely recipe
Thank you for the recipe. Please reply me that, how many minutes we have to parboil the yam?
simpler version is to add spices with two spoons oil and steam the yam in a cooker. one whistle with very very little water and cooked on low flame so that yam does not become mushy. then simply put the moist yam on a hot tava to get a nice colour. the steaming allows the spices to penetrate the yam well
So easy to make, especially for beginner. I followed each step and it turned out to be very tasty. Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful recipe
CAN THIS BE COOKED IN COOKER ?? HOW MANY WHISTLES??
If you cook in cooker, it will become mushy.
Hello Madam!
Is Senai & Karunai Kizhangu are same??
Senai kizhangu and karunai kilangu are not the same.
Tried it today. Great recipe. Thank you. 🙂
Great job! Fantastic recipes. Do keep it up.
Best wishes
Hi padhu, I made this fry and it was very delicious. I have tried many of your recipes, every recipe has come out well. Thank you.