Koorka Two Ways - 2 Recipes, 1 Post

Ok, I don't know how to explain koorka to you guys. The best translation for this vegetable I saw on the Internet was Chinese Potatoes. I have no idea if this is even available in China. As far as I know, in India, you get this only in Kerala. I never used to give it much thought while there but I cannot explain how I felt the moment I saw this packet at Mustafa in Singapore. It was labeled 'poor yam' and it was hard to figure out exactly what it was since it was packed and I couldn't see inside clearly.

They call it poor yam but it's not really cheap!

TH thought it was 'cheppan kizhangu' or arbi (not sure of the english name for this) and since he loves stir-fried arbi, he encouraged me to buy it. I instinctively knew it was koorka but I didn't whoop with joy until I came home, scratched some skin off the vegetable and smelled it :D

Hairy, aren't they?

Koorka is a hairy tuber that looks similar to arbi but doesn't have that slimy feel to it when chopped. It also doesn't make your hands itch like elephant yam / chena does.

Preparing it to cook, however, was a pain. My mom had warned me about this when I excitedly told her I found koorka in the supermarket but I didn't think it will be this bad. Maybe I didn't choose the easiest method to do this.

This process was a pain in all the wrong places!

There are three ways you can prep koorka for cooking:

(a) pressure cook it for one whistle and peel it like you would potatoes.

(b) put it in a sack or jute bag and beat it on the floor till the skin peels off. I know this sounds weird but in Kerala, most households follow this method, apparently. I am guessing the koorka needs to be really fresh for you to be able to do this.

(c) Use a knife to scrape off the skin.

I followed option c. Pressure cooking it removes the flavour a tad bit and I didn't want the final dishes to be anything less than delicious. I regretted this after scraping about 10 koorkas and had a gazillion more to go! I got TH to help me and he did after I swore it won't irritate his palms like elephant yam does. Sheesh, touchy man, my husband.

Anyway, once I got all of them peeled, I felt much better. The worst was over. Since I couldn't decide between a thoran and a mezhukkupuratti, I made both :)

Par-boiled koorka

Before you decide to make anything with koorka, its a good idea to boil it in some water until half cooked and let it drain.

Recipe For Koorka Thoran

What I Used:

Par-boiled koorka - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 1/3 cup
Green chillies - 2
Shallots - 4
Cumin / jeera / jeerakam - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Urad dal / uzhunnu parippu - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Oil - 2 tsp (use coconut oil for a more authentic taste)
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add the urad dal and fry until golden brown.

2. Grind together the coconut, green chillies, jeera, turmeric and shallots. Add this to the fried urad dal. Stir around for about 10 seconds.

3. Next add the boiled koorka, curry leaves and salt. Mix well and let it cook for another 2-3 mins.

Recipe For Koorka Mezhukkupuratti

What I Used:

Par-boiled koorka - 1 cup
Dried red chillies - 2
Garlic - 3 pods
Shallots - 2 (optional)
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp (use coconut oil and it will be yummier)
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once they pop, add the koorka and stir-fry for about 3-4 mins.

2. Crush the red chillies, garlic and shallots in a pestle and mortar if you have one. Otherwise just grind them together coarsely without water. Add this to the fried koorka with the curry leaves and the turmeric powder.

3. Fry for another 2 mins. Add salt.

Serve with rice and gravy of choice - totally worth all that skin-scraping!

The thoran and mezhukkupuratti were incredibly easy to make and tasted so good, just like how mom makes it, that one taste of these answered my question "why on earth did I waste so much time on this stupid vegetable when I could've made maggi for lunch?!".

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