Suran Fry – Navratri Special

Yam Fry for Fasting Days

Suran / Elephant’s Foot Yam / Jimi Kand is a nutritious tuber widely consumed throughout India. It is one of the few vegetables allowed to be consumed during fasts like Navratri and Shivratri. There are a number of dishes that can be prepared using Suran to add variety to your fasting menu.

I’m sharing a simple Suran Fry recipe that required only 6 ingredients and is really simple to make. The recipe uses steamed Suran. You can steam a large batch of Suran and refrigerate it, in an airtight container, to further simplify and quicken the process. Steamed Suran stays good in the fridge for upto a week. Bring it to room temperature before panfrying it to make this declisiously simple Suran Fry.

Suran Fry is ideal as a tasty and filling snack. It can also be served as a side along with a meal.

Ingredients:

• Suran / Yam / Jimikand – 1 small tuber, about 750g
• Lemon juice – 4 to 5 tsp
• Sesame seeds – 1 Tbsp
• Crushed black pepper – 1.5 tsp (or to taste)
• Rock salt – ½ tsp + to taste
• Oil – 4 Tbsp

Method:

1. Cut suran into large chunks and peel them.
2. Dice the Suran into 1” to 1.5” cubes. Do not make the pieces too small or they will get mushy upon cooking.
3. Suran can make your hands itch. To prevent this, use gloves or grease your hands will oil before cutting it.
4. Wash diced Suran properly.
5. In a bowl take about 2 cups of water, add 2 tsp lemon juice and ½ tsp rock salt. Mix well.
6. Soak diced Suran in this water for about 15 minutes. Eating Suran can cause an itchy throat. Soaking it in lemon water prevents this. You can also use buttermilk or tamarind water instead of lemon water.
7. Strain the Suran and keep aside.
8. In a pot or streamer bring some water to a rolling boil.
9. Arrange a steamer basket or a colander on top of the pot / streamer. Spread Suran on it. Cover and steam on medium heat till Suran softens. It won’t take long. It should be ready in about 5 -6 minutes.
10. Suran should just get soft and almost cooked. It should not get mushy and the pieces should hold the shape well. You can keep checking in between to make sure that it doesn’t get over steamed.
11. Turn off the heat and let the Suran sit in the steamer while you prepare for the next step.
12. If you’re steaming Suran ahead of time or in a large batch, let it cool down completely and then refrigerate in an airtight container.
13. Heat oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan. Heavy bottomed pan will prevent the suran from burning and it will cook evenly.
14. Spread the oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
15. Add steamed Suran to it.
16. Do not stir.
17. Let it cook on medium-high heat for about 3 – 4 minutes.
18. Now stir it well. You will notice that Suran has already started getting golden and crispy around the edges.
19. Add salt and black pepper.
20. Mix well and spread the Suran pieces evenly in the pan so that they cook evenly and get crispy from all sides.
21. Keep the heat medium-high and stir the Suran every 2 – 3 minutes.
22. It will take about 10 minutes for Suran to get golden brown and evenly crispy.
23. When Suran is ready, add sesame seeds and mix well.
24. Cook for about a minute so that the sesame seeds do not taste raw.
25. Turn off the heat.
26. Add 2 tsp (or to taste) lemon juice and mix well.
27. Serve immediately

Recipe video: