Koorkankizhangu mezhukku piratti

Koorkai / koorkankizhangu mezhukkupiratti :-

Koorkai / Koorkankizhangu / Siru Kizhangu / Chinese potato / country potato :- is a very tasty seasonal root vegetable which is rich in calcium, iron and other essential vitamins. Palakkad district (kerala) is famous for cultivating this vegetable.

If you have a kerala / Tamil store in your area, you can look for it during inter season i.e. between December and March.

The peeled one will look like this :-

This is used in traditional kootu preparation and in dry dish preparation called mezhukkupiratti / mezhukuvarati / mezhukku puratti (this requires little more oil)

Cleaning this vegetable is a little messy procedure as you have to get your hands dirty. Traditionally at our house it is washed and then rubbed on a rough stone or floor to peel the skin. At home you can also use a peeler. "The amount of labour put in adds to the taste of the dish" is a saying but you need not trouble yourself anymore in cleaing it. Here is an easy tip to peeal this vegeable quickly

Let us get on to the mezhukkupiratti preparation :-

Ingredients :

1. Koorkai Kizhangu - 250 gm
2. Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
4. Turmeric powder  - 1/4 tsp
5. Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Salt to taste
7. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Procedure :-

• Wash it thoroughly to get rid of the mud and then rub it on a rough surface or peel using a peeler. Drop them in water after peeling otherwise it may turn dark.
• Dice them into small pieces and immerse in water
• Your hands may get stained like how it leaves a dark patch in your palm but apply oil and rub little salt to get rid of that stain.
• Heat a wok, add oil (traditional dish use coconut oil. You can use olive / sunflower oil too)
• Add mustard seeds. When they splutter add curry leaves. Then add the chopped koorkais
• Add Turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt to taste
• mix well
• Cover and cook while stirring in between till they turn tender and gets roasted nicely.

(I used less oil hence i didn't roast them but just cooked them till tender.)

• Delicious and aromatic koorkai mezhukkupiratti is ready to go with rice dishes. It tastes best with morkootan / morkozhambu and curd rice.

Padi kolam - 12 / naalu moolai kolam

Traditional padi kolam design no.12