Elephant Yam (Senai Kezhangu) Fingers

Yam is a type of tuber. Yam (Senai Kezhangu in Tamil) is also known as elephant foot yam or elephant yam. It is consumed for it’s starchy tubers and has a rough skin. Yam can be stored for few days without refrigeration. In Hindi it is known as Suran. It is dried and used as medicine for piles. Sometimes you get itching sensation while cutting yam and it is better to apply some oil in your hands before cleaning and cutting this. Variety of dishes can be prepared with yam.

Here I prepared yam fingers. My mom used to prepare yam fingers, as one of the dishes during festival days.

Serves: 4

Cooking time: 20 minutes approximately excluding yam cleaning time

Ingredients

• Yam – 250 gm (cut into 2 to 2½ inch long thin strips)
• Corn flour – 1 tea spoon
• Red chilli powder – 1 tea spoon
• Turmeric powder – pinch
• Curry leaves – few
• Salt – as per taste
• Cooking oil – to deep fry yam

Method

Step 1

• Apply some oil in your hands and wash yam 2 to 3 times to remove soil; peel, cut it into strips; toss corn flour over it and keep for 5 minutes.

Step 2

• Deep fry it in low flame till crisp; put it in a white paper or kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

• Add salt, chilli powder and toss well; now in a few drops of oil, fry curry leaves with a pinch of turmeric powder and add in the yam fingers.
• Yam fingers are ready to serve; serve with rice dishes or as snack.

Tips:

• You can replace red chilli powder with pepper powder also.
• While cutting yam fingers, you may vary the size as after frying it shrinks in volume as well as in weight.