Dioscorea alata is a tuberous root vegetable, is a species of Yam. Under which, we can find 2 varieties of Yam. One is Purple Yam, and the other one is White Yam.
Today, we are going to see white Yam. It does not itch but, you can feel the sliminess during cooking. Once it is fully cooked, pieces become firm, and slime vanishes.
White Yam has many names like Greater Yam (English), Kachil (Malayalam), Rasavalli kilangu /Vettrilaivali khizangu (Tamil), Thuppa Genasu( Kannada) or Toona or Soona kerungu ( In Tulu)
It is straightforward to use, it doesn’t itch and can be included in our day to day cooking.
Some White kachils have purple colour, at the outer surface, just below the skin. Some have only white colour. Both tastes the same.
I like the yam family in our traditional curries; one such curry is Melara. You can see the description of Melara in this post.
Now we would move towards the recipe –
Ingredients:
White Kachil – 500 grams
Green chillies – 2
Salt
Grated fresh coconut – from ½ to ¾ coconut
Thick buttermilk – 1 serving spoon
Coconut oil – 2 tsp
Mustard – 1 tsp
Red chilli -1
Curry leaves – 1 string
Method:
-Peel the kachil, make a little bigger chunks, Wash, drain and keep aside.
-Take a cooker; Cook for two whistles, with just enough water to immerse by adding salt, slit green chillies.
-Make a fine paste of freshly grated coconut. When veggie cooks, add this ground masala, adjust the consistency and boil for 2 minutes.
-Add buttermilk or beaten curd, and when it starts to boil, switch off.
-Prepare seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, add red chilli and curry leaves, fry and pour over Melara.