Today is debut of a root veggie in my blog in the form of curry. You know what, this veggie has weird name in English i.e chinese potato. But in local language of Udupi, we call it as Sambrani gadde. This veggie being my favorite one since childhood, is too close to my heart. What I love the most is it’s distinctive aroma. As you cook this tuber over the stove top, pleasant smell wafts out and your house smells so awesomely good. Trust me, I stayed in the kitchen feeling the aroma, inhaling it until the curry is done. Sambrani gadde curry is a yummy, aromatic affair for me.
When my mother used to cook this curry, the process of peeling the skin off from the veggie was bit tedious. Like, we had to wrap all the tubers in a thick cloth and hit against floor so that the skin peels off. It used to be halfway. Then we had to peel it off completely using our hands. So putting together the sambrani gadde for cooking itself was so elaborate. But now I have found an easier alternative. I pressure cook thoroughly rinsed chinese potato for 3 whistles. Then peeling the skin off is lot easier.
When I saw some fresh chinese potato (koorka) in a Super market, I immediately thought of posting a curry recipe here. Because fresh ones seems to be photogenic than wrinkled ones. Sambrani gadde curry is very similar to any other coconut curry in this space, but what makes it distinct is the veggie itself. This uniquely flavored curry tastes way too delicious with hot steamed rice and today I ended up eating a second serving.
Sambrani Gadde Curry | Chinese Potato Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- Sambrani Gadde Chinese potato- 1/2 kg
- Tamarind- Lemon sized
- Jaggery powder- 1.5 tsp
- Salt- 1.5 tsp
- Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
- Coconut- 1/4 cup
- Split pigeon-pea lentils toor daal- 2 tbsp
To roast and grind
- Chickpea lentils- 1.5 tsp
- Split black gram lentils- 1.5 tsp
- Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
- Cumin seeds- 3/4 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp
- Red chillies Byadagi- 2 or 3 nos.
- Curry leaves- Few
- Cooking oil- 3 tsp
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak tamarind in some water for about 10-15 minutes and extract it's juice discarding residue.
- Pressure cook pigeon pea lentils (toor dal) with some water till they turn soft. I cooked for 3 whistles and in simmer 5 minutes.
Method
- Rinse the sambrani gadde(chinese potatoes) under enough water and wash thouroughly. Pressure cook it for 3 whistles and switch off.
- When the pressure subsides, peel the skin off from these chinese potatoes.
- If sambrani gadde is too big in size, cut each one in to two or three pieces. Cook these pieces in a vessel adding some water.
- Next add tamarind juice, salt to the veggie and let it cook.
- Include jaggery and turmeric powder as well. Continue cooking till the veggie is soft to bite.
- Meanwhile in a heavy bottom pan add oil, both lentils, fenugreek, cumin seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. In medium flame, roast them with constant stirring. When the lentils turn little brown, switch off and transfer to a plate.
- Take all the roasted ingredients along with coconut and grind to fine puree. Add required water to grind. Pour this puree to the cooked veggie.
- Add cooked pigeon pea lentils also to the veggie. Adjust consistency by adding water as needed. Bring it to boil. Adjust salt if needed.
- Very flavorful sambrani gadde curry is ready to serve with steamed rice.
Notes
- I prepared fresh ground masala for the curry. If you are in a hurry, you can skip step 6 and use 3-4 tsp curry powder to grind with coconut.
- Adjust red chillies depending on your spice requirements.
- The veggie may take little more or less time depending on the quality.
Nice