Soak tamarind in 1/4 cup of water for about 15 minutes and extract thick tamarind juice discarding the residue.

Peel off the elephant yam and chop it in to thin slices of medium size. Take the slices in a vessel and add water to the immersing level. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and cook it halfway. Meaning the elephant yam slices shouldn't be cooked till soft.

When the slices are getting cooked, take rice powder, sambar powder, salt and turmeric in bowl. Give a quick mix.

Next include tamarind juice and mix like a paste. It should be of dosa batter consistency neither too thin nor too thick.

Heat a griddle smearing some oil, then dip the cooked elephant yam slice in the spice paste and shallow fry over griddle. Roast a batch of slices over medium flame and turn over to cook the other side too. Remove from griddle once done.

Repeat this process till you finish all the elephant yam slices. Elephant yam fry is ready to serve as side with rice-rasam combo.

The elephant yam slices should be neither too thick nor too thin. If thin, the slices will break easily. On the other hand if thick, it gets under-cooked.

When you cook the slices in water, ensure it's only half cooked. Because these slices would have to be cooked once again over griddle with spice coating.

You can even taste the spice paste and adjust accordingly before initiating the shallow fry.