Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Colocasia (Seppankilangu) fry


I somehow believe that strange and interesting coincidences definitely add spice to life. Recently, I've been experiencing this quite frequently :) A few months before, I happened to meet my school friend after 20 years! When I saw her in our local temple, ofcourse I took a few mins to recognize her, but as soon as I recognized her, I couldn't stop myself intruding in her discussion with her friend and ask her if she identified me. Thank goodness she did! It's indeed a great feeling bumping into an old friend several miles away from home after decades! Especially, its a delight to see them married, with kids, and with those extra few pounds :) We had so much to catch-up about our life, spouses, kids etc and it made me go back to the era that I used to treasure. Its definitely exciting to recall those moments with someone who shared those good old days with me..

Then, a day last week.. Since morning, I was thinking to call another friend of mine and say hello to her since it's been a while talking to her. She recently had a baby and hence I wanted to check on the baby especially. I guessed she was probably quite busy with her little one and hence didn't have time for our usual chit-chats. So after a quick dinner, I settled down on the couch to call her. Strangely, when I took the phone to call her, I received a call from her in the same minute! I was surprised and I thought it was really strange and funny. The fact that the same person you are about to call is giving you a call in the same second is something quite mysterious and interesting to me. Don't you all think so too?

Well, Another one today.. (Can you beleive it?!) During my usual debate of what to cook for dinner tonight, I found this colocasia lying in my fridge for about a week and hence settled down to make it today. I remembered this superb dish that my mother-in-law makes. Everybody loves this dish in our family and I somehow think I still can't match her exact taste and typically avoid making it. But today, for some reason I was in a mood to make this adorable dish for dinner (and to my contentment it came out great today) and after dinner I happened to have a casual chat with my mother-in-law over phone. I was surprised to know that she had made the same dish today for lunch! In fact, she also did mention that she actually made it today after quite a few years, because it used to be my hubby's favorite and nowadays she had no interest in making this dish just for herself and my father-in-law. Different minds thinking alike and some interesting coincidences like these astonish me often and make me wonder if that so called "telepathy" really is true.. :)

Alright... coming back from the high realms of ESP and philosophy, this dish is a deep-fry dish that may take a few extra minutes, but I firmly believe that the taste it offers is simple irresistible. After deep-frying, it gets tossed in a simple spice mixture that adds an immense flavor to the dish. May be ideal for a sunday lunch when you have those few extra minutes to spare.

Ingredients:

  • Colacasia (Seppankilangu) - 6 medium
  • Onions - 1/2 medium sized, chopped
  • Tomato - 1 medium
  • Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds and Urad dal - 1/2 tsp each
  • Curry leaves - a few
  • Oil - for deep frying.

Procedure:

  • Pressure cook the colacasia until its well cooked. Please be cautious not to overcook as it may completely mess up this dish. I've done this mistake a few times.
  • Slice them into round pieces and deep fry in oil in 2 or 3 batches until they become crispy. They may not turn completely crispy but you'll see atleast the outer layer turning golden brown and crispy. Wrap them up in a paper napkin and drain the excess oil.
  • Remove the oil from the pan retaining just a tsp of hot oil . Season with mustard seeds and urad dal.
  • Add finely chopped onions and curry leaves and fry for a min.
  • Then add the tomatoes, chilli powder and salt and fry until the tomatoes lose shape.
  • Then add the fried colocasia and mix well. Cover for 2 mins and mix one more time.
  • Remove from heat.

Goes well with any rice dish.

27 comments:

Finla said...

That is a whole lot of coincidence, but good ones.
I love colocasia in any form of curry.
I have not had them for years though as we don't get it here and when ever i go to india i never have the chance to eat them as i am so busy eating wht ever i get my hands on :-)
This looks really yummy

anudivya said...

Friends do make life more enjoyable... nice to catch up with old ones especially.
Love the sepankizhangu fry... mine ends up in a mush inevitably everytime... probably I should use more oil the next time.

Gita Jaishankar said...

Somethings things like these do happen for me but it is always a pleasant turn, the colocasia fry look great...

Cham said...

Love colocasia fry this one little different :) Should be great with rasam rice.

Sum Raj said...

looks mouthwatering item..anything with deep fry makes taste heavenlly.

Usha said...

How amazing that so many coincidences occurred almost around the same time....does make you wonder...the seppankazhangu fry looks fantastic, I have never tried frying this veggie...

Laavanya said...

Interesting coincidences indeed :)
I've never had sepakizhangu made this way - looks awesome. Am definitely going to try when i get a batch next time.

raaji said...

Even i happen to have such co-incidences....it makes us so thrilled....isn't it???
The fry is sth i get to try...

Unknown said...

looks yummy and method is also different :)

Unknown said...

That is a lovely post.The second coincidence has occured several times to me too..Seppankizhangu looks absolutely delicious.Perfectly cooked.

lubnakarim06 said...

That is why it is said life is full of suprises. You never know what may happen the next second....Something new to me. Looks yummy.

Jaishree Iyer said...

Seppankilangu fry looks amazing.. mouth watering...one of my favourite.

Deepthi Shankar said...

colocasia fry looks yummy .. interesting coincidences .. it has happened to me a no. of times that I really do wanna call someone & I end up receiving their calls :)

CurryLeaf said...

Interesting coincidences happen sometimes.They make life more enjoyable.
The recipe is new to me.I usually add them to gravies.Will try this dish for sure.

Suganya said...

I never get tired of this tuber. Adding onions is new to me.

Raks said...

Oh,thats really memorable time you had and its a miracle that u found ur friend,i too hav an experiece like this,so enjoyed reading:)
Sepankizhaangu fry looks awesome:)

Andhra Flavors said...

looks beautiful.Collect your award from my blog.

Dewi said...

Wow, I never seen anybody posted colocasia before. I like to eat this colocasia, but my family totally dislike it. So, I've ended up to buy to much for myself. When my mom visited us here in the U.S, she told me that I can plant these root instead of throwing them away. There you go, now I have many of this plant in my back garden. They go dormant in winter (even in CA), but will grow back in spring all the way to autumn.

Anyway, your dish look mighty delicious, and thanks for posting this colocasia.
Cheers,
Elra

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

I would like to receive your posts Via Google Reader pls add the subscribe via reader so I can get your posts first hand.

Sagari said...

fry looks delecious sujatha ,perfect as a side for dal and rice

Purva Desai said...

This looks really tempting and inviting thanks for sharing

Srikitchen said...

i have colocasia at home will try soon
join in the sweet event going in my blog!

Sujatha said...

Hello Elra, Welcome to my blog and thanks for your nice words :)

Ramya, I've added the subscribe gadget now.. Thanks for your interest, Ramya :)

Sunshinemom said...

Arrrre!! This reminds me of my athai - she used to make it exactly like this! I know this should taste yum:)

Vibaas said...

I love colocasia. Looks yummy.
You have a nice blog with nice collection of recipes.

Chandani said...

i have never tried this veggie before, but it sure looks very appetizing!! you have so many wonderful recipes, can't wait to try spicy sweet potato fry:)

Raji said...

Its a devine variation to what I make. You can try the same deep fried Colocasia sprinkled with chat masala and salt for snacks...ensoy !