Making suran this Diwali? Here are unique recipes to eat yam like you have never before

The festive season is here as most people get ready for Diwali this weekend. It is that time of the year when there will be many people who will be gorging on sweets and snacks that are made in homes during this time of the year. Along with delicious food like laddoos and farsan, many families who celebrate Diwali also make unique delicious that are unique to their regions and that is where India's rich regional culinary diversity come to the fore. Among the many other sweet and savoury specials, many Indians also make different dishes from suran, more popularly called yam or elephant's foot.

Suran, as it is more popularly called in Mumbai, is eaten for many reasons across India. Indian chefs say some of them include prosperity and even nutrition factor.
While people usually make delectable traditional dishes, there is a lot more to explore with the tuber, that is mostly considered bland. The chefs from all over India say they can be made in many different ways to innovate with suran this Diwali. Keeping in mind the festive season and people enjoying different kinds of dishes, mid-day.com spoke to Indian chefs who shared recipes for unique dishes made from yam. They not only share recipes for curry but also chaat and dessert too.

Elephant Yam Curry
If you want something traditional, then indulge in some authentic Tamil cuisine by making the Elephant Yam Curry, says chef Mukesh of Novotel Imagicaa Khopoli. He explains, "The Elephant Foot Yam is known as 'Karunai Kizhangu' in Tamil, or 'Suran' in Hindi." The yam has to be washed, then cut and sliced and soaked in water with a little tamarind and salt for about 20 minutes. "This action almost entirely prevents the irritation in the mouth when eating the yam. Drain and rinse
the pieces before stir-frying with the other spices that you would like to use. Or simply cook in a curry," he adds.

Ingredients
Elephant foot yam (suran gadde), peeled and chopped into cubes.
Grated coconut 1 cup
Tamarind (soaked for 20 minutes in water) 1 small
Mustard seeds 1 1/2 tsp
Dry red chilies, broken 5-6 nos
Curry leaves 8 nos
Cooking oil, preferably coconut oil 2 tsp
Jaggery powder 1 tsp
Salt, or to taste 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
White lentils (urad dal) 1/2 tsp

Method:
1. Remove and discard the yam's outer skin. Chop the flesh into half-inch cubes. Put them in a steel container. Add some diluted tamarind water and
salt. Add some soaked black chickpeas (optional). The water level in the container should be approximately half an inch higher than the contents level.
2. Cook the mixture in a pressure cooker for up to 2 whistles and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove. Remove the container from the cooker as soon
as the pressure releases on its own. Strain the excess water from it.
3. Dry-grind grated coconut, mustard seeds, and red chilies. Set aside as spice mix for this curry.
4. Heat a deep-bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds, white lentils, and curry leaves, allowing the mustard to crackle and lentils simultaneously becoming
gold in colour. Add cooked yam and chickpea mix.
5. Add salt, tamarind pulp, turmeric powder, and powdered jaggery. Gently combine.
6. Add ground spice mix-stir-cook over low heat for 1 minute. Turn off the stove.
7. Serve with plain rice, curd rice, pancakes and roti.

Yam & Tamarind Chaat
Almost everybody loves chaat in India. It gets even better because every part of India boasts of different types of chaat that you must have eaten. At Cafe Duco in Bandra, chef Urvika Kanoi takes this very love for chaat and adds yam to it. In a delicious mix of flavours, the city chef adds pomegranate, bhujiya, hung curd and more to make a flavour bomb in one bite.

Ingredients:
Yam 300 gm
Pomegranate 2 tbsp
Bhujiya 2/3 tbsp
Hung curd 100 gm
Green Garlic Chutney 3/4 tbsp (Blend together green garlic, green chili, salt, lime, coriander, cumin seeds)
Turkish Gram/Matki, sprouted & blanched 50 gm
Tamarind chutney 3/4 tbsp (Tamarind, jaggery, cumin, ginger powder cooked out together)
Onion, finely chopped 1/2 no
Green chilli, finely chopped 1 no
Tomato, deseeded and finely chopped 1 no
Coriander, finely chopped 1 tbsp
Ghee 2/3 tbsp
Chaat masala 1.5 tsp
Red chili powder as needed
Cumin powder a pinch
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Boil the yam in salted water. Let it cool.
2. Cut into slices and using a cutter - cut rounds from the slices. (I use a 1.5 inch diameter one).
3. In a pan heat the ghee and shallow fry the yams, till they are golden and crunchy on the outside and pillowy inside.
4. In a bowl mix sprouts, onion, tomato, green chili and coriander, chaat masala, chili powder, cumin and salt.
5. To assemble, layer the chaat by starting with yams topped with the sprout mix generously. Put the tamarind chutney and dollops of chilled yogurt.
6. Follow this with the green garlic chutney and sprinkle pomegranate & bhujiya on top.
7. Serve immediately.

Suran Halwa Pudding
You can not only make savoury items out of suran because Gaurav Parashar, executive chef at InterContinental Jaipur Tonk Road says you can also make a delicious suran halwa pudding. He explains, "In select regions of India, the yam holds a revered status as a symbol of prosperity, for it is believed to regenerate in the very place it is harvested, signifying renewal and abundance. This unique attribute of the yam not only carries a sense of festivity but also serves to harmonise the body with the changing seasons, rendering it a fitting choice for celebratory occasions."

Ingredients:
Yam/Suran 30 gm
Ghee 30 ml
Mawa 20 gm
Sugar/Jaggery 30 gm
Chia Seeds 7gm
Blueberry 7gm
Cardamom powder 1gm
Coconut 10gm
Dry fruits 20gm

Method:
1. Wash, peel and grate/cut suran.
2. Boil it till it gets tender, then let it cool.
3. In a pan/kadai heat 1 tsp of pure ghee on medium flame
4. Squeeze water from grated Suran and add Suran to the pan.
5. Sauté for 2 minutes.
6. Cook covered, on low flame, for 5-6 minutes or until suran is a little soft, stirring well every 2 minutes.
7. Do not add water. Sometimes suran cooks much faster; so be watchful
8. Add fresh scraped coconut, sugar/jaggery. Cook until sugar/jaggery melts.
9. Add Mawa and cook for 5 more minutes add Cardamom Powder and dry fruits.
10. Add 1 teaspoon of pure ghee on top and mix. Delicious Suran Halwa is ready
11. Serve with Blueberry and Chia Seeds use as a Garnish or make a layer to make it look more presentable.

Elephant's foot tortellini
If you have been itching to experiment with suran, then chef Xavier Pramanik, executive chef at Refinery 091 in Kolkata wants you to give it an Italian twist, using Indian ingredients to make an Elephant's foot tortellini. He explains, "Elephant's foot (yam) is considered as a healthy food because it is sugar and cholesterol free, and rich in minerals. This dish is planned accordingly to balance our regular diet."

Ingredients

Pasta dough
Flour 250 gm
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Eggs, beaten 3 pcs
Salt 1/2 tsp
Spinach puree, green colour 30 gm Charcoal powder, black 10 gm

Filling
Elephant's foot 200 gm (yam)
Garlic, chopped 10 gm
Onion, chopped 30 gm
Cashew nut 15 gm
Butter 20 gm
Cooking cream 15 gm
Cheddar cheese 15 gm
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder 3 gm
Olive oil 10 gm
Kashmiri chilli powder 2 gm

For serving
Makhani gravy 80 gm

Method
1. To make green dough, mix all the ingredients in half quantity - eggs, flour, olive oil, salt, spinach puree. Mix with your hands and knead for 8 minutes until dough is smooth. Keep in a bowl and cover it with a wet kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 minutes. To make black dough, mix all the ingredients half quantity of eggs, flour, olive oil, salt, charcoal powder. Follow same process.

2. In the meantime, make the filling, cut the yam into small pieces and boil in a saucepan on medium heat, until soft. Take out and drain the excess water.

3. Take a non-stick fry pan, add butter, olive oil, onion and garlic. Saute it on a slow heat. Cook until its transparent and soft. Add boiled yam and mix well. Add other ingredients too and mix well into a smooth texture. When the filling is ready, keep it aside.

4. Take out green dough and black dough, dust both the dough lightly and separately with dry flour. Divide both dough into 6-8 pieces each. Keep under wet towel. Take out one each piece and combine and shape into a ball. Press it with hand and roll it using a rolling pin and then make it a thin
sheet. Make sure two different colours are properly visible. Take a round ring mould cutter and cut the sheet to make perfect round shape. Repeat the same process for all the dough.

5. Take a single piece of thin coloured sheet, put some filling on it. With the help of spoon fold it in half. Close and seal the ends of the sheet properly. Shape the dough like tortellini. Repeat the same process to finish all.

6. Take a sauce an put some water and bring it to a boil. Add 1 tsp oil in it. Add all the folded tortellini and blanch for 4 minutes. Once done. Take out and drain the hot water.

7. Heat up 80 gm of makhani gravy, place the tortellini on it. Garnish and serve hot.

Jimikand porcupine a la roots
Want to make suran but don't know how to work with it? Chef Debojyoti Sarkar, executive chef at Roots Kolkata, says you can make the jimikand porcupine a la roots. She explains, "Elephant foot or yam is consumed as cooked starchy vegetables. They are often boiled and then mashed into a sticky paste or dough, but they may also be fried, roasted, or baked. It contains a reasonable amount of antioxidants, which reduces the risk of many cancers. Yam is rich in anti-inflammatory agents and antioxidants, which help manage many chronic inflammatory conditions such as heart diseases."

Ingredients:
Jimikand (yam) 250 gm
Onion, chopped 50 gm
Garlic, chopped 20 gm
Peri peri spice 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder 2 pinch
Coriander powder 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped 1 tsp
Tomato paste 1 tbsp
Panko crumbs 1 tbsp
Ghee 1 tbsp
Saffron Basmati Rice 100 gm

Method:
1. Peel and wash the yam. Cut into small pieces.
2. Boil it in salted water with turmeric powder.
3. Drain it once boiled, mash it with the help of masher.
4. Heat ghee, sauté garlic till light golden colour. Add onion and sauté
till transparent.
5. Add all the spice and tomato paste and cook till the masala is ready.
6. Remove the masala and add the mashed yam and mix it properly.
7. Add powder bread crumb to make the mixture is non sticky.
8. Divide the mixture into 30 gm oval shape.
9. Roll the oval shape on soaked saffron coloured basmati rice, so that it
is evenly coated. (Shape can be as per your choice).
10. In the meantime, set the steamer, place the rice coated oval dumpling
into the steamer and cook for 8-10 minutes.
11. Once it is done, serve on a plate along with spicy mint chutney.