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"Surna Kachra (Podi)/ Elephant Foot Yam Cubed Fritters/ Suran Bajia" ... these are crispy soft centered fries from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared with cubed surnu/ yam smeared with spices and rolled in rice flour ... I have deep fried them though you can either also tava fry/ Air-fry them too ... tastes best served during meals along with other dishes ... Yummilicious ...
** Podi are fries prepared with veggies/ fish with just spices smeared for taste. These are then rolled in rice flour or fine rava and deep fried or tava fried. There are plenty of podi prepared and shared here like potato (batato/ aloo), sweet potatoes (kananga/ ratalu), ripe nendrabale banana, suran (yam), raw bananas (harve kele/ kaccha kela), baingan (vaingan/ gula) etc. The method is traditional one followed by almost every GSB Konkani Saraswat with minute changes depending upon the region they belong to.
** There are so many simple dishes from which we can prepare these simple podi and new technology even helps us in preparing them almost with nil oil, though here I have deep fried them. We just got to think or just go ahead and give a try to any of them and find out if they taste great and that's it, if not, no issues, at least we have tried. Suran tava fries are usually cut into thinner flat squares or rectangles, as if cut thicker they may not cook evenly within. For deep fries usually they are cut to one inch sized cubes.
** Here is the simple recipe for "Surna Kachra (Podi)/ Elephant Foot Yam Cubed Fritters/ Suran Bajia" … these podi’s are usually served during lunch or dinner as an accompaniment with other dishes during festive season or on holy days or weekends while bajos / bajias prepared to relish ...
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** Clean, cut off the rough muddy sides of the surnu/ suran/ elephant yam. Cut them into cubes of about 1 inch in size (check picture included). Wash and allow the water to drain well of about 3-4 cups of suran or as required.
** Add the cut pieces in a broad vessel, to it add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, 2 tsp of chilly powder (mirsange pitti/ mirchi tikkat), 1 tsp of hing (asafoetida) powder, 1 tblsp of vinegar (Optional, I have added) and mix well to coat the suran cubes well on all sides. Cover and allow it to rest aside for 30 minutes.
** Note : You can add a bit of tamarind paste for tart taste if desired instead of vinegar too. Again, you can keep this in an air tight container in fridge for few hours if needed to be fried at a later time, it tastes and fries better.
** Add about 1/2 to 1 cup of rice powder (tandla pitti/ tandul atta) in a plate. Roll/ dust the suran pieces in the powder to evenly coat on all sides. Shake them a little bit to allow the loose ones to be dusted off and keep it aside ready.
** Keep a thick bottomed kadai with plenty of oil to heat for frying the suran cubes. When oil has reached smoking point, lower the heat and wait for a few minutes and then add in a few dusted and kept ready suran pieces into it. Be careful with the hot oil and also do not add too many pieces at a time.
** The number of suran pieces added depends upon the amount of oil and size of the kadai used, there should be enough space for the cubes to be cooked evenly, so do not crowd them. You may check the attached picture.
** Allow the suran cubes to fry for a few minutes undisturbed on medium heat and then with a slotted spatula slowly turn and mix out the cooking pieces in the hot oil to flip over. Once it is evenly browned, remove with the help of a ringed spatula, and place it on a absorbent paper for excess oil to get dripped off.
** Continue with the remaining pieces deep frying them in similar manner. Remember to not over crowd the kadai and to check the heat of oil for proper cooking. As these are cubes they will take slightly more time than the thinner slices when fried, so please check out one cube if done and only then remove them from kadai.
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** "Surna Kachra (Podi)/ Elephant Foot Yam Cubed Fritters/ Suran Bajia" is done and ready to be served. In GSB Konkani Saraswat homes these Podi's are usually served during lunch/ dinner as an accompaniment with other dishes especially during festive season or hody days where in serving bajo's/ bajia's are a part of the traditional meals. Though these are not served as a snack, you may do so with some coconut chutney if desired, after all food is supposed to enjoyed in individual preference.
** These days all are health conscious and it is sad to notice that such dishes are taking back seat as they are deep fried and the most who suffer are children, who never come to know of them or taste them. The funniest part is nobody thinks twice before enjoying a sandwich with heaps of grated cheese or biscuits or maggi noodles all of which are worst than a few fried pieces of bajia. Off course, health is wealth, however anything when relished in limits I guess is fine and its the outsourced dishes that we should worry upon.
** There are a variety of delicious- easy to prepare dishes included in the blog. Do browse through and try them out whenever time permits and enjoy them with your family and friends. Do give me a feedback if possible. You can follow me on following sites so as to not miss out on any posts ….
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