Kappa kizhangu

Yezhu ilai kizhangu poriyal / aal valli kizhangu/  yucca root stir fry /  cassava / tapioca stir fry.

Though I am calling it as poriyal, this is not a poriyal for a Keralite. I have seen them serving this as 'kappa' along with fish curry. This is a main dish like rice.

I got introduced to this kappa kizhangu dish, through my mom's friend, Saranya Amma. Many years ago, she was our new neighbor when we did the housewarming in appa's new house. Her husband had a great taste for gardening and he planted a lot of tapioca roots in their backyard along with many beans and greens. Their kitchen garden was marvelous and we like the way she mingles with us all. I learned some gardening skills from that aunt. The tapioca grew extremely fast and he harvested lumps of roots, which they shared with the whole street:) She introduced us to many dishes using kappa.
One among them is the stir fry or poriyal. The more moistened version is taken along with fish curry just like rice as kappa.

Kappa Kizhangu.

Ingredients:

Yucca root - 2 lb (or) 1 (big)
green or red chillies - 3
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
shredded fresh coconut - 1 cup
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:

Wash the root to remove the soil.
Slice it into big chunks (4 inch long) and remove the bark just like we do with a sharpener and  pencil:)
See 'How to remove the yucca skin?'. It is interesting:)
Then wash again and put the chunks in a big vessel and add enough water to cover it. Add the turmeric powder and 1 tbsp salt. Cook covered for 15 minutes. Check by piercing a knife. It should pass through easily and the root should start falling apart. Otherwise cook again till it becomes soft.

Remove the cooked roots and discard the water.
Chop it into 1 inch cubes.

Heat the oil in a wok and add the mustard seeds. Once it finish popping add the finely chopped chillies, curry leaves. Then slide in the yucca cubes and stir well. Add little more turmeric and salt if needed. Sprinkle a handful of water and cook covered to make more moist.

Switch off and add the freshly shredded coconut.

Kappa kizhangu is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as main course along with fish curry.
Also can be simply served as tea time snack without any curry.