Kalan Recipe | Kerala Kalan Curry

Cooking veggies

1. Firstly peel, rinse and then chop the elephant foot yam (suran) in cubes or squares. You will need about 1 to 1.25 cups of chopped suran. Take the chopped suran in a pan.
2. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and ½ to ¾ teaspoon crushed black pepper. Also add ¼ teaspoon salt.
3. Pour ½ cup water. The water should just about cover the suran cubes.
4. If using plantain (unripe banana), then you can add ¾ cup of cubed plantains along with ¾ cup of cubed yam.
5. Add water just about covering them.
6. Now continuing with step 3 - after adding water in the pan, cover the pan with a lid and keep it on a stove top. Cook on low to medium heat till the suran becomes tender and gets cooked. 
7. Do check at intervals. In case the water dries up and the suran pieces are not cooked, then add some more water. Cover and continue to cook.
8. Check if the yam is cooked by cutting it with a knife or passing a knife through a few cubes. The knife should pass easily.

Grinding coconut paste and whisking curd

1. Meanwhile whilst the suran is getting cooked, take ½ cup tightly packed fresh grated coconut in a grinder jar. Add 2 to 3 green chilies (chopped) and ½ teaspoon cumin seeds.
2. Add ¼ to ⅓ cup water and grind to a smooth paste and keep aside.
3. Take 1 cup sour curd in a bowl and beat it with a spoon or wired whisk till smooth. You can also use fresh curd instead of sour curd.

Making kalan curry

1. Once the yam is cooked and tender, then it is time to add the coconut paste. If there is water in the pan, then evaporate it without the lid. There should be no water in the pan, before you proceed to the next step.Or you could opt to strain the cooked yam using a fine strainer, draining all the liquids.
2. Now add the ground coconut paste and mix very well. Keep the heat to a low while adding coconut paste.  
3. Then add the beaten curd and mix again.
4. If the gravy looks very thick, then you can add ¼ cup water. Mix well.
5. Season with salt. Do keep in mind that while cooking suran, some salt was added.
6. Bring the curry to a gentle boil or simmer on a low to medium-low heat. Once the curry comes to a gentle boil, then turn off the heat.

Making tempering

1. In a tadka pan or a small frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Keep the heat to a low and add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds.
2. Let the mustard seeds crackle.
3. Then add 1 to 2 red chilies (seeds removed) and 10 to 12 curry leaves. Fry till the red chilies change color. Do not burn them.
4. Next add ¼ teaspoon methi seeds which have been slightly crushed in a mortar-pestle.
5. Mix and turn off the heat.
6. Pour the tempering mixture in the kalan curry. Cover with a lid and let the flavors mingle for 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Later mix well and serve Kalan with steamed rice.