Monday 29 July 2013

LOTUS STEM SUBZI (KAMAL KAKKADI SUBZI), TAMARA KIZHANGU CURRY

 Lotus stem subzi is  also known as  Kamal Kakkadi, tamara kizhangu.  This root of lotus flower is also cooked in salt and chilli powder and dried and sold in almost all South Indian Stores is called Tamara Kizhangu Vattal.  It is deep fried in oil and served as a side dish for sambar, rasam and curd rice.


I was only aware of tamara kizhangu vattal till such time, one of my colleage who is a native of Uttarakhand brought some lovely pickle of this and i loved it.  another Sindhi friend of mine gave me the subzi made out of it and since then, whenever i get an opportunity to pick up some of these from D Mart, I never miss it.  I often make the subzi out of it though my children do not eat this.  They are very choosy and only selected items.

Now let us have a look at the ingredients of the subzi and some of the health benefits of this.



Total time taken: 1 hours
serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 stems of lotus
2 onions
2 tomatoes
1 tsp chilli powder (can reduce it you want less spice)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp dhania powder (coriander powder)
1tsp cumin seeds
turmeric powder
salt
2 tsp oil

Garnishing:

chopped coriander leaves.


Method:

wash and peel the lotus stems and slice them and put  in water.
chop the onion and tomatoes (alternatively you can make puree out of this)
Pressure cook the sliced pieces for one whistle and keep aside.
heat oil in a kadai, add the cumin seeds, when it is done, add the tomatoe onion puree and saute the same till it starts leaving the sides of the kadai.  alternatively, add the onion, when it becomes translucent, add the tomatoes and cook the same till the raw smell goes and get a nice pulp out of it. now add the masalas, cooked lotus stem, turmeric powder, salt and saute for 5 minutes.  Add little water to make the gravy and cook till the masala is incorporated fully in the vegetable.

garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti, rice, chapati etc.

Note: You can add potatoes too in it.

Variation: You can make pickle, kofta out of this.

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 Some health benefits:


 Lotus root is one of the excellent sources of vitamin C. 100 g root provides 44 mg or 73% of daily-recommended values. Vitamin C is a powerful water soluble anti-oxidant. It is required for the collagen synthesis in the body. Collagen is the main structural protein in the body required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body protect from scurvy, develop resistance against viral infection, boosts immunity, hasten wound healing and remove cancer causing harmful free radicals from the body.
  • Lotus root is one of the moderate calorie root vegetables. 100 g root-stem provides about 74 calories. Nevertheless, it composed of several health benefiting phyto-nutrients, minerals, and vitamins.
  • Lotus rhizome is very good source dietary fibers; 100 g flesh provides 4.9 g or 13% of daily-requirement of fiber. The fiber, together with slow digesting complex carbohydrates in the root help reduce blood cholesterol, sugar, body weight and constipation conditions.

  • In addition, it contains moderate levels of some of valuable B-complex group of vitamins such aspyridoxine (vitamin B-6), folates, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and thiamin. Pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) acts as a coenzyme in the neuro-chemical synthesis in the brain which influences mood. Adequate pyridoxine levels help control nervous irritability, headache, and tension. It also protects heart-attack risk by controlling harmful homocysteine levels in the blood.
  • Further, the root provides healthy amounts of some important minerals like copperiron, zinc, magnesium, and manganese. Copper is a cofactor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as cofactors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Along with iron, it is also required in the production of red blood cells.
  • The crunchy, sweet yet delicate flavor of root lotus is because of its optimum electrolyte balance. It composes agreeable ratio of sodium to potassium at the value 1:4. While sodium gives the sweet taste to the root, potassium acts to counter negative effects of sodium by regulating heart rate and blood pressure.
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