Tasty Tubers

A LOST VEGETABLE OF AFRICA HAS GAINED ROOTS IN SOUTH INDIA WHERE IT IS COOKED IN A NUMBER OF WAYS

- Chitra Balasubramaniam

IF YOU visit any typical south Indian shop, you will find this lovely looking vegetables called koorka. Despite the mud sticking in it, the koorka looks beautiful—small potato-shaped delicious tubers in dark brown colour. Despite the cumbersome process to peel it, they taste very good. But it is not a favorite of many people given that the vegetable causes a lot of flatulence or gas. It is known by a host of names; the scientific one being Plectranthus rotundifolius or Solenostemon rotundifolius. It is also called Chinese potato, country potato, siru kizhangu in Tamil and sambrali in Kannada.

Its flowers are deep blue in colour. The tubers in bunches have a beautiful shade of pink and purple. The cropping season is July to October, and it is seen in the markets during the winter season.