Exploring the Nutritional Benefits and Culinary Delights of Suran
Suran, also known as elephant foot yam, is a versatile tuber that boasts a unique flavor and a host of nutritional benefits. With its rough exterior and creamy flesh, Suran offers a delightful culinary experience and can be prepared in various ways to suit different palates.
Suran features a brown, rough, and bark-like skin that covers its creamy white flesh. This tuber has a mild and slightly earthy flavor, making it a versatile ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes. It can be boiled, roasted, fried, or added to soups, stews, curries, and even desserts, offering a delightful texture and taste.
In addition to its culinary versatility, Suran is packed with nutritional goodness. It is low in calories and fat, making it a great choice for those watching their weight. It is also a good source of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion and promotes a healthy gut. Suran contains vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, potassium, and calcium, contributing to overall well-being.
Culturally, Suran holds significance in various cuisines around the world. It is a popular ingredient in Indian, Southeast Asian, and African dishes, where it is cherished for its taste and texture. Its ability to absorb flavors and complement a wide range of spices and ingredients makes it a favorite among home cooks and professional chefs alike.
Suran or elephant yam is actually an edible bulb that belongs to a unique single-stalked flowering plant. Once the leaf stalk of the plant dies away, Suran is unearth. This root is round and compressed and has a depression on its top where the stock has been removed. A single yam can weight close to 8 pounds. Its skin is dark brown in colour and resembles that of a tree bark. However the outer skin is very thin and can be peeled easily. Its flesh is beige in colour and has a unique taste. Considering that this tuber has medicinal property it is used in anti-inflammatory medicines as well as for rejuvenating, digestive and aphrodisiac qualities.
Storage:
Elephant yams are best eaten fresh. However you can preserve yams in a way so that its nutrition is not lost. All that you need to do is peel off the skin and cut it into small pieces. You can place it in a large bowl and fully submerged it in water and cover the bowl loosely with an aluminium foil wrap.
Taste and use:
Suran has a flesh with crisp and firm texture that taste like sweet potatoes. Its earthy flavour can also be nutty with a tinge of sweetness. While yam has a meaty texture and is made into gravy across the northern and the eastern part of India, it is often a reason for an itchy throat and is hence cured with lemon juice before it is used in cooking.
