Lotus Root Stir-fry

First of all apologies for my short period of absence. It had been very challenging and struggling few weeks. Gradually things are coming back to normal phase and I'm getting back to routine. 
  

Lotus Root is not a common vegetable. As it is in the name, this is the root of lotus flower mainly used in Asian cuisine. It is used in soups, stir fries, deep fried, braised, pickled in hot and sour garlic chili sauce and also used in traditional herbal medicine. Click here to see picture of lotus root.

I picked this vegetable due to its nutritional benefits; lotus root is rich in Vitamin C, B group of vitamins and also has healthy amounts of minerals like copper and iron.  You can buy this vegetable from Chinese grocery stores.

It has a crunchy sweet taste; a close comparison could be raw carrot. However compared to carrot it is mild in sweetness and it remains crunchy even after cooking.

My recipe is a fusion between Chinese style and Sri Lankan style, to spice it up I’ve added curry powder and curry leaves for its pungent aroma and I’ve also added vinegar as sour flavor nicely blends with crunchy lotus root.

 

Print Recipe here
Ingredients

Serves 3-4

2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 large onion, thinly sliced

Handful of curry leaves

2-3 dry red chili, roughly chopped

1 long lotus root approx. 200g

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp curry powder

Salt to taste

Method

Wash lotus root, peel off its skin, half them lengthwise and thinly slice.


Heat oil in a large pan, add mustard seeds when it starts to splutter add onion, curry leaves and red chili. Stir fry till its aromatic and onion is translucent.

Add lotus root, cover the lid cook for 5 minutes till it becomes little soft. (Please note lotus root will remain crunchy even after cooking.) Add vinegar, curry powder and salt to taste. Stir well till vegetable is nicely coated with spices. Turn off heat and serve.

I served with rice, you can serve it as a side for noodles as well.

Note: Other variation for this recipe could be Chinese style stir fry. Lotus root stir fried using sesame oil, adding garlic, chili and seasoning with soy sauce and vinegar. Finally garnish with green onions and white sesame seeds.