YAM, popularly known as kanda in Telugu, jimikanad in Hindi, chenai kizhangu in Tamil, and Surrangadde in Kannada, is a very healthy vegetable with loads of vitamins, minerals and promising health benefits!
As a child I've never really liked YAM, but have to eat it on my mother's insistence. Once the Health Enthusiast in me woke up, I've realized YAM is not only healthy but actually offers a range of tasty recipes. And like all Andhras, I love the KandaBachalli curry (YAM cooked with Malabar Spinach). This iron rich curry tastes heavenly!!
What makes YAM so healthy and what are the health benefits of eating YAM? Lets find out.
YAM is a starchy tuber, rich in dietary fiber, B-Complex group of vitamins, folates, niacin and pantothenic acid. The tuber is also a good source of vitamin C and contains Vitamin A.
An abundance of minerals such as iron, calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus and manganese make YAM a medicinally significant vegetable. The tuber is widely used in traditional medicinal practices across India, Japan and China. The presence of a cell-proliferate, allantoin makes YAM very useful in healing boils and ulcers.
Essential Health Benefits of YAM
The antioxidant -rich YAM offers essential benefits for heart care, skin care, hair care, immune system, nervous system, digestive system.
HEART HEALTH
YAM is a good source of dietary fiber, which is known to lower bad cholesterol, while the potassium in YAM neutralizes the ill effects of sodium thereby balancing blood pressure and maintaining heart beat rate.
SKIN HEALTH
The antioxidants, especially the B-Complex vitamins and vitamin C demonstrate excellent antioxidant power in checking the free radical movement in the body to protect the skin cell damage. The vitamin C rejuvenates the skin and keeps the skin free of wrinkles.
HAIR HEALTH
Besides skin care, the antioxidants in YAM also help in addressing the hair problems such as dandruff, hair loss and dry hair. The presence of iron in YAM improves the red blood count and thereby blood circulation. Improved blood circulation becomes visible in glowing skin and vibrant healthy hair!
IMMUNITY SYSTEM
Antioxidants are powerhouses of nutrients that offer manifold health benefits, The nutrients present in YAM strengthen the body's immune system to fight against the harmful viruses and bacteria.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
The abundance of B-Complex group of vitamins in YAM have proven to be helpful in reducing the incidence of Alzheimer's disease and enhancing cognitive response. This is achieved by Folate, which is known to cause improved blood circulation in brain thereby stimulating cognitive abilities such as concentration and neural responses.
WOMEN HEALTH
Women suffering from menopausal and premenstrual symptoms such as nausea and depression would largely benefit by including yam in their regular diet. Though certain studies indicate that yam contains an enzyme, diosgenin which stimulates the hormonal patterns, research proved that this enzyme is used to artificially produce the hormone progesterone but does not cause an increase the levels of progesterone in the body.
The main benefits of yam to women's health is in the form of rich B-complex vitamins, especially vitamin B 6, which addresses premenstrual syndrome.
WEIGHT REDUCTION
The low calorie factor and high fiber in yam makes it an excellent food option for people seeking to reduce weight. Yam meal is very fulfilling and controls the frequent hunger pangs.
DIABETIC BENEFITS
People with diabetics can add yam to their daily diet to balance the blood sugar levels. The high fiber content and low glycemic index rates make yam a super food for diabetics to prevent the unnecessary variations in blood sugar levels.
How to cook and eat yam;
Always eat yam cooked as yam in raw form is known to be toxic. Best way to cook yam is either boil in water or just bake in the oven.
I want to share two interesting and simple yam recipes
1. Kanda bachalli kura
Ingredients:
yam or kanda - 1/5 kg
malabar leaves (bachalli kura) - 3 bunches
soaked rai with 5 red chillies (2 tsp)
green chillies 4- 5
curry leaves - few
tamarind paste - 1 tbsp
jaggery - a little
oil
seasoning items all 1 tsp
oil
split urad dal
channa dal (split bengal gram)
jeera (cumin)
rai (mustard seeds)
red chillies - 2
Method:
Clean and cut yam to small chunks and boil them to two whistles. Keep aside.
Clean and chop the greens and boil them separately, for 1 whistle and keep aside.
make a paste of rai (mustard seeds) mixed with red chillies.
In a deep bottomed pan, take oil and add all seasonings.
fry for 2 minutes, then add chillies, curry leaves and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the rai paste to the above mixture and let it cook,.
now add salt, haldi and the cooked yam and greens.
Mix well, add tamarind pulp and jaggery.
cook for 2 min and remove from stove.
Serve hot with rice and fryuums as accompaniment.
The second recipe is more like aloo tikki, with the only difference is that we will be boiling and using yam instead of aloo.
ingredients:
yam 250 g
rice flour - 2 tbsp
garlic pods - 4
chilli powder -1 tsp
greens - dhania (coriander), spearmint or pudina, green chillies, grind them altogether and keep aside.
Clean, cut yam to small pieces and boil.
Remove from stove, discard excess water and add all the ingredients such as garam masala, salt, chilly powder, rice flour and mix well.
Make small balls, flatten them and shallow fry on a tava using oil.
when the two sides are well cooked remove from stove and serve with either ketchup or any homemade chutney.
Go ahead, try YAM!
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