Chinese Potato Side Dish (Kooka Sukke)

Sukke in Konkani means dry. This spicy, coconut based side dish is made dry, hence it is called sukke in Konkani. This sukke is made special by the Chinese potatoes in it. Chinese potatoes are called 'kook, kooka' in Konkani. This earthy vegetable has a special place in hearts of Konkanis. It's seasonal which makes it even more sought after. Other delicious ways of cooking this earthy vegetable is by making kooka upakari (stir fry), kooka randayi (curry), valval (mixed veg curry in coconut milk), gajbaje ambat (mixed veg Konkani curry) made from Chinese potatoes.

Peeling Chines potatoes can be tedious but it's worth all the effort, they taste earthy and are delicious on cooking. Traditionally, Chinese potatoes are peeled by pouring them into a gunny bag and are hit hard on the floor so that their skin comes off. Any remaining skin is then removed by rubbing their black skin against a jute/gunny bag. You can peel them using a peeler or peel them once they are pressure cooked too.

Any sukke in Konkani cuisine has coconut, tamarind, red chilli masala as the base. Coriander seeds, urad dal are added to the masala of some sukke to give the dish a nice flavour. Try this delicious kooka sukke if you haven't until now.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of Chinese potatoes
• 3/4 cup of grated coconut
• 1 tablespoon of urad dal
• 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
• 5 dried red chillies
• 1 lemon sized tamarind
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon of oil

For seasoning:

• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 leaflets of curry leaves

Preparation Method:

1. Peel the Chinese potatoes. Wash them well until they are clean and are free of mud.

2. You can choose to keep the Chinese potatoes whole or chop them into desired size to make this kooka sukke.

3. Pressure cook them using salt and enough water until they are cooked through. 

Depending on size 1-2 whistles, if you have chopped them, 3-4 whistles if they are whole and big in size.

4. Meanwhile heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a tempering pan, add in urad dal, coriander seeds, dried red chilli broken into pieces and fry them until urad dal starts to brown. Remove them off heat and let them cool.

5. Grind them along with grated coconut, tamarind into a smooth or coarse paste using as little water as possible. Keep it aside.

6. Once the pressure of the cooker is released, in a wok, heat up oil for seasoning.

7. Add in mustard seeds to the hot oil. When they start spluttering, add in curry leaves and fry them for few seconds.

8. Add in ground masala, little salt and mix well.

9. Add in cooked Chinese potatoes, little stock (the water used to cook it) if required and mix well.

10. Check and adjust salt. Simmer until the rawness of the masala goes off and you get a dry, thick masala. 

11. Remove off heat. Serve hot as a side dish with steaming hot rice and dalithoy.

Here are some famous Konkani sukke's (spicy side dishes):

Taro root sukke (maddi sukke)

Tender Bamboo Shoots (kirla sukke)

Mangalore cucumber, jackfruit seeds and colocasia leaves sukke (magge, bikand, alva panna ganti sukke)

Cabbage potato sukke (cabbage batate sukke)

Cluster beans sukke (mitke sanga sukke)

Raw jackfruit sukke (kadgi chakko)

Find more Konkani cuisine side dishes here. 

Tags: Konkani cuisine, Konkani recipe, Konkani food, sukke, Chinese potato, kooka, kook, GSB Konkani recipe, vegan, vegetarian recipe, South Canara Konkani recipe, Konkani cooking, GSB Konkani cuisine.