Chinese potato is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the mint family. Koorkai is the Malayalam name while it is widely known as Siru Kizhangu in Tamil Nadu. It has a distinct earthy flavour and aromatic profile.
Leaves and Flowers
It is oval shaped with a jagged edge. They are slightly thick and highly aromatic when crushed.
The white or light-purple flowers are small and delicate with a slender, spike-like cluster at the top of the stems.
Roots (Tubers)
3 to 7 of them grow at the base of each stem. They grow to approximately 8 cms and have a dark brown or black peal.
Culinary uses
Roots are used in Indian cuisine in various dishes. The roots are very nutritious and made into dishes like Koorka mezhukuparatti (slow roasted stir fry) in Kerala and Siru Kizhangu Poriyal (dry side dish) in Tamil Nadu.
Leaves are normally not consumed in India though in some parts of West Africa, leaves are used as food and medicine.
Home gardening
- Two ways in which it can be propagated – vine cuttings and planting the tubers directly.
- If vine cuttings are being used, 3 to 4 weeks after the koorkai has sprouted and grown, it can be snipped off and used.
- When tubers are being used, soak it in water for a couple of days.
- Take a pot of about 15-18 inches deep and wide.
- Fill it with loose soil. Standard garden soil with river sand is ideal though I have cultivated it in red soil directly.
- Ensure that the pot has multiple drainage holes at the bottom
- Pick the soaked koorkai and plant it into the soil about 2 inches deep with the buds pointing upwards. Cover it lightly with soil.
- Pour the water (in which koorkai was soaked) into the pot.
- Keep the soil moist and keep it in a place where there is adequate sunlight. 4-6 hours of gentle morning sun and indirect sunlight is sufficient
- The first shoots should appear in 2-3 weeks.
- If you are using the vines, half- fill the pot with soil and plant 3-4 vine cuttings into the soil spacing them evenly. Let it stabilise.
- As the plants grow, begin adding more soil burying the lower stems of the plant. Koorkai producers tubers from the nodes on the stem. Adding more soil will enable the underground stem area to produce more tuber clusters.
Harvesting
- Once the leaves are yellow and completely dried out, stop watering them for about a week
- Loosen the edges with a flat stick or butter knife or trowel. Gently run this through the inside edge of the pot all around the circumference.
- Hold the base of the dried stems and tip the pot on its side. Firmly tap the bottom and sides of the pot with the other hand
- Slide it out while tapping it. Do not pull too hard, else the roots will break
- Once the soil block comes out, break it apart with your hands. There will be several tubers clustered together in the centre.
- Some of the roots can be used for the next planting and the rest can be used for cooking
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