Yucca Wedges are a great appetizer or an afternoon snack, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. Try it today.
Yucca also known as Cassava or Mogo is a root vegetable that has a tough brown skin on the outside and a hard starchy white flesh inside like a potato, however its shaped like a long thin radish. It is popular in South and Central America as well as Africa. It can be cooked in many ways but most common is made like a potato wedge or thick cut fries. sprinkled with some spices and dipped in your favorite sauce, I grew up eating this as an afternoon snack with a hot cup of Masala Chai.
You can buy these at Latin, Indian, or Asian supermarkets. The skin is very tough, be careful pealing them. You can also find them in the frozen section already pealed and cut into large chunks. This is a great time savings and ready to use when you want.
The perfect texture is supposed to be soft inside and crunchy outside which you can get by cooking it twice. First boil it to get them cooked all the way through, then fry (or Airfry) it to get them crunchy on the outside. Then sprinkle some salt, red pepper, or chaat masala and you can even squeeze a bit of lemon juice. Dip it in Imli chutney, green chutney or simply ketchup and enjoy them hot!
I miss the days growing up vacationing in Mombasa, going to the lighthouse in the evenings and buying these from street vendors who cook them right there at the beach.
Well if you like Yucca, try out this recipe.
Makes: 4-5 servings
Time: 40 mins
Ingredients:
- 1 large Yucca or about 3 cups worth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder (haldi)
- 6 cups of water
- Oil for frying
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder, or Tajin spice mix
- 1/4 tsp Chat Masala (I like the MDH brand)
- Serve with lemon wedges and your favorite sauce
- Carefully peel the yucca. Cut them in 3″ long chunks, then quarter them lengthwise to look like wedges. In the center there is a tough vein that you can cut out.
- Add the yucca, salt, turmeric, water to a pressure cooker. Cover and cook for 20 mins. Let it cool and release pressure naturally then open the cooker. The pieces will be yellow due to the turmeric. Poke the center with a knife, it should be soft. Don’t worry if it is overcooked a little. Drain out all the water. The timing depends on your pressure cooker, adjust if needed. This is how it should look at this stage:
- In a frying pan heat up oil on medium high for frying.
- Gently add the yucca and fry till very lightly brown. Mostly yellow but some specs of browning. Be sure to fry a few at a time so the pieces don’t stick together. Turn each side to brown evenly about 4 mins on each side.
- Remove on paper towel to absorb the extra oil
- While hot immediately sprinkle the salt, red chili, tajin, chat masala on top.
- Serve with lemon wedge and your favorite sauce and enjoy!
Tips:
- Instead of frying, you can spray them with oil and put in Air fryer for 10 mins till crispy on the outside.
- It takes great dipped in raita as well, try this variation as a sauce – Herb Raita.
- For other simple ideas, check out more recipes in the Appetizer Section.