I dont know if you have ever done this but whenever I see Lotus stem on the menu of any restaurant I get excited. At my local vegetable market, I am pleased to see lotus root freshly available. In my hometown in Andhra Pradesh, Lotus stem is cooked with mustard base and it is one of my favorites. Here are some lotus stem recipes compiled. If you have one that you would like to share please send it to editors or post it right here below.

Lotus Stems stir fry

2 cups thinly sliced lotus stem
¼ cup cornflour
2 tbsp chilli oil
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp dry red chillie flakes
1/3 cup tomato ketchup
2 tbsp soya sauce
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Dust the lotus stem with cornflour and deep fry in hot oil till crisp/Drain on paper towels and keep aside. Heat the chilli oil in a wok, add the honey, chillies flakes, tomato ketchup and soya sauce and bring to boil. Add the lotus stem slices and salt and toss well till the sauce coats the lotus stem evenly. Serve.

Lotus stem pickle

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) thinly sliced lotus stem (kamal kakdi / bhein)
1 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf) , crushed
1 tsp coriander (dhania) seeds , crushed
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
6 whole dry kashmiri red chillies
8 to 10 black peppercorns (kalimirch)
3/4 cup mustard oil
2 tbsp salt

Method

Wash the lotus stem roundels thoroughly. Pat them dry using a dry kitchen towel. Keep aside.

Combine the nigella seeds, chilli powder, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric powder, red chillies, peppercorns, salt and oil together and mix well.

Add the lotus stem roundels and toss well.

Bottle in a sterilised glass jar. Press the ingredients in the jar lightly, using a spoon so that the lotus stem roundels are completely immersed in oil.Keep the jar in the sun for 6 to 8 days. This pickle can be stored for upto 1 year.

Kashmiri recipe

1/2 kg / 17.6 oz lotus stems
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 tablespoons Kashmiri red chili powder
250g/ 8.8 oz/ 2 cups rice flour
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 cups water
310ml, 8 fl oz, 400g oil suitable for frying

Peel the lotus stems.Wash them under running water.With the help of the vegetable chopper, make slices of the stems. Place in a a large bowl, Add salt, chillie powder, cumin seeds, rice flour and mix with water. Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly, until all of the stems are coated with the rice flour batter.Pour oil into a deep frying pan.  Immerse the battered lotus pieces in the oil to deep fry. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to drain and serve while hot

Andhra style Lotus stem curry

Ingredients :-

Chopped lotus stem- 2
Tamarind - 1/2 lemon sized
Salt - 1,1/2 tbspn
Turmeric - 1 tbspn

For Paste :-

Seasame seeds / Nuvvulu - 6 tbspns
Mustard seedsd Aavalu - 4 tbspns
Dried Chillies - 4
Oil - 1 tsp

For Seasoning :-

Oil - 2 tbspns
Mustard seeds (Aavalu) - 1/2 tbspn
Urad Dal (Minapappu) - 1/2 tbspn
Dried Chillies – 2
Curry leaves

Preparation:

Pressure cook, lotus stem  pieces, little salt and turmeric powder for a couple of whistles. Strain and keep aside.  Soak rice grains for 20 min in water. Strain and add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, Dry red chillies and a little oil and grind them into a paste and keep aside. Now in a pan add 2 tbsp oil, and when it is hot, add red chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds, urad dal and fry till mustard seeds start spluttering. Add boiled lotus stem pieces to the pan and mix well and fry on low heat for 10 min when oil starts showing up on sides of the pan. Add tamarind paste to the curry and mix well and cook for 2 more min.Now add the paste to the curry, mix well and immediately switch off the heat.

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