Jicama Salad

I had posted a recipe of Jicama Salad earlier, this is another version of this salad. This can be used as a side dish, or as one of the fillings for taco, burrito or fajita. You can mix it with your favorite salsa. I like it mixed in with my bean, corn, and mango salsa (recipe on this blog)
Here is some information on Jicama as I  mentioned on my earlier post."Pachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as jicama (hicama); Spanish jícama, Mexican yam, or Mexican turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Spaniards spread cultivation of Jícama from Mexico to Philippines, from there it went to China and other parts of Southeast Asia.  Although I never had it in India, I found out that it is available in India and known as mishrikand.

The flavor is sweet and starchy, reminiscent of
some apples or raw green beans, or asian pear, and it is usually eaten raw, sometimes with salt, lemon, or lime juice and chili powder. It is also cooked in soups and stir-fried dishes. Jícama is often paired with chili powder, Cilantro, ginger, lemon, lime juice, orange, red onion, salsa, sesame oil, and soy sauce. The root's exterior is yellow and papery, while its inside is creamy white. It has a crisp texture that resembles raw potato or Asian pear

Jícama is high in carbohydrates in the form of dietary fiber. It is composed of 86-90% water; it contains only trace amounts of protein and lipids. Its sweet flavor comes from the oligofructose inulin  (also called fructo-oligosaccharide) which is a prebiotic. Jicama is high in vitamins C, A, and some Bs, along with calcium and phosphorus.

It should be stored dry, between 12 and 16°C (53 and 60°F). Colder temperatures will damage the root; do not refrigerate. A fresh root stored at an appropriate temperature will keep for a month or two.

In Mexico it is popular in salads, fresh fruit combinations, fruit bars, soups, and other cooked dishes. Just like in India, they sell cut cucumber  and guava as street food with salt, cumin, cayenne pepper and lime juice, this is sold the same way in Mexico as street food along wth strips of cucumber and pineapple.
In contrast to the root, the remainder of the Jícama plant is very poisonous, the seeds contain the toxin rotenone, which is used to poison insects and fish.

Ingredients: 
* 2 pounds of Jicama
* 1/4 cup of chopped Cilantro
* Freshly squeezed juice from 2 limes
* 1 large jalapeno pepper (or to taste)
* Salt to taste.
* 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper(or to taste)

Method: 
* Wash and cut Jicama in to two halves.
* Peel the skin off.
* Cut the  the peeled jicama in small cubes of desired size.
* Finely chop jalapeno pepper.
* Wash and finely chop cilantro.
* Fold the chopped jalapeno pepper and cilantro with cubed jicama. 

* Add lime juice, salt, and crushed red pepper.
* Toss all ingredients until well incorporated.
* Serve fresh you may refrigerate the rest.

 

Jicama information source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachyrhizus_erosus

http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License

Recipe and Photographs by Surekha.