Zaiqa

A few days back I was chatting with one of my very close friends. When she said she had sautéed taro root for lunch, that was enough for me to search for Arvi/Arbi/Taro Toot/Colocasia, in the market the coming weekend to buy some of those fresh tubers.

Colocasia/Taro root – Arvi

Taro root is a startchy vegetable just like potato but has a delicious nutty flavor. Roasted taro root is one of my favorite side dishes. I could eat it as a snack, as a side-dish. I also find this method of preparing this root vegetable easier as the skin peels out quite effortlessly after boiling and a quick roasting lessens its sliminess considerably. Simply boil them until tender then stir fry them to perfection. Lovely! Enjoy the stir-fried wholesome starchy tuber.

Masalewali Bhunihuwi Arvi – Spice Crusted Roasted Taro root

Ingredients:

Taro root/Caolocasia/Arvi – 8, medium sized
Canola oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds/Rai – 1 tbsp
Turmeric – a pinch
Nigella seeds/Kalonji – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Roasted Coriander/Dhaniya powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Dry Raw Mango powder/Amchur powder – 1 tsp (optional)

Masaledaar Bhunihuwi Arvi – Spice Crusted Sautéed Taro root

Method:

1. Wash the taro root and add them to a pressure cooker. Pour in water to cover them. Close the lid and pressure cook until they are soft but not over cooked. You can also steam them until they are fork tender. Once soft, peel and cut into small pieces.
2. Pour oil into a large flat heavy bottomed frying pan at medium high heat and as soon as it warms up, throw in the mustard seeds, nigella seeds, turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Add a splash of water and let it cook for 30 seconds.
3. Working quickly, spread the taro root pieces in a single layer in the pan above the masala, and let them sear. After a minute, when they are nicely browned, lower the heat and gently flip them all so that they sear well on all sides and the masala gets coated evenly on all the taro root pieces. Sprinkle Amchur powder all over stir fried taro root.
4. During the last 2-3 minutes, cover the lid of the pan. Remove from heat and enjoy the sautéed Taro root.

Luv,
Mona

Weekends are usually grocery shopping days. I love the sight of fresh fruits and vegetables. This week I had bought a few taro root and decided to prepare this ambrosial curry using them.

Arvi Ka Khatta Salan – Colocasia (or) Potatoes and Lamb Stew

Khatta Salan means ‘soured stew’. The sourness from the tomatoes, a slight heat from red chilli powder and the subtle sweetness from  caramelized onions along with the roasted spices impart an aromatic and delectable flavor to this Taro stew. This same base is used in many other versions of the khatta shorba, which are Bhendi Ka Khatta, Karele ka khatta, Aloo-Gosht ka Khatta etc.

The consistency of this curry is slightly thin and not like a thick gravy. Replace potatoes with colocasia to make it ‘Aloo aur Gosht ka Khatta Salan – Potatoes and Meat in a tangy sauce’.

Arvi aur Gosht Ka Khatta Salan – Colocasia (or) Potatoes and Lamb meat Stew

Ingredients:

Colocasia/Taro root/Arvi –  4-5, large sized, peeled, and cut into 1.5 cm cubes (or) Potatoes – 5, large sized, peeled, and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
Lamb meat with bones – 600 gms, cubed into bite size pieces
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs, fresh
Ginger garlic paste – 1 1/2 tsp
Yellow Onions – 3, large, sliced
Tomatoes – 5, large, diced finely
Salt – 2 1/2 tsp
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Roasted Cumin seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Roasted Coriander seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Tamarind concentrate/Lemon or Lime juice – 2 tbsp
Cilantro/Kothmir – 3 tbsp, chopped finely
Oil – 8 tbsp

Method:

• Take a pressure cooker and put it on medium heat and add oil. As soon as it heats up, add onions and fry until they are light brown in color. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the meat, curry leaves, red chilli powder, salt and turmeric powder, cumin and coriander seed powder and cook until meat is no longer pink. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook along for a furthur 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and oil starts to leave. Now pour in water to cover and pressure-cook till the meat is tender.
• Later, open the lid of the cooker and add the colocasia/potatoes and stir well. Also add the tamarind paste/lemon or lime juice and around 4 cups of water. Half cover the lid and let it cook on simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the tuber has become soft. You can test it by piercing one cubed colocasia/potato with a fork. It should be soft. If it isnt, let it simmer for a little more time. Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately along with rice or parathas.

Note: You can replace colocasia with peeled and quartered turnips to make it ‘Shalgam aur Gosht Ka Khatta Salan’ – Turnip and Lamb meat in a Tangy Sauce.

Luv,
Mona