Arbi belongs to the taro family and is a starchy root vegetable cultivated all across Asia and is widely used in various ways in several cuisines as well. Brown coloured skin with a white pulp inside it is called taro root in English, Arvi in Urdu, and Arbi in Hindi in North-India, we also know it as Colocassia and its leaves too are used in some of our Indian recipes.
It is an easy to work with ingredient since it is able to pick up flavors and tastes easily be it a simple marination or simmering it in a gravy or giving it a tadka into a subzi form or simply having it crispy fried with sukha masalas on top. Arbi is one vegetable we must include in our kitchens once in a while.
While most people find it muddy and full of slippery and slimy texture attached to its skin beneath it is a wonderful healthy ingredient to try including in our diets in various forms and that’s what makes me share this feature on Arbi.
It has a number of names in various parts of India like Kochu in Bangla, Alu in Marathi, Venti in Konkani, Cheppa in Tamil, Kesave in Kannada and the list goes on! It is popular in Philippines as well and it is called as Gabi in Tagalog the Filipino language. Global cuisines have used this ingredient applying various methods of cooking like stir frying, baking, grilling, pan frying, stewing and simmering in a sauce or gravy as well. It is great to be used to add bulk into a recipe and it also gives a nice texture to a gravy due to its starch content.
Here are a few interesting easy recipes with Arbi for our readers to try.
LASOONI METHI WALI ARBI
Ingredients
Arbi- 400 gms, peeled, sliced and kept in salted water
Oil/ghee- 2 tsp
Red chili- 2 no
Jeera- ½ tsp
Ginger- 1 tsp chopped
Garlic- 1 tbsp. chopped
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Dhaniya powder- 1 and half tsp
Red chili powder- 1/2tsp
Tomato- 1 cup chopped or puree
Fresh methi- 1 cup chop
Fresh coriander leaves- 1 cup chop
Method
- Heat oil/ghee in a pan, add in the jeera, ginger, garlic, chili and saute for 15 seconds, let the garlic get a light colour.
- Add in the fresh methi, coriander and tomatoes, add salt to taste and all the powdered spices to taste.
- Now add in the sliced arbi and mix well, cover and cook in steam for 15-20 mins until it is tender.
- Additional water may not be needed in this recipe, check for salt and serve hot with a dash of fresh lime juice on top and serve with phulkas/rotis/ parathas and a bowl of curd.
ARBI MASALEDAAR
Ingredients
Arbi- 400 gms, boiled, peeled and sliced.
Green capsicum- 1 no med cubes
Oil/ghee- 2 tsp
Hing- ¼ tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Green chilies- 1 tsp chop
Ginger- 1 tsp chop
Onion- 1 med size chop
Tomato -1/2 cup chop
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
Red chili powder- ½ tsp
Roasted crushed jeera- ½ tsp
Dhaniya powder- 1 tsp
Aamchur powder- ½ tsp
Fresh coriander -2 tbsp. chop
Dash of lime juice- 1 tsp
Roasted/fried crushed peanuts- 1 tbsp.
Method
- Prepare all ingredients for the recipe.
- Heat oil/ghee add in the ingredients one by one and lightly brown the onions add little water as needed, add tomato and all spices and mix well.
- Once the oil starts leaving the sides of the masala, add in the sliced boiled arbi, green capsicum cubes and roasted crushed peanuts and mix well simmer for 3-4 mins.
- Finally add in the coriander and lime juice and serve hot with a little fresh salad some hot phulkas, chapattis.
RASILI ARBI CURRY
Ingredients
Arbi- 400 gms, peeled and sliced.
Oil/ghee- 2 tsp
Curry leaves- 10-12 no
Slit red and green chilies- 2 no
Mustard seeds-1/2tsp
Ginger- 1 tsp cut into strips
Garlic- 1 tsp chop
Sliced onions- ½ cup
Coconut milk- 1 cup
Curd-1/4 cup + 2 tsp cashew paste
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Dhaniya powder-1 tbsp.
Red chili powder-1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder- ½ tsp
Water as needed for the curry
Assorted veggies like pumpkin, carrots, peas, potato etc can also be added in the same curry, can also use curry powder.
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish- 2 tbsp.
To serve with steamed white rice or coconut rice/ lime rice.
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients for the recipe.
- Heat oil /ghee and start tempering one by one and add in the onions and saute until light brown add water as needed.
- Add in the sliced arbi, all other ingredients, spices and salt to taste.
- Allow to simmer for 12-15 mins, add coconut milk towards the end and simmer for another 4-5 mins.
- Serve hot garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice.
