Dum Arbi / Colocasia Curry

Arbi goes commonly by the name of taro root or colocasia. It is a starchy root vegetable and is high in fibre content. In South India, arbi is prepared in the traditional style with a bit of tempering and turmeric and letting it crisp in oil till it achieves a beautiful golden colour.
This time I decided to try the North Indian gravy based dish using colocasia called Dum Arbi. This is a delectable gravy dish cooked in a spicy yogurt base and goes well with rotis or dal and rice.

Recipe Details :
Serves: 4 pax
Time: 45 mins
Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients : 

• 500 gms of Arbi
• 2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes puréed
• 1 garlic pod, finely minced (optional)
• 2 tsp ginger, finely grated
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• A pinch of asafoetida (optional)
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped for garnish

Method:

• Wash the arbi nicely so that the mud is washed away. Add the arbi in a pressure cooker with lightly sated water (enough to cover) for 3 whistles on medium flame. Switch off the flame once the whistles are done.
• Wait for the cooker to come to room temperature. Upon cooling, open the cooker and peel off the skin of the arbi.
• Cut the arbi into equal cubes, it will be a bit slippery, so cut with a blunt knife if required.
• Cool the vegetables for a few minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Add the arbi cubes in this pan and fry them till golden brown outside and remove them on an absorbent paper and keep them aside.
• Now in another pan, take 1 tbsp of oil and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida.
• Add chopped garlic, green chilli and onion and sauté it till the onions become translucent.
• Add ginger and tomato purée and again sauté it for 3 minutes. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala and saute it till oil separates.
• Add the yogurt now, mix it well and stir it continuously in the pan till it comes to boiling point. To balance consistency, add water (around 1/4 cup) to boil the gravy again – keep stirring it at this stage.
• Now add the fried arbi cubes, salt and mix it well so that the cubes get coated uniformly with this gravy. Cover it with a lid and cook it for 5 minutes on low flame.
• 
• Switch off the flame, garnish with coriander leaves and serve it hot.

Tips:

• Fry the arbi in batches – do not overcrowd the pan.
• You can shallow fry too , as long as you cut the arbi into small cubes.