It was the first time that I was cooking this vegetable and hence, was a bit apprehensive about how it will turn out.
It’s normally deep fried and roasted with the masala to give it the crunchy taste. But in that process, the colocasia ends up consuming a lot of oil. So, I decided to make it in my own way which is healthier and as delicious as it can be.
Needless to say, it was yum!
Recipe for Masala Arbi
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Serves upto 3 persons
Ingredients:
- Arbi: 500 gms
- Peanut: 100 gms
- Green chilli: 2
- Coriander leaves: handful
- Curry leaves: 8 – 10
- Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
- Oil: 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder: 2 tsp
- Asafoetida powder: 2 tsp
- Salt as per taste
- Water: 2 cups
- Lemon: 1/2
Instructions:
- Wash the arbi in running water and soak it for 5 minutes to remove all the dirt.
- In a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water and put the arbi in it. Cook it for upto 2 whistles and then switch off the flame.
- In the meantime, in a saucepan, dry roast the peanuts for 10 minutes till it starts changing colour. Then switch off the gas and transfer the roasted peanuts onto a plate and let it cook down completely. Alternatively, you can microwave the peanuts for 3 minutes. While microwaving it, ensure you roast it for 1 minute each time and stir it after every minute upto 3 minutes so that the peanuts don’t get burnt. (To check if the peanut is well roasted, you should be able to remove the skin of the peanut easily and it must be crunchy when you bite it.)
- In a mixer, add the roasted peanuts, 2 green chillies and a handful of coriander leaves and grind it finely. (dry grind it without adding any water)
- By now the colocasia would have cooled down completely. Open the pressure cooker, drain the water and peel off the skin. Slice them with 1 cm thickness.
- In a saucepan kept on medium flame, add 2 tsp oil. Once the oil gets hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let it sputter. Next, add the curry leaves, asafoetida powder and the sliced colocasia.
- Add turmeric powder and salt as required and stir it well. Cook it for about 10 minutes. Keep stirring it occassionally so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Next, add the ground masala in the saucepan and mix it well and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
- Switch off the gas, squeeze lemon juice on the sabzi, garnish it with coriander leaves and serve it hot with roti or rice.
Tips:
- While picking colocasia, buy round ones as the long ones can cause irritation in the throat while eating.
- Given colocasia’s characteristics, it tends to get a little messy while peeling the skin and cutting this vegetable. My suggestion is to apply some oil on your palm before you start so that it doesn’t get sticky.
Bon Appetit!