Dum Arbi

We rarely cook Arbi/ kochu/Taro at home. Not that it is not available here in Mumbai…they are aplenty everywhere, but somehow I didn’t cook much of it. But all of a sudden I find myself cooking a wee bit too much of arbi. Today is the third time I cooked arbi in the past two weeks! It is an extremely nutritious root vegetable with a lot of essential trace nutrients and most importantly has a very low glycemic index. But just like any other food varieties, too much of Arbi also not good. High consumption daily is said to cause kidney stone problems, so a controlled portion is the key word.

Today I prepared Dum arbi on the lines of Dum Aloo.

Ingredients:

Arbi : 8/10

Oil : Mustard/any other 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds : 1 pinch

Bay leaves : 2/3

Onion : 1 large

Garlic: 2/3 cloves

Ginger: 1 “ piece

Tomato : 1 large

Green chillies: 2 slit

Dhaniya pdr: 1 tsp

Garam masala pdr : 1 tsp

chilli pdr :1/2 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1 tsp

Sugar/jaggery : ½ tsp

Coriander leaves : for garnishing

How to:

Step1: Boil and peel the arbi. Cut the large ones into half. Leave the smaller ones as it is.

Step2:Heat mustard oil in a wok.

Step3:Throw in the jeera and the bay leaves in succession .

Step4:Add the garlic, and afer they have browned slightly, add the finely chopped onion and the grated ginger. Fry till oil separates. 

Step5: Now add the dhaniya pdr, garam masala pdr chopped tomatoes and fry for some more time before adding the salt, turmeric, sugar and chilli pdr.

Step6: When a nice smell emanates, add the previously boiled and peeled arbi.

Step7:Mix well, throw in the green chillies and cover, allowing the arbi to soak in the masala and the flavors.

Great with hot chapattis! Will also go great guns with dal-rice J

Kochu – Kumro’r chhokka – Diced Pumpkin and Arbi flavored with roasted spices

This was one of the first things I had cooked…when I started to cook way back but stopped cooking it for some unknown reason. After many years, my quest for cooking new (read old, forgotten ones) recipes for my blog brought out this jewel my Mom used to cook….in the process filling the entire house and the staircase with the wonderful smell of roasted spices.

Kochu-Kumro’r chhokka– Diced Pumpkin and Colocasia/Taro/Arbi  flavored with roasted spices

Ingredients :

Pumpkin –   Remove the outer skin if it’s  yellow, leave it on if its green. Dice them

Kochu(Arbi/Colocasia/Taro) - Boiled and peeled. You can peel and then boil but boiling first does two goods: a) the nutrition remains intact    b) It is much easier to peel after it is boiled. The coat just slips out like opportunities in my hand.

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Dried red chillies: 2 long ones or 4 cherry ones

Ginger: ½ tsp

Paanch Foron: ½ tsp – if you donot like the flavor of Paanch foron, which you may not, if you are not a Bengali, you could use a mixture of jeera, saunf and mustard – lends a slightly different flavour, works just as well.

Oil: 1 tsp (I used mustard, you can use any oil of your choice)

Salt

Turmeric

How to:

1.      Roast the cumin seeds and the chillies and grind them in a mixer. You add according the quantity of your dish. You can keep the remaining powder in an airtight container an use it within 15 days. I always make it a point to roast a little more than I need and keep it to be used later in my Masala muri (Bhel puri) or alu kopir chochchori {dish of chopped potatoes and cauliflowers usually taken along with roti’s/plain triangular parathas/ luchi’s(puri’s) as a part of breakfast in a Bengali household}.

 

2. In a wok, heat any oil of your choice and add the paanch foron. Now add the diced pumpkin and the boiled arbi cut in a somewhat same size. Add salt, turmeric and the ginger, mix well. Cover and let the pumpkin cook.

3. When the pumpkin is done, add the ground jeera-chilly, mix well and ........

DONE IT IS !

PS. Something has happened and the fonts are all messed up, and hoever hard I'm trying I cannot correct. I'M giving up !!!