Arbi or Chamadumpa fry
Arbi/chamadumpa/colocasia/Taro root fry is a feel good mildly spiced accompaniment with a crunch.
Servings: 2 to 3 servings
Ingredients
- 250 grams of Arbi Taro root
- 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- A sprig of curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Soak arbi in water and scrub well to remove any dirt.
- Add enough water to immerse them along with half a teaspoon of salt and parboil arbi in a pressure cooker for about one whistle. This takes 5 to 8 minutes.
- Cool, drain the water, peel the skin and slice the arbi to circular chunks.
- Add red chilli powder, turmeric and salt to the pieces.
- Gently mix so that the spices coat well to the arbi pieces.
- Heat oil in a wide nonstick pan over medium heat and season it with mustard seeds.
- Once the mustard splutters, add the spice coated arbi pieces.
- Fry with occasional stirring for about 12 to 15 minutes over medium heat without burning them.
- Add curry leaves and coconut oil and fry for another 2 minutes on high heat, so that you get a nice golden brown colour. Turn off the heat.
- It tastes best as an accompaniment with rice and Sambar, Rasam, Dhal, or you can just have it as a as a starter.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Make sure not to overcook arbi, otherwise they become mushy.
- It is best when served hot as the fry loses crispiness after a while.
- You can sprinkle 1 teaspoon of rice flour to increase crispiness (some people also use besan or chick pea flour)…I haven’t used any of them today.
- Adding salt while boiling reduces risk of overcooking arbis.
- Use a wide skillet so that the arbi have enough space to spread and fry well.
- Use of coconut oil is a different experience…try it out!!