I remember when Arvind first time bought these roots, he mentioned how much he loves it and asked me to prepare it. We were newly married at that time. My expression was not pleasant and that odd-looking ugly brown tuber intimidated me. Fast-forward 12 years of marriage and after several failures, I am proudly presenting this sukhi arbi that comes out very delicious every time.
Ingredients for Sukhi Arbi
Arbi - Arbi is Taro roots, also known as Colocasia roots. It is very famous in Indian cuisine and prepared in several different ways. The peel is rough and the texture of the vegetable is slimy. This root vegetable is rich in fiber, antioxidants, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin E and resistant starch. There are more than a hundred varieties of taro roots, and it can be used for both sweet and savory dishes Onion - Onion is optional, and I saw my MIL prepare it just with spices, and it turned out very tasty. I like to add a little bit of onion as it adds a mild sweetness too. Spices - There are a lot of spices that go in this dish. Apart from the regular cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric and chili powder, I like to add a lot of carom seeds in the beginning and end it with dry mango powder. I also like to add some garam masala at the end.
Steps to prepare
1- Steam the Taro Roots (Arbi) for 10 minutes and then when completely cooled, peel the skin off. Then dice in medium bite size. 2- In a heavy bottom skillet, pour the oil and add carom seeds. 3- Stir-fry the onion, garlic and ginger (if using) with the rest of the spice powder. Cook the onion until it’s soft. Don’t brown it too much. 4- Scatter the sliced taro roots and gently toss around to coat the spices. Continue cooking and searing in medium heat until the spice coats the root slices evenly and creates a golden crust. 5 - Finish it with garam masala 6- Finally, add a little bit of dry mango powder. Sukhi Arbi tastes best when served right away!
Few Key Points to remember when preparing Sukhi Arbi
Pick the small variety of taro roots for this dish. Instead of trying to peel the raw, slimy taro root, steam the roots with the skin on! Once it’s cooled completely, peeling the skin off is so easy. Try cooking on a cast iron pan when you stir-fry the boiled roots. It helps in creating a lovely golden spice crust. It is best served warm and immediately after cooking. Reheating in microwave kind of takes away the outer crunchy texture of the taro bites.
Here are few other quick stir-fried dish that goes very well with roti or paratha.
Aloo Peyajkoli Bhaja Aloo Gobi Jeera Aloo
