Colocasia (Eddo) Curry - Free From Tomato and Garlic
Arvi ki Rasedar Sabji (Bhaji)
Top picture; cooked with South Indian style tarka with black mustard seeds and curry leaves
This is a simple and tasty curry, which used to be very popular in my parents house. Serve with How To Cook Rice Perfectly, Chapatti or Roti or Phulka 1, Indian Flat Bread or Paratha, Plain.
You can omit the onions, making it an 'onion, tomato and garlic free dish.
Colocasia esculenta probably originated in India, where it is known as Arvi in Hind. Other names; Arbi, Cheppankizhangu, Cocoyam, Dasheen. Its tubers/corm look like small yams, with brown rings, dark and light alternating, all along it?s fibrous surface. They have a white, cream or light pink flesh. The tubers are used to make chips, soup, numerous varieties of curries and bhajies, roasted like potatoes, even made into flour. It is a staple food in many tropical countries around the world, it is an excellent source of fibre, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and folic acid. Colocasia leaves of the Indian variety are edible but they must be boiled before eating, in order to remove the oxalates that cause irritation of the tongue. See [recipe:10255, delicious! There are many varieties of Colocasia around the world; eddo, dasheen, elephant's ear, West Indian kale, coco-yam and old coco-yam, and coco. Some varieties contain oxalates even in their tubers, and can cause irritation of the skin and tongue and should be avoided.
Serves 3-4.
Ingredients
- 350 gm. packet of eddo/arvi/colocasia tubers
- 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. oil
- For South Indian style, 1/2 tsp. black mustard seeds or rai and a few curry leaves
- For North Indian style, 1 level tsp. carom or ajwain seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida or hing powder
- 1 dry red chilli, broken up
- 4-5 tbsp. thick, mature natural yoghurt (khutti dahi))
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp. coriander powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Boil Colocasia tubers in a pan of water until tender. You can steam them in a microwave for 7-8 (5+3) minutes, until soft to touch, they 'give' a little when pressed. Cool, peel and slice lengthways or into circles. Keep aside.
- Add all spices, salt and yoghurt, mix, keep aside
- Heat oil.
- For South Indian version, add mustard seeds and hing. When seeds splutter, add broken red chilli and curry leaves, stir for 2-3 seconds.
- For North Indian version, add carom seeds and broken up red chilli.
- Add onion and ginger. Fry until onion is lightly browned.
- Add all spices and yoghurt mix, stir it in.
- Now add Colocasia slices, stir fry for a few seconds.
- Add water.
- Bring to boil and simmer covered for 7-8 minutes.
- Serve hot with Paratha, Plain.
- You can add chopped coriander leaves as garnish.
Notes
- Use full cream yoghurt. Skimmed milk yoghurt tends to curdle during cooking.