KURKURI FRIED ARBI

KURKURI FRIED ARBI

Colocasia (Taro Root) is a commonly available vegetable in India. In Hindi, it is called Arbi, while as in Kannada it is called Kesavuna Gedde. In my mother tongue, Konkani we call it Alvamande.

In different parts of the country, it is used to make a variety of dishes using the leaves or the roots or both.  Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for Arbi Masala Fry, Dum Arbi, and Alvamande Fry

Today's recipe is for a starter made with arbi. It is adapted from Kurkuri Fried Arbi , a YouTube video from Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana.

I made this recently and we loved it as a snack.

Ingredients:

• Arbi (Colocasia),  250 grams
• Chilli Powder, 1 tsp
• Black Peppercorns, crushed, to taste
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Coriander Seeds, roasted and crushed, 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds, roasted and crushed, 1/2 tsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste, 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind Pulp, 1/4 tsp
• Rice Flour, 2 tbsp + some for dusting/ coating 
• Semolina, 1 tbsp + some for dusting/ coating
• Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 1/2 tbsp
• Mint Leaves, finely chopped, 1/2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for shallow frying

Method:

Wash and pressure cook the arbi in adequate water for 2 whistles or till it is cooked
Wait for the cooker to cool, remove the arbi and peel off the skin
In a bowl, mash the arbi properly either with a potato masher or using your hands
To this add salt, chilli powder, crushed black peppercorns, turmeric powder, roasted and crushed coriander seeds, roasted and crushed cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste and tamarind pulp
Mix well
Next add the finely chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves
Add 2 tbsp of rice flour and 1 tbsp of semolina and mix well kneading the mixture to make a dough

In another plate, mix together some rice flour, semolina, a little salt and some pepper powder and keep aside. We will use this for dusting/coating the arbi later.

As the arbi tends to be sticky, wet your palms and divide the arbi dough into equal portions
Flatten each of the portions and make them into even sized and shaped small discs of about 1/2 cm thickness

Wet your palms and apply a little water on the discs and dust them in the mixture of rice flour and semolina.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and and when it is moderately hot, place the discs on the pan
Shallow fry the arbi discs till they are golden and crisp on one side
Flip the discs, drizzle some oil and shallow fry till they are crisp and golden on both sides
Serve hot as a starter or snack