Taro is thought to be a native plant of South India and it was the poor man’s potato until the latter became very cheap. Growing up, when the taro plants sprouted amongst the paddy fields, we knew the summer was over, and soon school would be back in session and the rivers would be full.
The taro’s leaves grow as big as an elephant ear, and during the monsoon, it was almost scary to see these monstrous leaves. Even today, during Spring, it gives me so much pleasure to see similar leafy plants, like hosta, sprout up around here. I almost always stop to take pictures and remember the paddy fields with taro plants from my childhood!
In the South, the favorite way to cook this root is to deep fry it, but I wanted to figure out a healthy alternate. Taro roots contain toxic substances, and need to be cooked well. The IP provides excellent control while cooking taro root, and this recipe is a simple and a healthy way to cook it.
Taro Roast is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
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Taro Root (cheppankizangu, colocasia) Roast
In the South, the favorite way to cook this root is to deep fry it, but I wanted to figure out a healthy alternate. Taro roots contain toxic substances, and need to be cooked well. The IP provides excellent control while cooking taro root, and this recipe is a simple and a healthy way to cook it. This is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
Add 1.5 cups of water into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP). Insert a stainless-steel steamer basket. Place the taro roots in the steamer basket.
Select ‘Steam’ with vent sealed, and cook for 6 min. Once the steam cycle is done, let the IP cool down and the pressure go down naturally.
When the IP has cooled down, open the lid and wait for the taro roots to cool down for about 5 minutes.
Peel off the skin (it should come off easily) and slice the taro root into ¼” round pieces.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan).
Pour vegetable oil over the spices (need enough to wet the pan surface plus a little more).
Heat on medium high. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," spread the cooked taro roots evenly across the surface of the pan. Let them fry.
Add salt. Sprinkle turmeric powder, sambar powder, and the red chili powder uniformly over the surface of the taro roots.
Periodically flip the taro roots, each time spraying with canned aerosol vegetable oil. Continue to sprinkle red chili powder and sambar powder over the surface as needed.
Keep the heat on medium high and slowly dry roast the taro roots until desired color and crispiness are achieved.
Since the taro roots absorb nearly all moisture while they cook, sprinkling water on them occasionally may help to cook the taro roots with spices uniformly.
Once done, sprinkle a few cilantro leaves on top as garnish and serve hot.
What would a Madarasi do when cooking a Chole Masala? He naturally would add a spoon or two (or more) of sambar powder. I have been cooking this version of Chole for a long time and I would say this is a perfect blend of North and TamBram cooking traditions, resulting in a mouthwatering dish. It is the combination of sambar, chana and garam masala powders that gives this fusion its aroma and taste. For a TamBram, it is the sight of the black mustard seeds floating in the chole that makes this dish so homey. There is something in it for a Punjabi too. The alluring taste of amchoor and the masala smell is enough to make this dish at least partially Punjabi. But why add jaggery to this dish, you may ask. For a long time, this was a deliberately kept secret by the old-time wedding cooks in Madras. Their sambars were notoriously good and no one was able to figure out why. Legend has it that the master cooks wouldn’t even tell their own crews what it was. The master cook would come in at the final hour to taste the sambar, and pull out a packet of jaggery and mix it without telling anyone about it. But here is a word of caution, jaggery needs to be added in just the right amount. As they say in Tamil, beyond its limit, even the immortal nectar (amrit) becomes poisonous.
This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
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Madarasi Chole Masala
I have been cooking this version of Chole for a long time and I would say this is a perfect blend of North and TamBram cooking traditions, resulting in a mouthwatering dish. It is the combination of sambar, chana and garam masala powders that gives this fusion its aroma and taste. For a TamBram, it is the sight of the black mustard seeds floating in the chole that makes this dish so homey. This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
Carefully remove any small stones or bad garbanzo beans. Rinse the beans thoroughly and soak them overnight.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into the instant pot inner pot (IP) (put the spices in one small area of the pot). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Plug in the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, butter, and ginger/garlic paste into the pan. Stir until the butter melts and the chilies and garlic/ginger paste mix well together.
Add onions to the pot. Stir occasionally until the onions are cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add salt, sambar powder, masala powder, channa masala powder and the turmeric powder. Mix them well and let them cook together. Add a cup of water to the pot and bring to a boil.
Add the diced tomatoes. Ensure you stir periodically for uniform cooking and mixing of spices. Bring it to a boil.
Rinse the garbanzos and pour them into to the IP. Add Potatoes. Add about 1.0 cup of water, but ensure that the water is just enough and it is not too much.
On manual high pressure with the vent closed, cook them for 10 minutes. Once the IP has cooled down, make sure there is no pressure in the cooker and that the (pressure) pin is down. Open the cooker lid -- be careful, as the dhal will be extremely hot.
Add jaggery when the contents are still hot and stir it well.
Upma is the humble Indian version of a polenta or a spicy porridge. However, despite its modest beginning, it takes on multiple incarnations thanks to the many forgiving ways you can forge its recipe. For example, Floyd Cardoz, a Bombay-born New York chef, recently won the coveted Top Chef Masters contest in Los Angeles by taking this dish and upping it to an haute cuisine. Its unassuming nature starts with its name, which simply translates to ‘salty flour.’ It has always been a breakfast for sadhus, and aam aadmis and is the go-to food for train journeys and school lunches. However, by the time you are old enough to get out of your parents’ home, you, like me, had such an overdose of Rava Upma that you want to be miles away from any kitchen that serves this dish for the rest of your life. But the secret allure of this dish cannot be denied, and you eventually crave for it. This recipe goes back to the basics, and presents its classic taste by keeping it very simple. Please give it a try.
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Rava Upma, the common man’s polenta.
Upma is the humble Indian version of a polenta or a spicy porridge. However, despite its modest beginning, it takes on multiple incarnations thanks to the many forgiving ways you can forge its recipe. This recipe goes back to the basics, and presents its classic taste by keeping it very simple. Avoid butter in this recipe to make it a vegan dish. Please give it a try.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Heat on medium. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, curry leaves, butter, and ginger into the pan. Stir until the butter melts. Mix all the spices together well for a minute.
Add onions to the frying pan. Stir occasionally until the onions become translucent. They don’t need to be cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add two cups of water to the frying pan. Add green peas and salt. Bring the water to a first boil.
Add soji (rava) slowly while constantly stirring so that it does not form any lumps.
Keep stirring the mix until all the water is absorbed. It should happen fairly quickly.
Reduce the heat to low, and close the pan with its lid for a few minutes, until the soji is cooked and becomes fluffy and moist.
