Not gonna lie, my kitchen smells so insanely good right now! We’re in South Indian (Tamil) food paradise. I mean what’s not to love about crispy fried taro root/colocasia or seppankizhangu in Tamil. Dare I say they are even better than potatoes?!
My all time favorite food home cooking. It’s another one of those effortlessly and naturally vegan recipes.
Taro are commonly boiled to soften first and then peeled, but I actually peel them raw. They’re small and hairy which makes peeling a bit challenging, but it is oh so worth it! Make sure you wash the taro thoroughly and then peel. Slice them into circles. They get so much more crispy this way.
This super easy and incredibly delicious recipe below:
Ingredients:
serves 2-4
1 pound taro/colocasia, washed, peeled and sliced into circles
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp oregano seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1 1/2 tsp sambar powder (or red chilli powder if you don’t have sambar powder handy)
1 tsp coarse salt
3 tbsp canola oil
Method:
Heat oil in a large non stick pan. Add a tsp mustard seeds, wait till they start popping and smell nutty. Add 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder. Fry a couple of seconds. Add 1/2 tsp oregano seeds.
Throw in the sliced taro and sprinkle a tsp salt. Mix well. Make sure they’re spread out into one even layer as much as possible. If they’re piled one on top of the other, they’ll steam rather than stay crispy. So spread them out, cover and cook for 2-3 mins.
Uncover, toss them over gently and continue cooking uncovered over higher heat for another 6-8 mins.
Sprinkle a tsp sambar powder, or just red chili powder if you don’t have sambar powder handy. Mix thoroughly.
Now it’s just all about tossing them gently so they get nice and crispy all through.
Serve hot with dal, or sambar along with a grain of your choice. Or, if you’re like me, taste each piece for seasoning right out of the pan and you’ll left with two pieces when you’re done taste tasting. Oops! <3
