Colocasia is known as Arbi in Hindi and chamadumpa in telugu.It is also know as taro vegetable. The best way to cook this is to simply stir fry it with salt and chilli powder. It can be had in combination with rice and pappu charu and is quite comforting specially in winters. It also can also be eaten as a snack on its own.
Making the chamadumpa vepudu is a little time consuming as it takes aroud 15-20 mintues to get fried. It does take more oil but then what is life without indulgence once in a way 😛
Arbi/chamadumpa looks like this.
Ingredients:
Chamadumpalu/arbi/colocasia : 1/4 kg
Oil : 1/2 cup (you can adjust the quantity as you wish)
Salt and chilli powder: to taste
Step 1 : Cooking the arbi.
Wash the arbi well to remove any mud sticking to it.
Drain off the excess water.
Place the arbi in pressure cooker and add enough water to immerse all the pieces.
Place the cooker on stove and cook till done. (Arbi takes roughly the same time as rice to cook. So maybe 2 whsites on high and another 5 minutes on low). Once the cooker cools to room temperature, drain out the excess water from the arbi and keep the pieces aside.
Step 2: Peeling and chopping.
Peel the skin off the arbi. It does come off easily. It is similar to peeling potatoes. You would find that the pieces are slimy to touch but the sliminess will go off during the process of frying.
(Once you have peeled the arbi/chamadumpalu do not wash them in water as they would turn more slimy)
Now chop the arbi into bite sized pieces and keep aside.
Step 3: Stir frying
Heat the oil in a non stick kadhai.
When the oil warms up, add all the pieces to the kadhai.
Do not stir or move the pieces for about 5 minutes. Allow to cook on medium flame. Stirring at this point may mash up the pieces.
When you feel that the pieces at the bottom have fried a bit, gently stir around with a wooden spoon.
Keep repeating the process till all the pieces have browned well.
Now add the salt and mix well.
Add chilli powder and mix again.
Serve hot with rice.
Tips:
To make the stir fry crunchier, chop the arbi into small pieces. If you like it soft, just chop into bigger pieces
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