Sukhi Arbi ki Sabji or sautéed spicy taro root vegetable is a perennial favourite of my family. Arbi or taro root is boiled, cut into batons and deep fried. It is then finished off by sautéing with a sprinkling of dry spices like red chilli powder, carom seeds, salt, and dry mango powder. To make it more heart friendly, I mostly omit the frying step and sauté the boiled arbi in the spices with a little oil, but sometimes we get indulgent.

Ever since my childhood, I’ve looked forward to the festival of Navratri. As a child I was not aware of the significance of the festival. It was the delicious food prepared by my mother during the festival that was the main appeal. Till date I don’t know why its called fasting. Most dishes are deep fried. Other dishes which include fruit, sabudana and vegetables are tasteful and full of flavour. The dishes I prepare today are mostly what my mother cooks. A few dishes I have learnt from neighbours and the extended family.

In my family we eat the ‘falhar’ or fasting food for the first seven days. On ‘Ahstmi’ or the eighth day, we do the pooja and have Sooji Halwa, Kale Chane and Puris for ‘parsad’.

Arbi or Taro Root is thought to be native to Southern India and Southeast Asia. It is a perennial, tropical plant primarily grown as a root vegetable for its edible starchy corm, and as a leaf vegetable.

Arbi is low in fats and the calorie value chiefly comes from complex carbohydrates. Their protein levels can be comparable to that of other tropical food sources like yam, cassava, potato, plantain, etc. The corms are free from gluten. They carry high-quality phyto-nutrition profile comprising of dietary fiber and antioxidants in addition to moderate proportions of minerals and vitamins.It also contains good levels of some of the valuable B-complex group of vitamins.

Further, the corms provide healthy amounts of some of important minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and manganese. In addition, the root has very good amounts of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

The plant is inedible when raw and considered toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate. The toxin is minimized by cooking. In this recipe the Arbi is boiled, then fried and finished with a tempering of spices.

For me, arbi is the fancier cousin of the potato, both widely used in cooking in my house. Whereas the potato takes kindly to being added to other vegetables, the arbi needs to be cooked by itself. Maybe we have grown up eating this root vegetable so love it, for I think it is an acquired taste. The taste is a cross between a potato and a yam. Through their childhood I made this dish for my children, omitting all spices except salt, and told them it was fried fish. They only realised the difference much later and will not forgive me to this day for hoodwinking them to eat the vegetable in the name of fish.

Care must be taken not to over boil it as it turns slimy. Once boiled and peeled, it should be left to cool before cutting it and frying it. The slimy feel dries out and makes it easier to cook.

Once boiled and fried, take a little oil, temper the carom seeds to release their fragrance, and add the fried arbi. Toss it to coat them in the tempered carom seeds, lower the flame and sprinkle the dried spices. Toss again to coat evenly.

Carom seeds have a similar taste to oregano and smell faintly like thyme. Their addition is to give flavour and also to help digest the taro root.

The sautéed spicy arbi tastes good by itself, though more often, it forms a part of the Indian meal which compromises of a vegetable stew or lentil, a dry vegetable, yogurt, salad, chutney and roti or rice.

Arbi is one of the finest source dietary fibres. Together with slow digesting complex carbohydrates, moderate amounts of fibre in the food help gradual rise in blood sugar levels and for this reason it is a good vegetable to have during fasting. This is why arbi is generally cooked during the Navratri festival to break the fast.

Sukhi Arbi ki Sabji

Sautéed Spicy Taro Root

Ingredients ~

5 medium arbi/taro root
1/4 tsp ajwain/ carom seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground dried amchur/mango powder
vegetable oil for frying

Method ~

1.Boil the arbi till tender.
2. Peel and leave to cool.
3. Once cool, cut into batons or into 4 pieces length wise.
4. Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the arbi till golden and crisp.
5. Empty the oil from the wok, leaving about a tablespoon.
6. In the hot oil temper the ajwain or carom seeds.
7. Take the cut arbi and add them to the pan. Cook till coated in the oil.
8. Lower the flame. Add the red chilli powder, salt and the amchur powder.
9. Cook till coated in the spices and crisp.

~ Serve hot with Kuttu Roti, Kuttu Puri, Khatte Aaloo ki Sabji, Khatti Arbi ki Sabji, Samak ke Chawal, Sabudana Khichri during the Navratri fast.

For more recipes of dishes cooked in my family during the Navratri festival, please read my post, Navratri Vrat Thali.

Most of the recipes are simple and quick to cook, yet are delicious