Taro Root Fry - Cheppankizhangu varuval

My mom is an excellent cook. Her excellence is not just cooking right, but cooking the right thing. Even on a busy school-day morning, she would take time to carefully plan a menu. It can be a simple idly upma, or time-consuming onion sambar + taro fry, or healthy mashed greens or one of my favourite rice with a not-so-favourite curry. She will make sure that our lunch boxes always come back empty. I wonder how she did all that before 7:30 in the morning.

Taro root fry or Cheppankizhangu varuval is one of her signature dish that not only me but also my friends happen to love. This recipe was the first thing my friend requested when I started my blog.

Ingredients

Taro Root – 12
Bengal gram flour or Besan – 3 tbsp
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt – as needed

Method

Cook taro root until they are ¾ done. I don’t pressure cook them for this recipe as they tend to become mushy. Do this on stove-top and keep checking for doneness. Drain and peel using a peeler. Since they are only ¾ done, the peels don’t come off that easily. Cut the taro into rounds of ¼ inch thickness. Sprinkle the pieces with gram flour, salt and chilli powder and mix them without adding extra water.

Heat enough oil in a wide mouthed vessel and deep-fry the flour-coated taro pieces. Take time to separate each piece before dropping them into oil. When they turn golden brown, they are ready. Remove and drain them on paper towel.

In my opinion this is best eaten with lemon rice which is my idea of comfort food. And, Nupur, this is my entry for ‘T’ of A-Z of Indian Vegetables.