Batter-Fried Taro Root with a Peanut-Garlic Sauce

Name: Batter-Fried Taro Root with a Peanut-Garlic Sauce (Arbi Pakode Chi Bhajee)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 4 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed; ¼ cup chickpea flour; ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; 2 tablespoons salted dry-roasted peanuts; 1 teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper); 1 pound taro root (see box); Canola oil for deep-frying, plus 2 tablespoons for the sauce; 4 large cloves garlic; 2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt

Arbi Pakode Chi Bhajee

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

Frankly, I could eat the batter-fried taro root as is, without sousing it with the equally addictive peanut-garlic sauce. Go ahead and snatch a fried piece or two, and do take note of how much firmer (albeit slightly dry) this tastes when compared to the steamed pieces in the other curry recipes.

Ingredients

1 pound taro root (see box)
¼ cup chickpea flour
2

Asia
India
Main course
Vegan
Gluten-free
Spicy

Method

Peel the gnarly-looking taro roots with a swivel peeler or a paring knife. Thoroughly rinse them under running water. They will be extremely starchy and slippery (no matter how much you rinse, the slipperiness will never go away). Cut each root into 2-inch cubes. Place them in a medium-size saucepan, add water to cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the