Maddi ~ Taro Roots Hummana.

Maddi hummana (hing uddaka ghalnu randai) ...... Colocasia Tuber / Taro roots Curry Seasoned with hing / Asafoetida ....

Hummana as I have already posted many a times both in veg and non-veg variations is a masala gravy dish prepared by Konkani Saraswats with the addition of hing / asafoetida for seasoning. You can prepare the same using different ingredients / vegetables. Some of the common one’s in Veg. is Potato, Colocasia roots, Chinese Potato etc. while in Non-Veg. the most common ones are Prawns, small shark. Here I have prepared the same with Maddi which is similar to colocasia tuber / root but much larger in size. I have posted a picture of the tuber variety for you to get an idea of the same.

Remove the skin of Maddi with a scrapper, say about 500 gms. Cut it into desired size pieces. I keep them a little bit large sized cubes. Wash under running water, put them in a pressure cooker add enough water, say the level should come about an inch above the pieces. Add in 1 tsp of tamarind paste to the water and mix well. Cover and pressure cook to one whistle only. One cooked, leave the cooker to cool for about 10 minutes, then slowly with the help of tongs, release the pressure by gently tilting the weight of the pressure cooker. The excess pressure it released so that the Maddi pieces are not over cooked. Put this is a cooking stainless steel vessel and keep ready aside. 

Masala to be ground : Grind to a fine paste 2 cups of freshly grated coconut with 10-12 kashmiri red chillies and a small marble sized tamarind to a smooth paste with water. The paste should be very fine and water should not be added in excess. 

Add the ground masala to the cooked maddi in the vessel and mix well. Add in water if necessary to bring to a semi thick gravy consistency. Keep this on heat and bring to a boil, lower the heat to minimum, add salt to taste and 1 large tablespoon of prepared hing water (if not available and adding hing powder leave this out) and mix well. Let the curry simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from fire and keep it aside.

For seasoning: Now you can add in 1 tblsp of coconut oil to curry as I did or if you have not added in prepared hing water, heat 1 tsp of coconut oil, when hot add in 1 tsp of hing powder, when it turns slightly in colour pour it over the curry. Whichever method you prefer can be done. Some people do not get the gummy type of hing / asfoetida, which we use by adding water to it, in which case the easily available powder form can be used. Cover and keep aside.

The curry is ready to be served. This curry goes very well with hot steamed rice. But people who prefer roti / chapatti to rice can enjoy this curry with it, just see to it that the curry remains thick and do not add excess of water. 

** Note : For Preparing Hing Water : Hing water is prepared by putting a small marble sized gummy hing (available in South Indian Stores) into a glass bottle and adding about a small cup of boiled and cooled water to it. Within a few hours the hing will slowly melt and you will get a thick whitish liquid. This is hing water. You can keep this in the fridge and use sparingly as and when needed. We GSB / Sarawath Konkani people usually prepare the same and keep it in the fridge always and use the same for dal, patrado or any other hummana etc.