“Alvamande Sasam (Colocasia/ Arvi/ Taro Root Curry)” … sasam is a traditional dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine that's prepared with different veggies be it leafy, tuber, fruit or other varieties and surprisingly they all taste wonderful each differently imparting the flavour of veggies used … I have tried with alvamande/ arvi and it tastes wonderful served with rice … tastes equally good served with simple rice- moong dal spiced khichidi too, like I did, try it ... Yummilicious ….
** Sasam is a curry prepared with addition of mustard seeds while grinding masala. If you browse through my blog using search option or via the common link to all sasam recipes shared at the bottom of this recipe you will find that I have prepared them with veggies, tart flavored veggies, fruits, tuber vegetables, leafy veggies etc. and they all have some minute differences though they are all referred to as sasam (in Konkani GSB Cuisine). Some of the curries are prepared cooked while some are not. Some have inclusion of jaggery while others do not, some have curds, etc. and so on.
** These are all traditional recipes from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine, a community I belong to and have been in vogue for generations. I learned them from my Amma, aunties, family, friends and relatives while my amma learned them from her amma (my mamama) and she from hers. While it comes to preparing traditional recipes I just follow them without questioning and sometimes do make changes of my own to suit our liking. I have always found traditional dishes a source of inspiration which gives me a large slate to work on wherein I can give my own twists and still the taste remains intact.
** I am proud of Konkani food which seems an endless choice to prepare from and this recipe is a proof to same. I have been blogging for over 10 yrs now and there are many more I would like to share and sometimes I find myself doing much less than how much I would like to do, either due to time constraint or coz of health issues, how I wish I had started earlier. So to all out there do try out dishes and enjoy them with your family and friends as there is nothing more healthier and tastier than home cooked food and there are plenty of them shared in this blog and more to come, so stay in touch.
** Coming to Alvamande these are root/ tubers of colocasia leaves ie patrade paan/ leaves. They are known as Arvi/ Arbi in Maharashtra, Kesuvina Gedde in Karnataka, while there are many more names as per region all over the country/ world. There are plenty of recipes I have prepared over 37 yrs of my married life and while most have them have been written in my old diaries, many were just tried and forgotten to be saved. I am trying my best to revive those recipes and this is one of them. Do try this recipe if your family is fond of tuber veggies like in my home, tastes wonderful served with rice.
** Here is my recipe for “Alvamande Sasam (Colocasia/ Arvi/ Taro Root Curry)” … my style, tastes best served with rice ….
** Ingredients :
Alvamande/ Arvi/ Arbi/ Colocasia Root (Tuber)/ Kesuvina Gedde :12-15
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** Masala to be Ground :
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 1 cup
Kashrmiri Dry Red Chilly/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirch : 2-3
Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 2
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : a small marble piece
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : ½ to 1 tsp
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela/ Tengina Yenne : 1 tblsp
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh ones
** Soak Alvamande/ Colocasia Roots in plenty of water in a large bowl for 20 minutes to loosen the mud sticking to it. Once the mud get softened scrub and wash them in plenty of water until it runs clean (a necessary step).
** Add cleaned alvamande in a pressure cooker pan with enough water and pressure cook to one whistle only. Let rest aside until the pressure drops on its own, then open the lid, rinse the cooked alvamandes under running water to completely cool down (this helps in arresting further cooking of alvamande which otherwise may turn mushy). Once cooled gently peel off the skin and cut alvamande into 1/2 to 1 inch of thick rings/ roundels as shown in picture and keep them ready aside in a vessel.
** Note : There are two methods you can follow to cook to perfection. You can either peel off the skin with a help of a sharp knife or peeler, cut them into required sized pieces and then cook them or pressure cook until done or follow the method of first pressure cooking the same and then once cool enough it is easy to remove the outer skin which is then cut to required sized pieces, just follow any out of the two. I always prefer to first pressure cook, cool, peel and cut to pieces, as they turn out perfect.
** For the ground Masala : Add into mixer grinder freshly grated coconut, kashmiri red chilly, green chilly, tamarind and grind to a smooth paste adding very little water. Lastly add mustard seeds) and further grind for a few seconds only. For those of you who prefer mild aroma of mustard add ½ tsp only and those of you who like a stronger flavor of mustard seeds you can add 1 tsp like me, its individual choice.
** Note : Do not grind the sasam/ mustard to a smooth texture after adding it the masala as it will then turn the masala slightly bitter in taste.
** Note : For preparation of curries you can use any one of tart tasting fruit/ veggie mentioned like, bimbul (tree sorrel fruit), ambado (Hog Plum), karmbala (carmbola/ starfruit), ambuli (raw mango), harvo tomato (raw- green tomato), dried kokum, kudampuli etc. as is available region wise. In case you do not have access to any one of them or they are not available or again, if you do not want to use them then for any reason, do not worry, you can add a small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ Imly) while grinding the masala which is standard pattern followed in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine.
** Add ground masala to cooked- sliced alvamande along with salt to taste and mix well. Add water as is necessary to bring to required gravy consistency. Bring to a boil on medium heat stirring in between until you see bubbles appearing on surface. Lower the heat to minimum and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat Coconut oil in a small tadka pan, when hot add mustard seeds, when it begins to splutter add curry leaves fry for a few seconds, remove and pour it over the simmering curry.
** Remove from heat, cover and keep the sasam/ curry aside to rest for 10-15 minutes for the flavours to be infused into the curry. At the time of serving, check the consistency of the curry as it tends to thicken. If you find it too thick then add some boiling water and mix well to bring to desired thickness and its ready. Remember this curry is of semi thickness and tastes best served that way, so do prepare accordingly.
** “Alvamande Sasam (Colocasia/ Arvi/ Taro Root Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served with rice along with any other veggie upkari/ bhaji during meals. Tastes equally good served with simple rice- moong dal spiced khichidi too, like I did today during meals. However, if for any reason you do not prefer or want to serve with any rice dishes, you can still enjoy it with chapathi, dosa, idly too, tastes great. In all a delicious curry with mild taste of mustard that tastes awesome. Do try it and enjoy this during lunchtime with your family and friends, sure to be loved by all.
** I always endorse that home cooked food is best way to keep your family safe, active, healthy and is one of the best gift you can pass on to coming generations. It is not all difficult as it seems when you read through and over years turns to be a breeze work with little planning. Do try out this simple recipe nd enjoy with your family and friends, it does taste wonderful served with rice. There are plenty of wonderful, easy, traditional dishes in the Blog that you can try out in leisure too.
* There are plenty of “Sasam” recipes shared in Blog, each one is slightly different, however they are all equally tasty, sharing a common link below, which you may click on to browse through them and prepare that which appeals to you …
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