Seppankizhangu fry or roast is often made on a stove top with a liberal amount of oil to evenly roast the vegetable. I have recently started using my air fryer to make the arbi roast and I may never go back to the traditional method of pan-frying it again.
Why Use Air Fryer to Make Taro Fry?
Air fryer has indeed changed my cooking style to some extent. I love cooking these taro root fry in a heavy cast iron pan as it gives a beautiful caramelization. It is quite a bit of hands-on work as we have to patiently roast/fry these in medium flame and keep flipping to cook evenly. But with the air fryer, it is much easier to attain an even roast without constant stirring. The vegetable also remains quite moist inside while nicely roasted outside. There are a few tips (I will talk about them below) that I follow that help keep the taro roots from becoming too dry.
Why this recipe works?
This is a very easy recipe and uses just the basic spices and ingredients. Air frying the seppankizhangu poriyal makes it consume much less oil. It is less hands-on work as the frying part is done in the air fryer. We just have to toss the taro fry once in a while.
How to serve this Arbi fry?
The Taro root fry tastes delicious with vatha kuzhambu. On this particular day, I made the Arachuvitta Sundakkai Vatha Kuzhambu and it was the best combination ever. I also love it with yogurt rice. In fact, I can have a couple of extra servings of yogurt rice if I have Seppankizhangu roast for lunch. There is a different recipe that uses flour coating to make the Arbi fry and that is also often served as a snack or appetizer. I will be testing that version soon in the air fryer, but until then here is a recipe that you could take a look at.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes. Seppankizhangu - Also known as Arbi in Hindi and Taro root or colocasia is English. Use similar-sized taro root for even cooking. Use as many as needed depending on number of people feeding. Dry spice powders - I use turmeric powder, red chili powder, and cumin-coriander powder to season my arbi roast. Apart from these, we need oil and salt as needed. I also use a little curry leaves for flavor. Recipe Note - If I am making this poriyal / seppankizhangu on the stove top, then I would be seasoning it with mustard seeds before adding the dry spice powders. Since I am roasting these taro roots in the air fryer, I skipped that.
Step-by-step process
First start with cooking the seppankizhangu. I use my pressure cooker or Instant Pot to cook the taro root. The cooking time varies depending on the size of the taro root. I choose medium and even sized taro and it takes about 6 minutes on normal mode to cook. If the taro roots are bigger in size, cook it for about 7 to 8 minutes.
Release the pressure for 10 minutes and then peel the cooked seppankizhangu.
Now chop the arbi into even-sized rounds or ½ inch cubes. Place the chopped pieces in a bowl.
Add the dry spice powders along with salt and about 1 tablespoon of oil and gently mix it to combine.
Preheat the air fryer to 370 F for about 3 minutes.
Now place the prepared seppankizhangu in a single row without crowding the tray. If preferred, you can brush the air fryer tray/basket with a layer of oil as well.
Insert the air fryer basket back in place and let it cook for about 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, remove the basket, gently toss around the content, and then return back to finish cooking. It took me about 8 to 10 minutes to evenly roast a batch. I flipped and tossed the arbi about 3 times in between.
Expert Tips
Choose medium and even-sized seppankizhangu / taro root for uniform cooking. If the sized of the vegetables vary, then some might overcook and some might be too hard. I like to cook the colocasia a little bit on the softer side to make sure that it does not become too dry in the air fryer. This tip has worked for me every time. Follow this tip if the arbi becomes too soft. Remove the arbi from the cooking water and let it dry out. You can also place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and it will firm up a little bit. Then peel the skin and chop it before air frying. Do not overcrowd the air fryer basket. Make sure that you have space to toss the seppankizhangu poriyal comfortably.
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