Besan Waali Arbi

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! When you need gram flour and there isn't any at home, and the stores are closed, where do you go? To a Gujarati parent with 2 sons, because they have 'be-son'! Geddit? Huh? Huh? I'd apologize for how bad this joke is, but you know I'm not really. And this isn't the last one either! (Evil laugh!)

Speaking of Gujarati's, I have a few very good Gujarati friends, including the lovable Refugee, who used to crash in our spare room in Antrim, Northern Ireland, back in 2011. Over the years, however, our roles were reversed and when Refugee moved to London, when I wasn't paying him and his Mrs. a social visit, I shamelessly used his pad as a place to crash when travelling in and out of London. Have an early morning flight from London? No problem! Just take the train from Solihull to London the evening before, and crash on Refugee's couch. Schengen visa appointment early Monday morning? No problem! Just take the train from Solihull to London the evening before, and crash on Refugee's couch. All for the very small price of cooking the odd dinner as a thank you. When I wasn't taking advantage of his hospitality, we'd go out, watch movies, eat some delectable Hyderabadi biryani, toss back a few beers, and watch football.

On one occasion, we went to a pub called Pepper Saint Ontiod in Canary Wharf in London to surprise a friend who played gigs there with her band. After chugging back a few beers (I was looking for a reason to keep going back to the bar to speak to the very cute bartender girl), eating, cheering loudly for the band, and basically having a great time, we helped the band pack up and lug their ridiculously heavy equipment and put them on a train back home. Since it was late, and because we were greedy despite eating at the pub, we popped into a nearby Indian restaurant to grab some takeaway to eat when we got home. Then it was home, dinner, bed, followed predictably by a hangover the following morning.

While the takeaway was nothing to write home about, this recipe certainly is, and if you like arbi half as much as I do, you'll love it.

For my Besan Waali Arbi, you will need the following:

Arbi (Colocasia/Taro root)	500 gms
Besan (gram flour)	2 cups
Garlic	3-4 cloves
Green chillies	2
Salt	to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Mince the garlic.
2. Chop the chillies.
3. Grab a pressure cooker.
4. Plonk the arbi in.
5. Fill it with water until the arbi is submerged.
6. Sprinkle in some salt. 
7. Slap on the lid.
8. Turn on the gas.
9. Bung the pressure cooker on. 
10. Wait until the first whistle begins.
11. Turn off the gas just as the pressure cooker is about to whistle. (Any more and you'll have a mushy mess!)
12. Wait until the steam leaves the pressure cooker.
13. Open the lid.
14. Cool the arbi down with cold water.
15. Peel the skin off.
16. Cut the arbi into biggish pieces.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in the oil. (I sometimes do half oil, half ghee.)
4. Count to 20.
5. Pop in the garlic.
6. Roll in the chillies.
7. Take in the wonderful aroma.
8. Gradually add in the besan. 
9. Mix until you have a nice smooth paste.
10. Add salt to taste.
11. Mix and cook for a couple of minutes.
12. Drop in the arbi.
13. Mix until the arbi is well coated with the besan.
14. Cook together for a few minutes.
15. Turn the gas off.
16. Serve with hot rotis.
17. Stuff face.
18. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: I love eating besan waali arbi with yellow moong dal; when I finish my rotis, I mix the remaining arbi in with the dal and eat it. Try it. It's ace.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!