Arbi roast or seppankizhangu poriyal is a classic Indian dry curry that is often served in a feast. Arbi also known as taro roots or colocasia in English is a root vegetable and is very delicious when made into a roast. This recipe also goes by the name taro fry and is made in a couple of different ways.
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.
Table of contents
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.
Frequently asked questions
Make sure to cool the cooked taro before peeling and chopping. Placing it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes helps to some extent to make it less mushy. We could also sprinkle a teaspoon or two of rice flour when mixing the spice powders before air frying.
You could place the taro roots in boiling water and cook until it is soft. We could also peel the taro roots and chop them into pieces and then microwave them to soften them a bit and then proceed with the recipe.
Absolutely! Until last year I have made it entirely on stove top. Make sure to pan-fry them in a single layer without crowding and toss them frequently to cook evenly. We could also place the sliced arbi on an oven tray and bake it oven. In the case of using the oven, make sure to slice the taro instead of cubing them.
Similar Recipes
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Recipe
Seppankizhangu Roast | Arbi fry in Air Fryer
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- 12 medium seppankizhangu / taro root / arbi
- 1 tablespoon oil any cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin coriander powder (dhania jeera powder) optional
- 10 leaves curry leaves
- to taste Salt
Instructions
- 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 in 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 at 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 and 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.
Notes
- 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 of the softer side to make sure that it does not becomes 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 over crowd the air fryer basket. Make sure that you have space to toss the seppankizhangu poriyal comfortably.
Julie says
What a fabulous use of the air fryer! I love how it made this a healthier dish. So much flavor here too. Will be making it again for sure.
Min says
Very delicious! And much easier than I thought it would be. The flavors are fabulous.
Gloria says
Sounds like a delicious meatless curry dish. I will look for taro next time I am in the grocery store and see what I can do.
Suma Gandlur says
Guilt free cooking without all that stir frying, I do all my fries in the air fryer. Loving your arbi roast.
Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey says
Guilty of not cooking this root vegetable in my kitchen often. Whilst growing up in India mum always made this sabji. The air fryer version is I must try soon.
Usha Rao says
This was a regular at home when growing up. But my mother deep fries and then stir fries with onions. I avoid deep frying and don't make this roast. After seeing your post, made it in air fryer and it turned out perfect!
NARMADHA says
I was looking for air fryer recipes and came across this arbi roast and tried it immediately. It came out perfectly crispy and it was finished in no time.
Radha says
This is a perfect roast for any meal. The kitchen gadgets are really useful in making our lives simpler. Love how you used air-fryer to make it and it looks great and delicious.
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says
That arbi roast looks so crisp and crunchy that it is difficult to make out that it is made in the air fryer....
Archana says
Seppankizhangu poriyal looks delicious. You are taking me down the memory lane when Rammurty Aunty made this poriyal regularly! Love it will make it immediately have some arbi too!
Seema Sriram says
Tempting recipe with arbi here. I am now certainly sold on getting the airfryer as it makes the oil content so low.
Poonam Bachhav says
Using air fryer to make arbi roast is a brilliant idea. Makes the snack so guilt free!
Sapana says
I have always made arbi wither dry spicy sabzi or gravy curry. This version of frying the arbi with spice coating sounds so delicious. Air frying definitely makes it totally guilt free.
Uma Srinivas says
Taro root is one of our favorite root vegetables. I make poriyal with coconuts and spices. This is a unique way of doing it by using an air fryer, sounds perfect!
Mayuri Patel says
Arbi Roast looks so tempting, wish I could have some right away. I've still contemplating whether I should buy an air fryer. As I see more recipes where its used, really want to get one.
Lata Lala says
What a fab idea to make arbi in Air fryer Sandhya. We love eating deep fried arbi and now I know how to make good use of air fryer and avoid deep frying it. Arbi looks awesome and perfect.
Pavani says
My family loves arbi and I was looking for an easy alternate to frying with oil. Your air fried arbi turned out so crispy and delicious - with just fraction of oil. Thank you so much for the recipe - we have a new favorite now.
Rajani says
I got the air fryer lid last month and I am not going to make potatoes on stovetop again. Good to see the cheppankizhangu fry here, that was my next in list. Looks really delicious!
Vaishali says
Air fryer is such a boon- we love to try different recipes in it.I love this version of Arbi, sounds super delicious with less oil yet crunchy.
Ritu says
That’s absolutely a brilliant idea…saves labour, consumes less oil and tastes delicious. Very nice!