Air fried Arbi (Seppan kilangu)

Seppan kilangu / arbi is a delicious root vegetable. It is a popular alternative for potato roast curry of India. 

Usually I prepare the arbi fry by deep frying in oil or by tawa roast method.

After I found that airfryer recipe for arbi, I am making it healthier with less oil in an airfryer.

This is a dish I prepare once or twice a month as a side dish for dal rice or bisibelebath. 

Note:  If you are trying this recipe for a party or for large batch, do this in advance and keep in fridge.  Just make sure to do airfrying  again for a few minutes it before serving.  

Click to see my other versions also:

Deep fried Arbi

Arbi cutlet

Seppan kilangu roast

Pongal puli curry

Seppan kilangu

Peeled arbi

Arrange the slices in airfryer 

After airfrying

Air fried Arbi is ready !

Ingredients:

Arbi (seppan kilangu) - 10 roots (1/2 kg)
rice flour - 1 tsp
besan flour - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste 
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
black pepper powder - 1.5 tbsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil (olive oil) - 2 tsp

Preparation:
First rinse the arbi thoroughly to remove all dirt.
Keep it in a vessel and pour water to cover it fully. Boil it in water for 10 mins. Check if a fork or knife can poke it easily. Switch off. (In this stage it can be cooled and stored in fridge with skin for one or two days for convenience).
For immediate cooking, pour cold water and peel them.
Keep aside.

Method:

Cut the cooked arbi  it into 1/2 inch thick circles.
Mix salt, flours,oil, turmeric, pepper powder with a drop of water. Add it to the pieces and mix well.

Preheat the Air-fryer for 5 mins at 350 F.  
Spread the masala coated arbi slices in a single layer inside the fryer basket.(I keep them tightly packed in single layer).
Air fry for 10 mins. Pull out the basket and shake well. Then keep air frying for another 10 mins. 
Do this until it turns crispy in the outside and soft in the inside for each and every slice.
My air fryer takes less than 20 mins for the entire process. 
Repeat and cook the remaining arbi slices.
Air fried arbi is ready to eat !
Dust some more pepper powder over the fried arbi and shake well and serve hot.

Another method:

Instead of pepper + cumin powder , we can mix red chilly powder and garam masal powder along with flours and deep fry them. Tandoori mix also holds good. 

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with curd rice, vegetable biryani, pulav, bisibelebath or simply as a tea time snack.

Tips:

Normally taro or arbi won't cause any allergies. In Indian recipes, black pepper is added to remove allergens from all root veggies,
The South American arbi contains less mucilage and easy to handle, whereas Indian arbi has a unique nice flavor. 
We can boil the arbi and keep refrigerated without peeling for a day or two. I generally do the boiling part the previous night. It comes handy. 
As this recipe takes long time (than frying in oil), it won't come handy while having guests. So we can prepare it and keep it in fridge and we can re-fry them in air fryer  for a few minutes before serving. By this way we can make a healthy fried side dish for our party.

Arbi Fry (Seppan kilangu varuval)

Seppan kilangu (Tamil) means colocasia or taro root(English),  Arbi (Hindi). 

 Arbi fry is the most sought fried item in my house. Thanks to hubby this fry hardly reaches the dining table . Normally I start preparing our weekend lunch by 10.30 Am. If I make this fry for lunch, then hubby may start demanding it with his 11 Am tea:) So I plan to make some extra servings or totally some other dish along with this:) I personally think this as a catchy side dish for vegetarians. This is my mom's signature dish too. Mom used to make this arbi with paruppu kulambu and rice.

Sembu or seppan kizhangu is a tiny root vegetable available throughout the year. There is another one root vegetable with similar taste, that is the elephant yam (chenai kilangu), which can also be made into attractive fries. This seppan kilangu (arbi) can be stored at room temperature for a week and can be refrigerated for a month.  The matured  round / oval roots are tastier .

Bisibelebath served with arbi fry.( Indian Arbi fried).

Ingredients:

Arbi - 6 roots (1/2 kg)
rice flour - 1 tsp
besan flour - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
black pepper powder - 1.5 tbsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Cook the arbi root with skin till it is almost cooked (not mushy). Poke a skewer or knife to check if its cooked. This makes the peeling easy.

Cool and remove the skin. Cut it into 1/2 inch thick circles. (If using the South American arbi , the bigger variety, then cut it into big chunks and cook it. Again peel and cube it).

Mix salt, flours, turmeric, pepper powder with a drop of water. Add it to the pieces and mix well.

A bigger variety of taro root .

Heat enough oil to deep fry.  Fry the pieces in small batches till they turn almost golden brown (crunchy outside and softer inside).

Take out, drain oil. Dust some pepper powder over the fried arbi and shake well , so that all the pieces gets some more pepper.

Another method:

Instead of pepper + cumin powder , we can mix red chilly powder and garam masal powder along with flours and deep fry them. Tandoori mix also holds good.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with curd rice, vegetable biryani, pulav, bisibelebath or simply as a tea time snack.

Tips:

I have heard some people making this fry (baking) in oven. But I have not tried it yet. May be a good option too.
Black pepper is added to root vegetables to make them allergy-free. But this arbi root is not caustic and safer for most of the people.
The South American arbi contains less mucilage and easy to handle, but I prefer the taste of Indian arbi better.
We can boil these vegetables and keep refrigerated without peeling for a day or two. I generally do the boiling part the previous night.