Taro curry

Ingredients:
-1 cup Yogurt
-Boiled, peeled and diced 5-6 Taro
-Blend of 1 small onion, 1 small tomato
-Chopped cilantro for garnish

Spices:
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala (Indian all spice)
- 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
- 1/2 tsp onion seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- pinch of asafoetida
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 whole red dried chillies
- few Curry leaves
- 1 tbsp crushed fennel seeds

Start with 2 tbsp of oil in a hot cooking pot. I use a soy blend or canola oil. If your kitchen has vegetable oil, please get rid of it, you need to switch to something healthier. I am hooked to Calphalon cookware, but in general to anything anodized aluminum and cast iron. At least you are assured there's no traces of Teflon getting into your meal. Let the oil warm for a minute and throw in the mustard seeds, wait till they begin to splutter. Then reduce heat to sim, and throw in all the spices. Mix them around, and carefully add 1 tbsp of water because the mixture will sizzle. Now mix in the blend of 1 onion and 1 tomato and cook everything till the mixture looses some of its water and you can see the oil separate, approximately 5-6 minutes on slow to medium flame. Now take the 1 cup yogurt and add some water to it so it has milk consistency (how much water depends on where you get your yogurt from). Add it to the mixture, stir it around, and throw in the diced taro with salt. You need more water so that everything can mix and boil together for another 10minutes with lid on. 1/2 cup to 1 cup depending on your curry consistency and quantity. The curry is now ready, just garnish with fresh chopped cilantro before serving.

We have it with home made rotis along with other side dishes. You can buy any type of bread from the indian store - naan, paratha, roti to go with the curry. The above recipe can also be made with potato or yam.

Health benefits:
Taro is a great source of carbohydrates and has excellent alkaline properties, thus balancing the internal body pH levels. Its is also often given to babies suffering from food allergies. It can be substituted in many recipes that call for potato, breaking the food variety monotony. A must remember when dealing with taro is that it can not be consumed in its raw form. It has to be thoroughly cooked, otherwise it leaves an itchy sensation in the throat.