Taro Curry with Green Peas

One late morning, I wished to cook something easy and simple to put together for two. It's often daunting to find a recipe that matches exactly what you have in your pantry right now. But the curry sauce recipe got my creative juices flowing, and I made up this delicious Taro Curry out of nothing but thin air. Like, magic!

Follow me along as I walk you through this creative culinary journey...

Curry Sauce

Adopted from: https://www.cooks.com/recipe/x30w870u/a-simple-curry-sauce.html

Ingredients

• 1-2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 cup coconut milk

Notes

• I used 1 tbsp curry powder for a mild flavor, but you can add more for a stronger flavor if desired.
• Coconut milk gives a better texture to the curry than whole milk.

Steps

1. Rub together butter and flour until mixed.
2. Stir in curry powder.
3. Melt this slowly in milk, stirring until dissolved to avoid lumps.
4. Set this curry sauces aside.

Main Dish

Ingredients

• Curry Sauce (above)
• 2 roots of Taro (known as Gabi in Philippines)
• 1 small can or 1 cup of green peas
• 2-3 pods garlic cloves
• 1-inch section of ginger
• 3 medium red onions
• 1-2 tsp of mustard seeds (black or yellow)
• 1 green chilli (or more for a spicier kick)
• 1-2 tbsp cooking oil

Preparation

1. Peel the skin of Taro roots and chop them to thick discs or squares about 1 to 1.5 inch.
2. Skin and chop the onions into thick long strands.
3. Skin and chop the garlic cloves and ginger into small bits.
4. Remove the top of green chilli and cut it lengthwise into two halves. To reduce spiciness, you may remove some or all of the seeds.

Cooking

1. In a pot of water, boil the Taro roots. If you have fresh green peas, add them once the water starts boiling. NOTE: Keep watch of how soft the roots get. Once the roots get semi-soft, stop boiling and remove from stove.
2. In a pan, heat up the oil.
3. Add the mustard seeds and crackle them.
4. Add the ginger and garlic and saute them until slightly brown.
5. Add the onions and saute them until almost golden brown.
6. Pour the curry sauce over the sauteed onions.
7. Mix well and cook the sauce on medium to low heat for about 2-3 minutes. Do not let it start to burn.

Steps continue after photo below.

1. Drain most of the water from the Taro roots (and green peas if you added them) and place them back in the pot. Leave some water in.
2. Pour the cooked curry sauce all over the Taro.
3. Add the green chillies. If you have canned green peas, add them now as well, with or without the water in the can.
4. Mix slowly to avoid crumbling the roots.
5. Once fully mixed, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the gravy thickens. Check frequently and mix again to make sure it doesn't burn an the bottom.

Serve hot with steamed white rice or brown rice.