Instant Pot Dahi Arbi
Apr 28, 2020
Tangy Dahi Arbi where Arbi (taro root) is cooked with spices in a yogurt based curry. Made in the Instant Pot, this vegetarian dish gets done in 30 minutes or less!
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Arbi (taro root) cooked in a tangy yogurt curry in the Instant Pot! This Dahi Arbi uses minimal spices and comes together rather quickly in the pressure cooker.
Best enjoyed with warm rotis or rice.
This Dahi Arbi recipe is based on my favorite Dahi Aloo recipe.
Dahi Aloo (dahi=yogurt) was a very popular dish in my home in India. My mom would often make it when she wanted to make something quick and easy and also when there weren’t enough vegetables at home except potatoes!
It was just potatoes cooked in a spiced yogurt curry and made for a nice change.
This time around when I got some arbi from the Indian store, I thought of making something similar but with Arbi in stead of potatoes and of course I had to use my Instant pot for it!
And it turned out really well and we enjoyed them with rotis.
If you aren’t familiar with arbis, they are rich in carbs like potatoes and used in Indian cooking for making stir-fries or curries. A lot of people like to fry them before cooking.
I do that too sometimes, like in this arbi fry but for this recipe, I only boiled the arbi and it turned out good.
There isn’t much pre-work involved with this recipe since there are no onions, tomatoes, or garlic so less chopping, yay!
This Dahi Arbi
✔ pairs well with roti or rice.
✔ makes a nice change from the usual sabzis/stir-fries.
✔ uses no onion, tomato or garlic.
✔ has a prep time of less than 10 minutes.
✔ made in one-pot with minimal spices.
The only prep that you need to for this dahi arbi recipe is to peel, wash and slice the arbis. And chop some ginger and green chili.
That is all that is needed. A heads up: while chopping arbi for this recipe, please don’t make the rounds too thin else it will become mush in the pressure cooker.
Cut the arbi in rounds and keep the width of the rounds anywhere between 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Yogurt can curdle under pressure especially since we are using a lot of yogurt here, around 1 cup. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, I like to add it at the end once the arbi is pressure cooked.
I also like to add a little bit of cornstarch to bind the yogurt so that it doesn’t curdle as we add it to the pot. It is optional though.
Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature, whisked well and then stir continuously as you add the yogurt until it’s all mixed well and curry comes to a boil.
If you follow these steps, the yogurt will not curdle even if you don’t add the cornstarch. But you can always add it to be on the safer side.
The recipe uses few spices like cumin seeds, ajwain, coriander powder, turmeric and red chili powder.
Most of the flavor of this dish comes from the yogurt and fresh ginger.
This dahi arbi thickens as it cools down, so when you re-heat it, just add little water.
Making on Stove-top
You can make this recipe on stove-top as well.
Please see the instructions in the recipe card below.
Method
Peel the arbi and rinse them nicely. Then cut each arbi into rounds, anywhere between 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Don’t cut it thin else it will become all mush in IP, keep the rounds on the thicker side. Set aside.
1- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot add the ghee or oil. Then add the cumin seeds, ajwain and cloves. Let the spices sizzle for few seconds and then add the chopped ginger and green chili.
Saute for 1 minute until ginger starts changing color.
2- Then stir in the sliced arbi and toss to combine.
3- Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder and stir.
4- Add 1 & 1/4 cup cups (10 oz) water and stir.
5- Close the lid and press the manual or pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes with a quick pressure release.
You can even do 1 minute at high pressure if you want a even firmer arbi, 2 minutes was ideal for me.
Meanwhile whisk yogurt with 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional). Yogurt should be room temperature.
6- Open the lid and press the saute button. Start adding the whisked yogurt, while stirring with a spatula continuously until all the yogurt is absorbed.
7- Keep stirring for around 1 minute as the curry comes to a boil.
8- Then add remaining 1 cup (8 oz) water. You may add more or less water depending on the consistency you prefer. Add the salt.
Simmer 1 more minute. Add cilantro and turn off heat.
You may sprinkle some garam masala (optional) before serving. Serve Dahi Arbi with warm rotis.
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Dahi Arbi Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Instant Pot Dahi Arbi
Ingredients
- 500 grams arbi 7-8 medium sized arbi, peeled and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick rounds
- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon ajwain carom seeds
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 1 green chili chopped
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 1/4 cups water divided, 18 oz/540 ml approx.
- 1 cup plain yogurt 240 grams, whisked and at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch optional, to bind the yogurt
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- garam masala to sprinkle, optional
Instructions
- Peel the arbi and rinse them nicely. Then cut each arbi into rounds, anywhere between 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Don't cut it thin else it will become all mush in IP, keep the rounds on the thicker side. Set aside.
- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot add the ghee or oil. Then add the cumin seeds, ajwain and cloves. Let the spices sizzle for few seconds and then add the chopped ginger and green chili.Saute for 1 minute until ginger starts changing color.
- Then stir in the sliced arbi and toss to combine. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder and stir.
- Add 1 & 1/4 cup cups (10 oz) water and stir.
- Close the lid and press the manual or pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes with a quick pressure release.You can even do 1 minute at high pressure if you want a even firmer arbi, 2 minutes was ideal for me. Meanwhile whisk yogurt with 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional). Yogurt should be room temperature.
- Open the lid and press the saute button. Start adding the whisked yogurt, while stirring with a spatula continuously until all the yogurt is absorbed.Keep stirring for around 1 minute as the curry comes to a boil.
- Then add remaining 1 cup (8 oz) water. You may add more or less water depending on the consistency you prefer. Add the salt.Simmer 1 more minute. Add cilantro and turn off heat.
- You may sprinkle some garam masala (optional) before serving. Serve Dahi Arbi with warm rotis.
Stove-top Instructions
- Boil the arbi- Bring a pot of water to boil. Once it starts boiling, add the arbi to it. Boil for 12 to 15 minutes until you are able to insert a fork inside the arbi. You want it boiled but not over-boiled (not mushy). Boiling time will depend on size of arbi. Rinse arbi under cold water, then peel and slice into rounds. At this point, you can also fry the arbi (pan or deep fry) for that extra flavor.
- Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Heat ghee and then cumin seeds, ajwain and cloves. Once the spices sizzle, add the ginger and green chili and cook for a minute. Add the arbi along with the ground spices and toss to combine. Remove pot from heat (just to ensure that yogurt doesn't curdle), add yogurt (room temperature, whisked) and stir continuously as you add it until it's all combined.
- Transfer the pan back on heat and add water and let the curry come to a slight boil. Add salt, lower the heat, cover the pan and let dahi arbi simmer on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala (optional). Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Notes
- I have cooked the arbi for 2 minutes at high pressure with quick pressure release which gave it a soft consistency (without being mushy). If you want the arbi to more firm in bite, pressure cook for 1 minute with a quick pressure release.
- If you want, you can follow the same recipe to make Dahi Aloo. Same pressure cooking time, just cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this today for lunch and it was really good!
My only confusion was how many taro roots to put in. Having never used taro before, I don’t know if the ones at my Indian store are abnormally large, but ONE taro root was 500 grams (7-8 would have weighed a lot more, obviously). So I just ended up putting in two of them, which was fine. Thanks for a great recipe!
wow maybe you picked a different variety,I have never seen an arbi that big