Elephant Ears

Species[edit]

Species^{[1][3][4][12]}

1. Colocasia affinis Schott - Yunnan, Nepal, Assam, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, eastern Himalayas
2. Colocasia antiquorum,^[13][14] sometimes considered a synonym of C. esculenta.^[15]
3. Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott - taro, elephant-ear, eddoe - native to southern China, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Sumatra; naturalized in other parts of Asia as well as Africa, southern Europe, South America, Central America, the West Indies, the southeastern United States, and many oceanic islands including Hawaii
4. Colocasia fallax Schott - Tibet, Yunnan, Himalayas, northern Indochina
5. Colocasia fontanesii Schott - Yunnan, eastern Himalayas, northern Indochina
6. Colocasia gigantea (Blume) Hook.f. – giant taro - southern China, Indochina, Malaysia, western Indonesia
7. Colocasia lihengiae C.L.Long & K.M.Liu - Arunachal Pradesh, Yunnan
8. Colocasia mannii Hook.f. - Assam, Nicobar Islands
9. Colocasia menglaensis J.T.Yin, H.Li & Z.F.Xu - Yunnan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
10. Colocasia oresbia A.Hay - Bangladesh, Sabah
11. Colocasia tonoimo A.Hay - Unknown

Culinary uses[edit]

Colocasia leaves are well known for their hydrophobicity.

The edible types are grown in the South Pacific and eaten like potatoes and known as taro, eddoe, chamadhumpa and dasheen. The leaves are often boiled with coconut milk to make a soup which is rich in iron.

Poi, a Hawaiian dish, is made by boiling the starchy underground stem of the plant then mashing it into a paste.^[16]

In Cyprus[edit]

In Cyprus, Colocasia has been in use since the time of the Roman Empire. Today it is known as kolokasi (Kολοκάσι). It is usually cooked with celery and pork or chicken, in a tomato sauce in casserole. "Baby" kolokasi is called "poulles": after being fried dry, red wine and coriander seed are added, and then it is served with freshly squeezed lemon. Lately, some restaurants have begun serving thin slices of kolokasi deep fried, calling them "kolokasi chips".

In the Indian subcontinent[edit]

Both roots and leaves are eaten. In most of Northern India and Pakistan the root is called arvi or arbi. Common preparations include cooking with curry, frying, and boiling. In Mithalanchal (Bihar), the leaf is called airkanchan and is curried. In Rohtas, Bhojpur and Palamu (Jharkhand), it is known as kachchu.

In Gujarat, arvi leaves are used to make the dish patra. In Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, arvi, known as aravi ka patta, is used to make the dish sahina. Arvi is also a very popular dish among the Hindu community in South Africa, where it is known as patha. In Manipur, the leaves are used in the Meitei ethnic cuisine, locally known as utti (pronounce ootti). The leaves are called paangkhoklaa by the Meiteis, while the edible corms are known as paan. Paan is often cooked with fermented soy beans to make curries. It is also used to make eromba, a Meitei side dish. In Odisha, the arvi the root is called saru. it is an important ingredient in dalma, a popular Odia dish.

In Shimoga, Uttara Kannada, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, and the Udupi districts of Karnataka, arvi is used to make patrode. Additionally, in Shimoga, Chikkamagaluru & Hassan, the leaf is used to make a curry known as kesa or kesuvina palya. This curry is most often eaten with akki roti.

The Sindhi community call the root kachalu. They use it to make Sindhi curry and fry it with moong dal (green gram).

In Kerala, the leaves are used to make chembila curry, and the roots are used in chembu puzhukku, a traditional accompaniment to Kerala chembu. Various other recipes also exist locally. The stem and root are used in the preparation of stew and curry. In Kerala, chembu is planted in the month of May and can be harvested in December of the same year.

In Tamil Nadu, the roots are boiled, peeled, and/or fried and eaten as an accompaniment to rice. In Uttarakhand, the leaves are used to make a dish known as gaabaa, while the stem is enclosed in Urad dal paste and dried to make badi.

In Andhra cuisine, the roots are boiled, peeled, and fried as an entree with rice, or they may be boiled in a gravy with the leaves to make pulusu.

An Indian cuisine with Colocasia

In Maharashtra, the leaves are called aloo and are used to make a sweet and sour curry with peanuts and cashew nuts that is commonly cooked during marriages. The leaf bases are mixed with curd to make the side dish dethi. The leaves are also coated in besan and fried to make the snack paatwadi or aloowadi.

In Gujarat, this leaf is called arvi (or alvi) and is used to make patra. This is a steamed dish similar to patrode, but with gram flour instead of the rice flour used in patrode. As in Maharashtra, the leaves are eaten as a fried snack.

In Nagaland, the leaves are dried, powdered, kneaded into a dough and baked into biscuits. These biscuits are burnt and dissolved in boiling water before being added into meat dishes to create a thick, flavourful dry gravy.

In Bengal, the plant is called kachu. Its leaves are used to wrap fish and prawns for steaming to make bhapa mach (steamed fish). The roots are used to make a thick creamy curry in which to cook prawns. The roots and stems are grated with coconut and used to create a chutney.