My Food Story: ‘Kochu Danta Pora’ is about heritage, emotion and joy

My Food Story is a collection of stories and recipes that celebrate India’s traditional plant-based ingredients sourced from local biodiversity. You can see these recipes on our interactive dashboard (https://www.cseindia.org/page/myfoodstory).

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In the 1960s, my summer vacations were spent at my Dadaji (paternal grandfather)’s house in Guptipara village. The mud huts stood quietly under the hot sun; their boundaries marked with dry jute stems. These stems were also used to light the clay unoon (mud stove) in the kitchen.

Next to our home was a pond, where lush taro plants grew in plenty. As a child, I loved watching how freshly plucked vegetables from our own land turned into simple but soul-stirring meals.

One dish I can never forget is Kochu Danta Pora—roasted taro stem. My Kakima (paternal aunt) would roast thick stems on firewood, then grind them with roasted garlic, onions, and dry red chilies. Finally, she added a drizzle of raw mustard oil, and the smoky, earthy aroma filled the air. That flavour still lingers with me.

Years later, I planted taro on my balcony, from roots I brought back from my village. When I roasted the stems on my gas stove and made the dish, memories came rushing back. With every bite, I was transported to my childhood. It wasn’t just food—it was my heritage, my emotion, my joy.

Kochu Danta Pora (Roasted taro stem)

Ingredients

Fresh green taro stems

Kalonji (Nigella seeds)

Dry red chili

Onion

Garlic

Mustard oil

Salt

Method

Roast about 1/2 kg taro stems, one whole onion, one whole garlic, and five whole dry red chilies directly over medium flame until well roasted. Keep aside two of the chilies for later. Once roasted, peel off the skins of the taro, onion, and garlic, rinsing gently in water until the soft, cooked parts are visible (do not peel the chilies). Grind everything together on a sil batta (stone grinder, preferably) or in a grinder jar to make a coarse paste. Heat mustard oil generously in a pan, add 1 teaspoon kalonji, then stir in the paste and fry until the moisture evaporates. Transfer the mixture into a serving bowl, top with the reserved roasted chilies and garlic, drizzle with two tablespoons of raw mustard oil, and serve hot with sesi red rice.

Reena Mukherjee is a culinary entrepreneur from New Delhi