TARO

“Dinner is ready!” As mom calls us for dinner, I begin to notice a delicious aroma that I had almost forgotten. I look to see what it is — the annual mouthwatering green soup with white cubes in the middle.

Whether it is eaten with bread, rice, or simply on its own, cooked taro is an essential dish in every Coptic Christian household on the Feast of the Epiphany. Although some children dislike it, others anticipate this feast to enjoy its taste. The celebration will not be complete on the Feast of the Epiphany without having cooked taro.

TARO SOUP - KOLCAS

Epiphany (Eid Al Ghitas) is annually celebrated on 19 January, 12 days after Christmas on January 7. In the Christian faith, the feast commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, baptism is the process of immersing a child into holy water, representing a new life for newborns.

Symbolic for this holy sacrament, taro also needs to be submerged in water to be thoroughly cleansed and cooked, since raw taro is poisonous. A deep-rooted Coptic tradition, Copts cook taro in celebration of this feast because it symbolizes the purity that Christians believe they receive upon baptism.

Taro also has a dark and muddy skin which has to be peeled off to reveal the white flesh that is later cooked and eaten. In the same way, Christians are freed from the sinful human nature that they believe they are born with only after baptism.

Moreover, taro roots are generally buried underground before being pulled out to be cooked for food. This is another symbolism of baptism marking death, burial, and resurrection in Jesus Christ. Copts cook taro in celebration of this feast because it symbolizes the purity that Christians believe they receive upon baptism.

Taro also known as Jewish Artichoke

Inspired by the Biblical verse, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

Aside from its Coptic references, taro has multiple health benefits. As it is rich in nutrients, taro contributes to improving digestion, controls high blood pressure, and helps maintain a healthy immune system.

Since the Feast of the Epiphany was just around the corner, below is the most common recipe to cook taro in a Coptic home.

Article by MARINA MAKARY 

HISTORY OF TARO

Taro is one of the most ancient cultivated crops. Taro is found widely in tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Papua New Guinea, and northern Australia and in Maldives. Taro is highly polymorphic, making taxonomy and distinction between wild and cultivated types difficult. It is believed that they were domesticated independently multiple times, with authors giving possible locations as New Guinea, Mainland Southeast Asia, and northeastern India, based largely on the assumed native range of the wild plants. However, more recent studies have pointed out that wild taro may have a much larger native distribution than previously believed, and wild breeding types may also likely be indigenous to other parts of Island Southeast Asia.

Archaeological traces of taro exploitation have been recovered from numerous sites, though whether these were cultivated or wild types cannot be ascertained. They include the Niah Caves of Borneo around 10,000 years ago, Ille Cave of Palawan, dated to at least 11,000 year ago; Kuk Swamp of New Guinea, dated to between 8250 BC and 7960 BC; and Kilu Cave in the Solomon Islands dated to around 28,000 to 20,000 years ago. In the case of Kuk Swamp, there is evidence of formalized agriculture emerging by about 10,000 years ago, with evidence of cultivated plots, though which plant was cultivated remains unknown.

Taro were carried into the Pacific Islands by Austronesian peoples from around 1300 BC, where they became a staple crop of Polynesians, along with other types of "taros", like Alocasia macrorrhizos, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, and Cyrtosperma merkusii. They are the most important and the most preferred among the four, because they were less likely to contain the irritating raphides present in the other plants.Taro is also identified as one of the staples of Micronesia, from archaeological evidence dating back to the pre-colonial Latte Period (c. 900 - 1521 AD), indicating that it was also carried by Micronesians when they colonized the islands. Taro pollen and starch residue have also been identified in Lapita sites, dated to between 1100 BC and 550 BC. Taro was later spread to Madagascar as early as the 1st century AD.

WHAT MAKES A PERFECT EGYPTIAN SHORBET KOLKAS OR TARO SOUP?

A decadent Taro soup calls for:

a. Good Quality Broth

Alternatively, you can either use homemade or low-sodium store-bought vegetable or beef stock.  

b. Fresh Greens Cooked to Perfection

To cook the greens, first blend the Swiss chard with 1 cup of broth, run the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, add the green liquid to the rest of the broth and let it simmer.  Add the Taro cubes to the simmering soup.

Now, cook the solids. In a frying pan, add the butter over low heat, once it sizzles, add the crushed garlic and the green solids and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed coriander to the green solids, butter, and garlic and cook until it’s fragrant. Add this garlic-greens’ solids and coriander to the Taro soup, adjust the seasoning. When the diced Taro becomes soft and fork tender turn off the heat.

What is Taklia?

Taklia is an old Egyptian cooking technique where crushed garlic and ground coriander are cooked in sizzling ghee, butter or oil, until the mixture becomes fragrant and then it is added to a simmering soup of stew. In addition to Taro Soup, this technique is used to amp up the flavour of the iconic soup Molokhia. 

Kolkas (Taro-Greens) Soup 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium taro, diced (Frozen ready packs) 2 packs for 6 servings.

2 springs chard and/or spinach/Coriander (Included in the frozen pack)

1 spring cilantro

1 cup and 1 1/2 cups vegetable or bone broth.

2 tablespoons butter or ghee

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Salt and pepper

1 lemon, juiced

Peel the Taro: Don’t wash the Taro root, it gets too slimy to handle. With gloved hands and a sharp knife, peel the taro horizontally, then slice it in 1 inch thickness, dice the slices and then soak them in the fridge overnight or no less than 5 hours to get rid of its sliminess. 

Taro Leaves

Cook the Taro: Heat the broth in a heavy bottom pan, when it starts simmering, add the diced Taro. Let the Taro boil while you prepare the greens and make the Taklia.

Prepare the greens: Remove the stems, and keep the leaves of the chard and fresh cilantro. In a blender, blend the greens’ leaves with 1 cup of stock. Run it through a fine mesh sieve, add the green liquid to the remaining broth and keep the solids to cook them with the crushed garlic and ground coriander.

Prepare the Taklia:  Heat the butter in a frying pan over low heat, add the crushed garlic and the greens’ solids, cook until the solids gets slightly darker, add the crushed coriander and stir for one minute, or until the mixture is fragrant. Turn the heat and immediately add the Taklia to the simmering soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the soup.  

Serve: This soup is best served hot, along with vermicelli rice and lemon wedges.

NOTES:

Don’t wash the Taro before cubing it as the water makes the skin too slimy to grab and peel away. To sharpen the taste of the soup, it is possible to add a cube of beef or vegetable bouillon.  You can create an easy vegan version of this soup by using vegetable oil instead of butter and vegetable broth instead of beef bone broth.