What is gava karkalo?

Karkalo is the taro leaf and gava is the taro stalk. They are sold together in a bundle and cooked into karkalo ko tarkari, a staple Nepali green vegetable dish.

Why do taro leaves make your throat itch?

Because of calcium oxalate crystals in the raw leaf. Cook them thoroughly and add a souring agent such as tomato, lemon or amilo, and the problem disappears — which is why traditional recipes always include one.

Are these taro leaves imported?

No — they are grown on Canadian farms and bundled fresh, leaves and stems together, rather than shipped in from overseas.

Fresh Gava Karkalo (Taro leaves & stems) from Danphe Stores

In stock in store

🌿 Grown in Canada

Gava Karkalo

Taro leaves & stems

Karkalo is the leaf of the taro plant and gava is its stalk — sold here as they are eaten, tied together in a bundle with the stems still on. A monsoon vegetable at home, and one of the dishes people miss most once they are far from it. Ours is grown on Canadian farms and bundled fresh.

Call 236-471-5891 Visit the store

Grown in Canada, in stock right now. We ship to most cities across Canada, deliver throughout Metro Vancouver, and you can pick up in store.

Also known as: karkalo · gaba · taro leaves · colocasia leaves · arbi leaves

What it tastes like

Earthy and mild, somewhere between spinach and young chard, with stalks that stay silky rather than stringy when they are cooked through. The flavour is quiet on purpose — it carries garlic, timur, sesame and fermented sourness beautifully.

How it is used

Karkalo ko tarkari is the everyday version: leaves and stalks chopped, cooked down with garlic, turmeric and a little oil until soft. Gava is often simmered longer with a souring agent — amilo, tomato or lapsi — which is both traditional and practical. In eastern Nepal the leaves are also steamed and rolled with besan for a dish closer to a patra.

Cook it properly

Taro leaves contain calcium oxalate, which is what makes an undercooked leaf feel itchy in the throat. Cooking them thoroughly and adding something sour — lemon, tamarind, tomato or amilo — neutralises it, which is exactly why every traditional recipe calls for it. Do not eat them raw.

Keeping it

Best used within two or three days. Keep the bundle wrapped loosely in the fridge; the leaves wilt faster than the stems, so if they soften first, use the leaves and hold the gava back for a longer-cooked dish.

Questions

What is gava karkalo?: Karkalo is the taro leaf and gava is the taro stalk. They are sold together in a bundle and cooked into karkalo ko tarkari, a staple Nepali green vegetable dish.
Why do taro leaves make your throat itch?: Because of calcium oxalate crystals in the raw leaf. Cook them thoroughly and add a souring agent such as tomato, lemon or amilo, and the problem disappears — which is why traditional recipes always include one.
Where can I buy fresh taro leaves in Canada?: Danphe Stores carries them fresh when they land. Call 236-471-5891 to check stock — we ship to most cities across Canada, deliver throughout Metro Vancouver, and you can pick up at 3634 East Hastings St in Vancouver.
Are these taro leaves imported?: No — they are grown on Canadian farms and bundled fresh, leaves and stems together, rather than shipped in from overseas.

How to order Gava Karkalo

Fresh greens aren't on our online store yet, so they're ordered by phone. Call 236-471-5891 and we'll ship to most cities across Canada, deliver anywhere in Metro Vancouver, or set it aside for pickup at 3634 East Hastings St, Vancouver, BC. Stock changes with every shipment, so calling ahead is the surest way to get what you want.