Bright green and large-hearted…..these beautiful heart-shaped foliage are loaded with nutrition and
come along with the root vegetable— Colocasia/Taro/ sepankizhangu / Arbi…
A leafy treat using these green beauties is the Patra/Alu Vadi or more commonly as Pathrode. The
secret of this delicacy lies in picking the right kind of leaves-medium sized and tender. Smeared
with a besan /chickpea flour masala these rolls can be pan-fried or deep-fried after the initial
steaming. A wonderful rainy-day snack and easy to make, this recipe is slowly waning away from our
kitchens.
This delicacy always reminds me of a recent superstition in my family. My father an ardent lover of
these Colocasia leaf rolls suddenly stopped buying these leafy greens. This was quite perplexing
because on spotting them during the monsoon his first buy would be these green hearts. Constant
probing, he revealed that every time these leaves were bought, and Patra was made, our house help
would vanish. Patra or house help was the question, and it was decided that the house help was
more important. Thus, Patra preparation came to a stop in my mother’s kitchen. Reminiscing with a
smile I began the preparation of Patra.
Ingredients for Gujarati Patra:
- Colocasia leaves 4 medium sizes and tender
- Besan/chickpea flour/kadala maavu 8 Tbsp
- Chilly powder 2 tsp
- Turmeric powder 1 tsp
- Coriander powder 3 tsp
- Jaggery powder 1 tsp
- Tamarind thick extract 2 tbsp
- Salt as required.
For tempering and pan-frying:
- Oil 3 tbsp
- Mustard seeds 1 tsp
- Sesame seeds 1 tsp
- Asafoetida ¼ tsp
Preparation Method:
- Wash and wipe the leaves and set aside.
- Take a large bowl and add the flour followed by the spice powders, salt, jaggery, and mix into a paste with tamarind extract.
- Use a wire whisk to make a smooth paste. Add water if necessary. (SEE VIDEO)
- Take the leaves and spread the paste on the back of the leaves as shown in the video.
- Roll and cut into 1-inch pieces (refer to video)
- Heat a steamer, place the rolls on a perforated plate, and steam for 10 minutes or till the colour of the leaves change.
- Remove and cool.
