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August 31, 2007

Patrodo

There are dishes that give me mental fatigue. That is only to say that just thinking about making the dish makes me tired, because in my mind the process is a lengthy one. Patrodo is a perfect example.


We had the colocasia leaves growing in our garden when I was a child. Every once in a while, we'd go through the routine of cutting the leaves, making the masala or massol as it is called in Konkani. H and I would always be assigned the job of destemming the leaves. What fun! More fun because we could play the blame game whenever a leaf was cut or got beaten beyond repair. We would cut the stem by marking a V at the base of the leaf and then string the leaves. After this we would lightly beat the veins using a rounded smooth stone.


I made this when I found colocasia (taro) leaves at the INA market. It is much simpler than I imagined. The result is superb and so the work that goes into it feels like nothing at all.



Ingredients:


7-8 Colocasia (Arbi) Leaves
1/2 cup Rice
1/2 cup Dal
7-8 Red Chillies
1/3 cup Coconut, scraped
1/4 cup Tamarind Paste
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Asafoetida
2 tbsp Jaggery
Salt to taste



For the tempering:

1 tbsp Oil
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
7-8 Curry Leaves

Soak the rice and dal together for at least 4 hours.



Destem the leaves and flatten the veins using a rounded stone.


Grind the rice and dal together along with all the other ingredients except the leaves.


Place the largest leaf on a clean surface, smooth side down and smear the paste over the leaf.



Place the next leaf over this in such a way that the tip of the leaf is near the base of the one below.






Smear the paste over the leaf and place another pointing in the opposite direction and proceed in the same manner until you have used the smallest leaf.





Fold the sides of the leaves inwards and smear more paste. Roll the leaves in a swiss roll like manner and tie with a string.






Steam cook this bundle in a cooker without using the pressure for about 30 minutes. When done, it should look like this.




Cool completely and cut into slices after removing the string.




To proceed, heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves. Add the slices of patrodo and fry for a few minutes allowing the slices to crispen.

Amma says that there are variations here. The slices may be deepfried or toasted on a tawa. I like my patrodo with tadka and I love it with rice and dali saar.

You could adjust the tamarind paste int he recipe to suit your taste. The tamarind helps remove the itchiness that these leaves cause. Also, the leaves with purple stems cause less itching than the ones with green stems.


The partodo rolls may be made in advance and frozen. When you are ready to eat them, bring them out from the freezer, thaw them and then proceed. I have yet to make the final dish. Am saving the rolls in my freezer for an evening when I return from NOIDA so tired that all I want to do is eat dali saar and fry patrodo. And believe that all is well with the world.




Rice being the one of the ingredients here, I am also sending this entry to Jihva for ingredients started by Indira of Mahanandi and hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam.


As this is a Konkani dish, I am sending it to Asha for the RCI Karnataka, an event started by Laksmi that celebrates the regional cuisine of India.

35 comments:

Arts said...

Nice entry Raaga..
We maharashtrians make "Aaluchi Wadi" in the same fashion.. But I think we use besan instead of rice flour.. Dont know for sure as I dont make it here.. Am allergic to those leaves! :(

Raaga said...

@Arts: I think besan is used in the Gujarati patra as well.

Why are you allergic? Because of the itching? I feel sad.

Sia said...

raaga, whenever amma made patrode i used to eat it for bf, lunch and dinner. we add jaggery too when making tadka patrode to give it little sweet taste. and there is another variation using coconut gravy. i love simple pan fried patrode too. ok...i will stop it rt now:) cant wait to have it when i visit india.

Raaga said...

@Sia: I can imagine... we do that with several things that Amma makes... when when is your next visit?

Anonymous said...

I've eaten patrode before (and loved it!) but never made it myself. Mainly because I'm worried that if I dont cook it correctly, it will give us an allergy (itching, etc)... but I'm so tempted to try anyway! :)

Raaga said...

@Shammi: Welcome :-) My mother also suggests pressure cooking to reduce the itchiness in addition to adding loads of tamarind.

Do try it :-)

Nupur said...

You are so right...the mental fatigue has stopped me from trying this dish :) But your version looks perfect- fantastic!

Raaga said...

@Nupur: It is so much easier than I imagined. Do try it... its worth the effort :-)

Thanks

Rajitha said...

i have not eaten the rice version, but the besan one. i love it.. can we add amchur instead of tamarind...looks good

Richa said...

hey, ur pathrode looks so good! nice step-by-step pics makes me want to make it now, luckily for me have some in the freezer ;)

Laavanya said...

I've been wanting to try this after tasting the frozen version we get here but I haven't seen these leaves at the grocery. Love your step-by-step photos - makes it seem a whole lot easier!

marriedtoadesi.com said...

Man, looks so good. Nice step by step documentary. I wish they sold those leaves here, but I haven't seen it.
Need to come over to your place and eat it!!

Unknown said...

Sooooper ma!! Even i blogged about this in my initial blogging days and that was the first and last time i made it...your new recipe inspires me to try it again..will get it from the market next time...the farsan ppl sell this floating in oil!

Raaga said...

@Rajitha: I think the gujarati version has besan. I've had that only once at my cousin's wedding.

I think you can add amchur instead of tamarind. Have never tried though.

Thanks

Raaga said...

@Richa: Lucky you... actually, right now even I have some in the freezer :-))

Raaga said...

@Kanchana: Send me your flight details :-) and I'll have a batch ready for you to eat and one for you to take back... frozen :-)

Thanks

Raaga said...

@Nandita: Will look your version up right away.

Tell me about the farsan shop stuff... one look out me off undiyo for a long time. Then I figured I could make it myself. :-)

Thanks. :-)

Sreelu said...

Raaga, OMG this is way too cool,beautiful pic they explain the process very well. Always had store brought frozen stuff,never knew what went it.This stuff looks amazing

Raaga said...

@Sreelu: Thanks :-) It is fairly simple :-)

Raaga said...

@Laavanya: tough to find even in Delhi!!!

TBC said...

I've eaten these before & love these. Aren't these the same as alu wadis?

WDYDTTU? dear Raaga:-(... typing this out the 2 nd time...

TheCooker said...

Mental fatigue often gets in my way as well.
Your patrode (alu-wadi) for me looks great.

Raaga said...

@TBC: Similar, not quite the same I think :-)

Sorry if my blog is misbehaving.

@TC:Thanks :-)

Arts said...

yes..I have itching in my throat of I have this n is very painful:(
Heard it depends on color of the stem of the leaves or the place where they grow.. But I dont take risks and avoid eating it!

Cynthia said...

Ah, yes Raaga my dear, I can see how this dish would give one stress. But look how great it turned out!

Ashwini said...

Patrode makes me super nostalgic...yours have turned out so lovely. Great going R

Padma said...

Patrodo fry is superb and I remember while in Mumbai I used to have Alu wadi from my fren's lunch box. We never made this at home but thanx to your step by step points to do, so will try this when I get hold of some Arbi leaves.

Raaga said...

@Arts: I can understand. The colour of the stem as my post says makes a huge difference. Not sure of the growing place etc. Stay away from it if it causes so much agony.

Raaga said...

@Cynthia: It did sems like a BIG task when I thought about it... when I started, it was over in a jiffy. Thanks :-)

Raaga said...

@Ashwini: Thanks. Tried leaving comments in your page, didn't allow me.

Raaga said...

@Padma: Let me know when you do make it :-) Thanks

SeeC said...

Really lengthy...but worth it i guess.

FH said...

Thank you Raaga!:))

Shella said...

Raaga

I've had them just once in my lifetime, when I was quite a young kid at a friend of my mom's place. I still remember the taste. Its that worthwhile. But look at the efforts. I dont know if I'll ever make it. But maybe I'll tell my MIL to help me.

Purnima said...

Raaga, lovely result with pathradey!Liked your pictorial.. when it was my first time I had kept the leaf ulta..hee Hv u tried gashi-tulo pathrado? Its watery gasshi wt kandya phanna. Abt to eat that time, u hv to take two or more pcs in ur plate, pour two three davlos (ladle full)of the steamy hot liquidy gasshi(coco+tam+red chilli ground) on it n immerse in a different world! Oh..it can replace dinner!That heavenly n filling!