These are spicy, sweet, and tangy Patra recipes. They are steamed and then shallow or deep-fried to make a delicious snack. It can also be served as breakfast, as a side dish with your meal, or as party appetizers. Learn to make Patra recipe at home with step-by-step photos and video.
Colocasia Leaves
Also known as Taro leaves; this dish is traditionally made with Colocasia leaves. Colocasia leaves are large green heart-shaped leaves that are often found in Indian grocery stores. These leaves must be cooked before consumption and are best suited for steaming, frying, sautéing, and boiling applications. In Hindi, these leaves are called Arbi ke patte, in Marathi, colocasia leaves are known as Alu or aloo.
Alu Vadi | Patra recipe
Alu Wadi also known as Patra in Gujarati, is a traditional Maharashtrian-Gujarati snack or appetizer recipe made with colocasia (taro) leaves. These leaves are layered with a spicy, tangy, and sweet Gram flour paste and then rolled into a log which is then steamed and sliced into thin pinwheels (Vadis). It can be served steamed or shallow fried with chutney or just on its own. They make for a nice tea-time snack as well.
Ingredients required and its possible substitution
Colocasia Leaves – also known as Patra in Gujarati, Pathrado in Konkani, Arbi ke patte, or Alu in Marathi. Make sure to use fresh and green leaves. Sometimes it is hard to find these leaves, especially in the US. So you can substitute it with Swiss chard or spinach leaves. Make sure to use large swiss chard or spinach leaves.Gram flour (besan) – is the base ingredient for this recipe. It is used in made stuffing for the patra roll. You can use multigrain flour too instead of just besan.Spices – Here we have used many spices like turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin-coriander powder, hing, and garam masala.Sesame seeds – give a nutty flavor to this recipe. I have used sesame seeds twice, in the patra batter and tempering.Fennel seeds – gives refreshing flavors and crunch. Don’t skip this.Tamarind – this gives a sour taste. You can substitute it with lemon juice.Jaggery – To balance the sourness from the tamarind. You can use sugar instead of jaggery.Ginger paste – for the aromatics and flavors. Grated ginger can be used instead of paste.Oil – for the softness.Baking soda and lime juice – It helps in cooking the leaves faster.Tadka (tempering) – for tempering you will need oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves, red dried chilies, and hing.Garnishing – I have used cilantro and dried coconut flakes for the garnishing.
Step by step process
Step – 1 Prepare sweet chutney for the besan paste Take tamarind and jaggery in a saucepan and add ¾ cup of water. (image 1 and 2) Place this saucepan on the stove and let it come to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally. (image 3) Switch off the flame and let it cool down. (image 4) Step – 2 Meanwhile, let’s prepare the Colocasia leaves Rinse the leaves and wipe them dry. (Image 5) Work with one leaf at a time, place it upside down, and remove the thick stem and veins without tearing the leaf using a knife. Cut the thick stem and gently slide the knife along the vein to remove it. you can do this a few times till the vein is almost flat as the leaf. (image 6 to 8) Follow the same step with other leaves and keep them aside. Keep all the leaves ready like this. Step – 3 Preparing the besan paste Once the tamarind and jaggery chutney cool down, with your hands, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind and jaggery in the same bowl or pan. Strain the pulp and keep it aside. I got ½ cup + 2 tablespoon of pulp in total. Keep it aside. (image 9 and 10) Tip – You can skip this step and use sweet chutney instead. Sieve the besan and take it into a big mixing bowl. (image 11) Now add salt, chili powder, coriander-cumin powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, ginger paste, hing, oil, and jaggery tamarind pulp. Mix everything well. (image 12) Now add ½ cup of water, a little at a time, and make a lump-free thick paste. The paste has to be easily spreadable – neither runny nor too thick. (image 13 and 14) Now add baking soda and lemon juice over the baking soda. Give the paste a really good stir. (image 15 and 16) This chickpea flour batter should have a spicy, tangy, and sweet flavor. So give it a taste and depending on your taste adjust the jaggery, tamarind, and red chili powder quantity. Step -4 Making patra/Aloo Vadi Divide the leaves into three batches of 6 each to make three rolls For the first roll, take the largest patra leaf on a working surface, with the vein sides facing you Apply a thin layer of the batter using hands (preferably) and spread it all over the leaf. (image 17) Place another leaf upside down again but in an alternate way to the first. (image 18) Spread the batter evenly and thinly on top of the second leaf as well. (image 19) Place the third leaf upside down in the same way as the first. (image 20) Repeat these steps for all 6 leaves. (image 21) To form a tight roll – bring in the left to touch the middle line, apply some batter, fold the right to touch the middle line, and apply some batter. (image 22 and 23) Begin to tightly roll the leaves from bottom to up. Keep on applying the thin layer of besan paste with each fold on the top. (image 24) Take another batch of 6 leaves and make the rolls the same way. Take the largest leaf first and then take other leaves in descending order. I made 3 rolls from 3 batches of 18 leaves. Each roll had 6 leaves. Step – 5 Steaming Alu Wadi Stovetop steaming Take 5 to 6 cups of water in a steamer. Cover the steamer and let the water cume to a boil. (image 25) Meanwhile, grease a steamer plate with oil and place prepared 3 rolls seam side down on it. (image 25 and 27) Now place the steamer plate with the rolls inside into the steamer and close the lid. Steam for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (image 28) Switch off the flame, take out the patra rolls and let them rest for about 15 minutes or until cools down. Steaming in the instant pot Take 2 cups of water in an inner pot of instant pot. Place the rolls seam side down in the steamer basket. Place a trivet inside the inner pot of the instant pot and put the steamer basket with the rolls on the top of the trivet. Cover the instant pot. Press steam with the valve set to venting and steam for 25 minutes followed by Natural pressure release. Once the steam has settled, open the lid and take the steamer out. Take a roll onto a work surface and cut into ¼ inch thick slices which are called Vadi. Step – 6 Tempering the Alu Vadi | Patra Heat a frying pan/skillet on medium-high heat and add oil. Take a pan as wide as possible so that the patra cooks evenly. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and wait till they start spluttering. (image 29 and 30) Now add the sesame seeds, red dried chilies, curry leaves, and asafetida. Give it a quick stir. (image 31) Add the Alu Wadis(Patra). (image 32) Cook both the sides for 5-6 minutes until the wadis are golden brown and lightly crispy. Garnish it with shredded coconut and cilantro. Serve these hot with sweet chutney and cilantro chutney.
The number of Wadis may vary depending on the size of the Alu/Colocasia leaves.You can make these rolls a day before and then temper or fry them the next day.If you are planning to freeze them, let them cool down, take them in an air-tight container or storage bags, and freeze them. They stay good up to a couple of months.When making patra or Alu Vadi always use fresh leaves which are not itchy.Colocasia leaves can sometimes cause itching to the hands and throat. Ensure that you buy them from an Indian store and cook them thoroughly to avoid their side effects. I would suggest you wash a small piece of the leaf first and then eat a tiny portion of the leaf and see. If it irritates your throat, don’t proceed further with the recipe.You can add store-bought tamarind paste and powdered jaggery to the besan paste.
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