Patrode

Colocasia leaves spread with a tamarind paste, rolled and steamed until the leaves are cooked through.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 16 colocasia leaves, taro, young and undamaged
• 250 g gram flour
• 60 g rice flour
• 4 tablespoons thick tamarind paste
• 60 g jaggery, grated
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
• 2 teaspoons salt
• about 150 ml water
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 40 g fresh coconut, grated

Method

1. COLOCASIA LEAVES ARE SPREAD WITH A TAMARIND PASTE, ROLLED AND STEAMED UNTIL THE LEAVES ARE COOKED THROUGH, and the last clause is not a flourish. Its article gives the construction -- MADE FROM COLOCASIA LEAVES (CHEVU IN TULU, TARO, KESUVE OR ARBI) STUFFED WITH GRAM OR RICE FLOUR AND FLAVOURINGS SUCH AS SPICES, TAMARIND, AND JAGGERY -- and then a warning: CARE MUST BE TAKEN DURING PREPARATION TO ENSURE THAT THE LEAVES ARE ADEQUATELY COOKED.
2. THE WARNING IS ABOUT CALCIUM OXALATE AND IT IS WHY THE TAMARIND IS THERE. Raw colocasia leaf is an irritant -- the article places the plant in the Araceae, alongside caladium and philodendron -- and both the acid and the heat break the crystals down. So the tamarind is doing a job as well as adding sourness, and the steaming time below is a minimum rather than a suggestion. Use young leaves, and if a mouthful prickles, steam the rest for longer.
3. STRIP THE THICK RIBS OUT OF EVERY LEAF. Lay each one face down and pare the central vein away with a knife. The ribs are the slowest part to cook and the most irritant.
4. THE PASTE IS THICK ENOUGH TO SPREAD, NOT TO POUR. Gram flour, rice flour, tamarind, jaggery and the ground spices with just enough water. It should sit where it is put.
5. BUILD IN STACKS OF FOUR LEAVES, PASTE BETWEEN EACH. Largest leaf down, paste spread thin, next leaf on top the other way round, and so on. Four leaves and three layers of paste.
6. ROLL EACH STACK TIGHT AND TIE IT. Fold the sides in first, roll from the stem end, and tie with string in two places. A loose roll steams unevenly, which is exactly what you cannot afford here.
7. STEAM THEM THIRTY MINUTES, NOT TWENTY. A skewer should go through with no resistance and the outer leaf should be dark and completely soft. This is the step the article's warning is about.
8. COOL, SLICE INTO ROUNDS, AND FRY THEM IN A MUSTARD TEMPERING. Coconut oil, mustard seeds popped, the slices laid in and crisped on both sides, coconut scattered over. Its article notes the dish is called alu vadi in Maharashtra and patra in Gujarat, and that it is a primary dish of the Konkani-speaking Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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