Patra Indian snack Aluvadi

Patra recipe in Marathi

Time:- Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 15 Pieces

Ingredients:
Taro Leaves 4 to 6
3/4 cup Chickpea flour
1 tbsp Rice flour
1/4 cup Tamarind juice (medium consistency)
2 tbsp grated jaggery
1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, salt to taste
Oil for deep frying or shallow frying

Method:
If you have 4 leaves: use 2 leaves for each roll
If you have 6 leaves: use 3 leaves for each roll

1) In a medium bowl mix chickpea flour, rice flour, tamarind pulp, jaggery, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander-cumin powder, salt to taste. Mix nicely. Add little water and make a thick sticky paste. This paste should not be runny or doughy in consistency. It should be in the middle. Taste the paste and add any ingredient, if needed.
2) Wash and pat dry taro leaves. Cut the excessive stems.
3) Take the biggest leaf first. Put the leaf on a flat clean surface, dark green side down. Roll the leaf with a rolling pin to flatten the veins. Repeat same with the remaining leaves.
4) Now take the biggest leaf first, dark green side down. Apply the paste on it. Put the second leaf on it (dark green side down). Apply the paste and Place another leaf on it. Apply the paste on it.
5) Then fold the broad side over the leaf as shown in the picture and spread some paste on the folded sides. Then fold the other two adjacent sides. Apply the paste.
6) Then start making roll from the folded side to narrow side. Make a tight roll and apply little batter on the blank areas (no need to be very precise).
Repeat the same process to make another roll.
7) Steam cook these rolls and let them cool down completely.
8) Make 1 and 1/2 cm thick slices. Shallow fry or deep fry them. Garnish with Coconut, toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro. Serve hot.



Tips:
1) If you don't want to deep fry or shallow fry, you can eat steamed and sliced patra. Drizzle a teaspoon oil tempering to give nice flavor.(heat 1 tsp oil, add mustard seeds and let them crackle then add pinch of asafoetida)
2) Shallow fried patra becomes more crispy than deep fried.
3) One important thing - Use the biggest patra leaf first. Then the medium and then smaller should be on the top. If you use small leaf first, you wont be able to make a proper roll.
4) Do not use more than 3 leaves to make a roll. It will become too big and difficult to handle.
5) Roll should be nice and tight. It will keep the patra round and whole after slicing and shallow / deep frying.