Patra
Item 1 of 1
- Side
- medium
- 4
- 60 minutes
If you're looking to branch out with some more unusual Indian cooking, why not try Urvashi's Gujarati recipe for patra leaves? She has fond memories of her grandmother making these, but now they can often be found ready-prepared in tins at most Indian supermarkets.
First published in 2015
discover more:
If buying ready-prepared patra, simply empty the tin, chop roughly and then stir fry in some oil with mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Sprinkle over fresh coriander and you’re done.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 15 patra leaves, (colocasia leaves) – available from most Asian/Indian grocery shops or use spinach leaves
Paste
- 60ml of tamarind juice
- 150g of chickpea flour
- 3 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp of oil
- 2 tsp salt
To serve
- 1 tbsp of oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp of fresh coriander, leaves finely chopped
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Clean, wash and wipe the leaves. Slice off any thick veins with a pair of scissors or a sharp knife, then wrap the leaves in a damp tea towel or muslin cloth and set aside
2
Mix all the paste ingredients together to form a thick mixture, if it’s too dry add a little warm water to loosen it (it needs to be spreadable)
3
Place one of the leaves face down on a flat work surface and spread a thin layer of the paste over the back of the leaf. Place another leaf on top and coat with the paste. Continue until you have four layers
4
With the final layer of paste on top, fold in the edges and roll the leaves together, starting with the base and rolling towards the tips. Make sure the roll is quite tight and then seal the sides with some paste
5
Repeat until you’ve used up all your leaves and paste. Set aside somewhere cool for about 30 minutes, then steam for about 20 minutes and allow to cool
6
Once they are cool enough to handle, chop the rolls into pieces. Add a little oil to a wok or frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the chopped leaves, mustard, cumin and sesame seeds
7
Stir-fry for a few minutes until fragrant, then sprinkle over some fresh coriander to serve
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