Alu Vadi also known as Patra or Pathrode is a delicious dish of colocasia or taro root leaves smeared with a spiced, sweet and tangy gram flour paste and steamed to be tempered later.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 7 minutes
  • Total time: 37 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: Gujarati, Maharashtrian

Ingredients

  • 20 colocasia leaves (or taro root leaves or arbi ke patte, medium to large-sized)
  • 1 inch ginger + 1 to 2 green chilies (- made into a paste in mortar-pestle)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1.5 tablespoon tamarind ((seedless) soaked in ¼ cup hot water for 20 minutes)
  • 2.5 cups gram flour ((besan), swap with chickpea flour instead)
  • 3 to 4 tablespoon jaggery powder (or as required)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoons oil (- optional)
  • salt (as required)
  • water (as required, optional)
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 to 3 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon asafoetida ((hing))
  • 10 to 12 curry leaves
  • ¼ cup coconut (- grated and fresh)
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (- chopped)

Method

Preparation to make alu vadi

  1. Soak the tamarind in ¼ cup hot water for 20 to 30 mins.
  2. Rinse the taro leaves well in water a few times and wipe them dry with a clean kitchen towel.
  3. Prepare them as shown in the photos above - like removing the central vein and stalks etc.

Making gram flour batter

  1. Now squeeze the tamarind directly into the water and extract the pulp.
  2. Take all the ingredients for the batter in a mixing bowl.
  3. Add the tamarind pulp and mix well to make a thick batter.
  4. Add some water if needed.
  5. Check the taste and add more salt or powdered jaggery if required.
  6. The batter has to be really thick.

Making alu vadi

  1. For the first roll use 10 leaves and for the second roll use remaining 10 leaves.
  2. Sort and arrange the leaves according to their size. So use the large leaves first followed by the medium-sized and small leaves.
  3. Now spread the batter on each leaf and arrange them as shown in the above photos.
  4. Roll the edges vertically and spread some batter on them.
  5. Now roll horizontally and tightly.
  6. Keep on applying the batter on each fold as you roll.

Steaming alu vadi

  1. Place the rolls on a greased steamer pan.
  2. Steam the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes on medium to medium-high heat.
  3. When warm or cool, slice them and temper them. Or you can opt to deep fry them and serve with green chutney or coconut chutney.

Making tempering for pathrode

  1. For the tempering, heat oil in a pan. Crackle the mustard seeds first on a low heat.
  2. Then add the sesame seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Sauté for a few seconds until the sesame seeds crackle and the curry leaves look crisp.
  3. Then add the sliced rolls and sauté till they get golden from both the sides. Turn them as needed while sauteing.
  4. You can also just pour the tempering mixture on the sliced rolls if you prefer.
  5. Turn off the heat and sprinkle grated coconut and coriander leaves on the alu vadi or patra. Stir to combine and serve hot or warm.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.