MyMusingsSangSpeak - Pet Puja -Laal Bhoplyache Saar(Red Pumpkin Soup, Indian style)

Laal Bhoplyache Saar(Red Pumpkin Soup, Indian style)

Laal Bhopala (Red Pumpkin) is a tasty and highly nutritious vegetable and can be used in many recipes as a cooked vegetable and also in salads, soups and desserts. This vegetable is universally popular and is of great importance in Western culture in the Halloween festival. For us Maharashtrians, Laal Bhopala is associated with the childhood story of  "Chal Re Bhoplya Tunuk Tunuk". I love bhoplyachi ghari, a fried flattened puri of red pumpkin, jaggery and wheat flour.

I am sharing Indian style red pumpkin soup recipe which is very easy to prepare and tastes good. I had tasted it at my Aunt’s place about 6 years ago and had liked it for its delicate flavours.

 

Ingredients

Red Pumpkin – 250 gms

Water – Approx. 1 litre or more

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Cumin powder - ½ teaspoon

Coriander powder - ½ teaspoon

Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon

Red Chilli powder – ½ teaspoon

Salt – As per taste

Curry Leaves – 10-12 nos

Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

Tamarind pulp – 1 teaspoon

 

Method

Remove pumpkin skin and cut it into cubes. Add the pumpkin pieces with some water in an utensil and pressure cook with 2 whistles. Remove, cool and mash well and sieve through a mesh to get pulp. Add about a litre of water to the pumpkin pulp. You can make the consistency of your choice. Add salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chilli powder and tamarind pulp to the pumpkin soup and mix well. Heat oil for tempering, add mustard seeds and curry leaves, allow to crackle and add this to the soup. Boil the soup well and serve with rice or as an accompaniment to the meal.

 

MyMusingsSangSpeak - Pet Puja - Laal Bhoplyachya Paananchi Bhaji (Red Pumpkin Leaves Subji)

 Laal Bhoplyachya Paananchi Bhaji (Red Pumpkin Leaves Subji)

This leafy vegetable of red pumpkin leaves is most tasty. During my childhood, nearly all households grew their vegetables in their backyard and red pumpkin was a commonly grown houseplant. It is a no fuss, no maintenance plant which grows very easily. The famous childhood story of "Chal Re Bhoplya Tunuk Tunuk" stays with us forever. Its spiny leaves can be cooked into a very nice dish. The leaves are accompanied with daal(pulse) of your choice, either masoor, moong, chana, arhar and it is an easy recipe to prepare. I loved this dish a lot in my childhood and would always look out for the leaves to make it.

As the leaves are readily not available much nowadays, I grew my own pumpkin plant and sourced the leaves. Do try out this easy recipe if you have access to these leaves.

Ingredients

Red Pumpkin Leaves – 30- 40 approx

Masoor Daal(Red Lentil) – ½ cup

Green Chillies – 2 nos

Garlic – 10-12 cloves

Oil – 1½ tablespoon

Salt - As per taste

Water – As per requirement

 

Method

Wash the leaves well and chop finely. Soak daal for about an hour or so. Heat oil in a pan and add crushed green chillies and garlic, fry for a minute and add the chopped leaves and soaked daal. Stir well and add salt. Add little water for the daal to cook and cover for about 4-5 minutes. Check if the daal is cooked and remove from fire. Serve with chapati or jowar roti.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja- Rice Dhokla

Rice Dhokla

Rice Dhokla is much like the famous idli, except that curd is used here for fermentation. It has a distinct, slightly sour flavour because of the curd. I like this dhokla better than the besan (gram flour) dhokla. This dhokla is available at many outlets in Pune. I tried making it at home after reading it on the internet only recently and it turned out really yummy. You may use whole rice or idli rawa, whichever is readily available for this recipe.

Ingredients

Rice/Idli Rawa – 2 cups

Urad Daal (Split Black Gram without skin) – ¼ cup

Tuvar/Arhar Daal (Split Pigeon Peas) – 1 teaspoon

Chana Daal (Bengal Gram) – 1 teaspoon

Moong Daal (Green Gram split without skin) – 1 taespoon

Fenugreek seeds – ½ teaspoon

Water – As per requirement

Curds – 1 big cup

Salt – As per requirement

Soda Bi Carb – ½ teaspoon

Green Chillies – 2 nos

Ginger – 1inch piece

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Sesame seeds – 2 tablespoons

Mustard seeds – 1½ teaspoons

Asafoetida – A small pinch

Red chilly powder – ¼ teaspoon

Method

Wash and soak rice/idli rawa in water for 3 hours. Wash and soak all the daals together for 3 hours. After 3 hours, drain water from soaked rice and daals. Grind the soaked daals along with ginger and green chillies to a coarse paste, add curds if required and set aside. Grind the soaked rice/ idli rawa also coarsely with curds and add to the daal mixture. Mix well and set aside for fermentation for about 6-7 hours.

For cooking rice dhokla, take a flat-bottomed vessel and grease with oil. Add salt and soda bi carb to the rice dhokla mixture and mix well for about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the greased vessel and steam cook for about 12-15 minutes in a pressure cooker without the whistle.

For tempering, heat oil, and add asafoetida and mustard seeds, once the mustard seeds splutter, add sesame seeds and remove from fire. Pour this on the cooked rice dhokla. Sprinkle red chilly powder on top. Rice Dhokla is ready to be served. Serve rice dhokla with chutney of your choice.
I made chutney with fresh cocnut, roasted groundnuts and roasted, puffed chutney daal.

Note- Preparation time is about 10 hours and cooking time is 25-30 minutes. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Paatal Poha Chiwda (Rice Flakes Mixture Snack)

Paatal Pohyacha Chiwda (Rice Flake Savoury Mixture Snack)

Paatal Pohyacha Chiwda is a light, crispy, tasty snack that can be prepared very easily. You require thin rice flakes/puffed rice for this recipe, but, if these are not readily available, then one can use the normal poha too. With normal poha, the roasting time may increase. This snack uses very little oil; hence it is healthy in that respect.

This dish was never made by my mother. It was made by my aunt, and I liked it so I learnt to make it.

Ingredients

Paatal Poha (Thin rice flakes) – ½ kg

Groundnuts – 200 gms

Dry coconut (Thinly sliced) – 2 tablespoons

Cashews (broken) – 2 tablespoons

Chutney Daal – 2 tablespoons

Sesame seeds – 2 tablespoons

Mustard Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Curry Leaves – 15-20

Green Chillies (finely chopped) – 3-4 nos

Garlic (finely chopped) – 1½ teaspoon

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Oil – ½ cup

Salt – To taste

Asafoetida – A generous pinch

Method

Fry the groundnuts and set aside. Dry roast the rice flakes on medium flame till they become crisp and a light cream colour, add few drops of oil in between while dry roasting. Add salt, turmeric powder and fried groundnuts and switch off the heat.

For tempering take another utensil. Heat oil and fry cashews pieces, chutney daal, and sliced dry coconut very lightly and add to the rice flakes mixture. Fry the finely chopped garlic till it turns crisp and brown and add to the rice flakes. Add asafoetida, chopped green chillies, mustard and cumin seeds and allow the chillies to become crisp. Add this tempered oil to the rice flakes mixture along with the sesame seeds and mix well. Lightly roast the rice flakes mixture on low flame for about 8-10 minutes, till it becomes crispy by stirring continuously so that all ingredients mix well and the salt gets distributed evenly also. 

While serving, you may add finely chopped onion and fresh coriander.

Note - Similar savoury snack can be made with cornflakes or wheat flakes or any other puffed grains.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Dadpe Pohe

Dadpe Pohe (Soaked and Pressed Rice Flakes Snack)

Dadpe Pohe is a delicious, lip smacking recipe of uncooked, soaked and pressed poha with lots of fresh vegetables. Dadpe means pressed, and in this recipe,the poha is soaked and pressed for a while and used uncooked.  It is a nice summery treat, very easy to prepare too. Generally, thin puffed rice flakes are used for this recipe. In case, thin variety is unavailable, one can make use of the normal variety too, only soaking and pressing time would increase in that case.

It is poha (puffed rice) soaked in coconut water/curds or a mix of both, and finely chopped onions, tomatoes, grated fresh coconut, carrot and cucumber, salt, sugar, lime to taste n for tempering oil, curry leaves, green chillies, mustard seeds n asafoetida, for garnish -fried groundnuts, chopped coriander.
This dish was never made at my home, I had it at my college-mate's home and I got this recipe from his mother as I had really liked the taste.

Ingredients

Thin Poha/Rice Flakes – 2 cups

Curds/Yoghurt – 1 to 1½ cups

Onion – 1 large (finely chopped)

Tomato – 1 medium (finely chopped)

Grated Fresh Coconut – 2 tablespoons

Salt – As per taste

Sugar - 1½ - 2 teaspoons

Lemon juice – 2 teaspoons

Fresh coriander – 2 tablespoons (Finely Chopped)

Fried Groundnuts – 2 tablespoons

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Asafoetida – 1 pinch

Mustard Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Curry Leaves – 14-15

Green Chillies – 2-3 nos

Cumin Seeds (optional) – ½ teaspoon

Carrot – 2 tablespoons (grated)

Cucumber – 2 tablespoons (grated)

Method

Clean the Poha/rice flakes well by straining through a strainer. Add curds, salt, sugar, lemon juice to the poha and keep it pressed for about half hour in a vessel by covering with a plate with weight placed on it. Add finely chopped onion, tomato, grated coconut, fried groundnuts, chopped coriander leaves, optional vegetables like grated carrot and cucumber and mix well.

For tempering, heat oil in a vessel. Add mustard and cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, chopped green chillies, allow the mustard to splutter well and add to the prepared poha mixture. Give a good stir so that the tempering mixes well with the poha mixture. Dadpe Pohe are ready to be served.  

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Mango Sheera

Mango Sheera

Mango Sheera is a delicacy, it is Suji Halwa with mango. In Maharashtra, mango is eaten in different forms like Aamras, Aamrakhand and so on. In some places in the state, Aamras is eaten in combination with rice, kurdai, puranpoli, sheera (suji halwa) and shevaya (semiyaan) etc. In coastal areas, vegetarian mango cake is made with semolina and mango pulp. I tried out Mango Sheera recently and it turned out really yummy. I used Alphonso mango, one may use any other variety too.

Ingredients

Rawa (Suji/Semolina) – 1½ cups

Ghee – ½ cup

Milk – 2 ½ cups

Sugar – 1 cup +1 tablespoon

Mango Pulp – 1 cup

Cardamom Powder – ¼ teaspoon

Saffron – 10-12 strands

Dryfruits (Cashews, Almonds, Raisins) - Optional

Method

Heat ghee in a hard-bottomed pan and add suji to it. Keep roasting the Suji on medium heat till it turns to a nice golden-brown colour. Warm the milk and add to this mixture, be careful while adding as the suji mixture tends to splutter. Stir well, the suji milk mixture will come together, then add sugar to this mix. Mix well and cover with a lid and allow to cook for about 5 minutes on medium flame. Add mango pulp and cook for 4-5 minutes more. Add cardamom powder and crushed saffron. Garnish with dry fruits. Serve hot.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Pineapple Sheera

Pineapple Sheera (Suji Halwa with Pineapple)

Pineapple Sheera is a dessert, Suji Halwa with Pineapple, sheera with a difference. I recently tried out this combination and it tastes really delicious. Fresh pineapple lends a lovely flavour to the normal Suji Halwa. It is easy to make too. It is a nutritious dish, especially for growing children.

Ingredients

Rawa (Suji/Semolina) – 1½ cups

Ghee – ½ cup

Milk – 2 ½ cups

Sugar – 1 cup +1 tablespoon

Pineapple (fresh, coarsely crushed in mixer) – ¾ cup

Cardamom Powder – ¼ teaspoon

Dryfruits (Cashews, Almonds, Raisins) - Optional

Method

Take a hard-bottomed pan and heat the ghee and add suji to it. Keep roasting the suji on medium heat till it turns to a nice golden-brown colour. Warm the milk and add to this mixture, be careful while adding as the suji mixture tends to splutter. Stir well, the suji milk mixture will come together, then add sugar to this mix. Mix well and cover with a lid and allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Add the crushed pineapple and cook for 4-5 minutes more. Add cardamom powder. Garnish with dry fruits. Serve hot.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Kelyacha Sheera

Kelyacha Sheera (Banana Suji Halwa)

Kelyacha Sheera is a typical Maharashtrian recipe, it is Suji Halwa with banana. I have already mentioned in my recipe of Suji Halwa or Sheera as in Marathi, that this dish is considered to be sacred and offered to God as Naivedyam, especially for the SatyaNarayan Puja and further is distributed as Prasaad. My mother used to make really amazing Kelyacha Sheera, by roasting the Suji (Semolina) along with bananas in pure ghee to a lovely golden brown. Even while writing, I am transported to the rich aroma of this lovely dish.
In childhood, this Prasaad of Kelyacha Sheera was a delicacy worth all the wait. It would be served very beautifully in banana leaf. Roasting with immense patience is the key to this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients

Rawa (Suji/Semolina) – 1½ cup

Pure Ghee – ½ cup

Banana (ripe) – 1 large

Milk – 2½ cups

Sugar – 1 cup or a little more

Cardamom Powder – ½ teaspoon

Dry fruits (Cashew, Almonds, Raisins) - Optional

Method

Take a hard-bottomed pan and heat the ghee and add suji to it. Keep roasting the Suji on medium heat till it turns to a light brown colour. Mash the banana and add to the roasted suji and keep stirring and roasting till the mixture turns a deep golden brown. Warm the milk and add to this mixture, be careful while adding as the suji mixture tends to splutter. Stir well, the suji milk mixture will come together, then add sugar to this mix. Mix well and cover with a lid and allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Add cardamom powder. Garnish with dry fruits and serve hot.

Note - Preparation and cooking time is about 30-40 minutes.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Laal Tikhatche Paatal Pithale/Pithala

Laal Tikhatache Paatal Pithale

This is a lip-smacking Maharashtrian recipe, very basic and rustic. It forms a part of the staple diet of an average agrarian Maharashtrian household. My family just loves this dish and it is really a soul satisfying one. As it is easy to prepare and requires minimum ingredients and tastes so delicious, it is famous amongst all Non Maharshtrians too. Laal Tikhatache Paatal Pithale tastes good with almost anything and serves as a perfect accompaniment with Jowar (Sorghum) Roti and rice.

Ingredients

Besan (Gram Flour) – 2 cups

Onion – 1 large

Garlic – 14-16 cloves

Red Chilly Powder – 1 teaspoon

Oil – 3-4 tablespoons

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida – 1 pinch

Salt – As per taste

Water – Approximately 1 litre

Chopped coriander leaves (optional) – 2 tablespoons

Method

Heat oil in a Kadahi and add asafoetida and mustard seeds, allow mustard seeds to splutter and then, add chopped onion. Fry for about 4-5 mins till it turns light brown, then add crushed garlic and give a good stir. Add red chilly powder and salt and stir for few moments and add water. Bring the water to boil and add gram flour, little quantity at a time and keep stirring continuously. Once all gram flour is added, stir well and cover and allow to cook for about ten minutes on medium flame. Stir occasionally, once you see oil separating, remove from fire. Add coriander leaves and serve hot topped with ghee accompanied by jowar roti and rice.

Note – Preparation and cooking time is about half hour to 40 minutes. This quantity is sufficient for 4 persons.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Paatal Pithale/Pithala

Paatal Pithale/Pithala

Pithala is the most famous Maharshtrian recipe, a lip-smacking delight and it comes in many avataars like paatal (liquid/semi liquid) or semi soft or firm consistencies and can be made in varied ways using various vegetables, constant ingredient being besan that is gram flour. Pithala is also known as Jhunka in Marathi. One can use either green chillies or red chilly powder as per one’s preference. It tastes best with jowar roti or rice. Here, I am giving you the recipe of paatal pithala using green chillies. Hope you all enjoy it.

There are many versions of this recipe in other Indian states too. It is a quick to make dish and generally all these ingredients used are readily available in the kitchen. When you are short of vegetables at home, this is a quick fix recipe. The average Maharashtrian farmer's daily diet used to be Pithala Bhakri.

Ingredients

Besan (Gram Flour) – 1 cup

Onion – 1 large

Garlic – 10-12 cloves

Green Chillies – 2-3 nos

Dry coconut grated – 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Cumin – ½ teaspoon

Mustard Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Oil – 2-3 tablespoons

Water – 750 ml approximately

Salt – As per taste

Chopped coriander leaves (optional) – 2 tablespoons

Method

Chop the onion, coarsely crush together chillies, garlic and dry grated coconut. Heat oil in a karahi and splutter cumin and mustard. Add chopped onion and fry for about 3-4 minutes. Add coarsely ground chiily, garlic and coconut. Add turmeric powder and water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Once the water has boiled, lower the fame and add besan, little by little and keep stirring so that it forms a smooth paste. Stir well and cook by covering with a lid for about 7-8 minutes. Remove from fire and add coriander leaves. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee along with jowar roti and hot steaming rice.

Note – Some people make a solution of besan and water and then add it to the fried mixture to get extra smooth consistency. You can follow that method too.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Kardaichi Bhaji (Safflower Vegetable)

Kardaichi Bhaji (Safflower Vegetable)

Kardai (Safflower) vegetable is a popular green leafy vegetable consumed in Maharashtra. It is a highly nutritious vegetable containing many minerals and vitamins. Kardai oil is also a healthy option of oil. The vegetable can be prepared in many ways, simply by tempering garlic and green chillies or by adding onion and various daals (pulses). It tastes good as accompaniment with almost anything like wheat or jowar roti.

Ingredients

Kardai (Safflower) – 1 bunch

Onion – 1 medium

Garlic – 10-12 cloves

Green chillies – 2

Chana Daal (Split Chickpeas) – 2 tablespoons

Oil – 2 tablespoons approximately

Salt – As per taste

Water – As per requirement

Method

Soak chana daal in water for about an hour. Clean the vegetable by separating the leaves and you may take the tender stems. Wash well and chop into approximately 1” long pieces. Chop onions and crush garlic and green chillies. Heat oil in a kadahi, add chopped onion and fry for 2-3 minutes, then add crushed ginger and green chillies and fry for further 2 minutes. Add the chopped vegetable, soaked chana daal, salt, water, stir well and cover with a lid and allow to cook for about 10 minutes on low flame. Afterwards, give a good stir, check if the daal has softened and cooked well. Remove from fire and serve.

Note - You may use daal of your choice, it could be moong, masoor or tur (arhar).

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Anjir Basundi (Dry Fig/Anjir Rabadi)

Anjir Basundi (Dry Fig Rabadi)

Anjir Rabadi is a special treat for people with sweet tooth. It is a lip-smacking dessert and can be prepared quite easily.

Ingredients

Milk – ½ litre

Condensed Milk – ½ cup + 1 tablespoon

Cashewnuts - 40 gm approximately

Dry fig rings – 4-5 nos

Cardamoms – 2 nos (optional)

Method

Soak cashewnuts in water for about half hour. Cut the dried fig into small pieces and soak in warm water for half hour. Make a fine paste of soaked cashewnuts and set aside. Put the soaked figs also through a mixer and set aside. Heat milk and add condensed milk to it, mix well and add cashewnut paste and keep stirring continuously till it thickens. Add crushed cardamoms and allow to cool. Once this mixture cools down, add the fig mixture and cool it in the fridge. Serve the Anjir Rabdi topped with nuts and raisins.

Note

Preparation time is about 1 hour plus. This quantity is enough for about 4 persons. You may use any milk, skimmed or full cream. Always add fig mixture to the milk only after complete cooling as there is a possibility of the milk curdling if it is hot/warm.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Tondli Bhaat

Tondli Bhaat

Tondle or Tondli (Marathi) is Ivy Gourd in English, Tindora/Tendli in Hindi and it is a much sought-after seasonal vegetable in India, prepared in various ways across the country in combination with onions, tomatoes etc. Tondli Bhaat is a delicious Maharashtrian recipe, made with Tondli and rice; it used to be a must in the traditional Maharashtrian wedding spread. Things have changed with time and it is very rarely served in Maharashtrian weddings anymore. Tondli Bhaat is one of my favourite dishes, and here is the recipe for the same. One needs to use AmbaMohar rice variety for this recipe to get the desired taste.

Ingredients

Rice (AmbaMohar) – 1 cup

Tondli (Ivy Gourd) – 100 gm

Onion – 1 medium

Tomato – 1 small

Groundnuts – 1 tablespoon

Garlic Ginger Coriander paste – 2 teaspoons

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Garam Masala – ½ teaspoon

Kanda Lasun Masala – ½ teaspoon

Oil+Pure Ghee – 2 tablespoons

Cinnamon – 1 piece of 2 inch

Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

Bay leaf – 1 large

Curry leaves – 10-12 nos

Big cardamom – 2-3 nos

Black Pepper – 6-7 nos

Cloves – 4-5

Green Chillies – 1-2

Salt – as per taste

Water – 3 cups approximately

Grated coconut – 2 tablespoons

Chopped coriander leaves – 2 tablespoons

Cashewnuts – for garnish

Kishmish – for garnish

Method

Soak groundnuts in water for half hour. Wash all the vegetables, slice Tondli, onion and tomato lengthwise. Wash rice and set aside. Heat oil and ghee in a pan and cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, cloves, black pepper, curry leaves, mustard seeds and allow to splutter for a minute. Add sliced onions and fry till light brown. Add slit green chillies and sliced tondli and fry for another minute. Add washed rice, soaked groundnuts, ginger garlic coriander paste, turmeric powder, garam masala, kanda lasun masala, salt, sliced tomato and stir well for about 2-3 minutes. Add approximately 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, then cover and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. You can pressure cook also if you wish to. Add more water if required.

Serve Tondli Bhaat hot, topped with grated coconut, chopped coriander, fried cashews and kishmish along with pure ghee.

Note – Preparation time is approximately 45 minutes to one hour. This quantity serves about 4 people.

MyMusingsSangSpeak- Pet Puja - Aluchi Wadi

Aluchi Wadi

Aluchi Wadi is an all time favorite Maharashtrian savoury snack and is loved by one and all. It is famous all over India too and is known by various names as Patra, Patrod, Pattaud etc. It is made of colocasia/arum (Arbi in Hindi, Alu in Marathi) leaves and a batter of besan flavoured with tamarind, chilly powder, jaggery etc and has a unique taste. The colocasia leaves are available all through the year, but, most readily available during the monsoons. There are two types of edible colocasia leaves, the light green and the dark green. In Maharashtra, the light green variety is used to make semi liquid recipe called the Aluchi Patal Bhaji (Saag) and the dark green variety is used to make the Aluchi Wadi.

Colocasia has microscopic calcium oxalate crystals that cause itchy throat. To neutralise these, the tubers and leaves are treated with some acidic ingredient like tamarind, lemon etc.

Colocasia tubers grow very easily too and are hardy plants in all weathers and environments.

Traditionally, in Maharashtra only besan is used in the recipe, but, here, I am sharing the recipe with a combination of besan and rice flour.

Ingredients

Colocasia (Arum) leaves – 8-10 nos

Besan (Chana Daal/Gram Flour – 1½ cup

Rice Flour – ½ cup

Jaggery – 1½ tablespoon

Tamarind – 1½ tablespoon

Red Chilly Powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon

Sesame seeds – 1½ tablespoons

Corinader Powder – ½ teaspoon

Cumin Powder – ½ teaspoon

Salt – As per taste

Water – As per requirement

Oil – As per frying requirements 

Method

Wash the colocasia leaves and dry them. Remove the veins and flatten lightly with rolling pin. Soak tamarind for 10–15 minutes and strain the pulp. Soak jaggery in little water and make a solution. Mix together gram flour, rice flour, salt, turmeric, chilly, cumin, coriander powders, sesame seeds and add tamarind pulp and jaggery solution. Add little water to make smooth batter like pakoda batter. Take one leaf and spread the batter on it evenly and cover with another leaf and repeat the process with 3-4 leaves. Fold the batter covered leaves to form a roll. Apply little oil on top of the rolls,

Steam the rolls for 10- 15 minutes in a steamer utensil or pressure cooker. Remove and allow to cool. Cut in thin slices and shallow or deep fry as per your liking/convenience.  

Note – Preparation time is approximately 1 hour. This quantity is enough for 6-7 persons. The rolls can be made and stored in the fridge for about a week or so and fried as and when required. If one wishes to avoid frying, the steamed ones taste good on their own, with a tempering of little oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves.