Pathrado/Pathrode

This is the 300th post of Kudpiraj's Garam Tawa and I thought of celebrating it with the GSB delicacy Pathrado/Pathrode!

Gujaratis are adept at making steamed dishes, and like idlis, pathrado is also believed to be an invention of Gujaratis. Knowledgeable elders say that we GSBs brought pathrado from Gujarat where our ancestors settled long ago around Dwaraka, thus GSBs assuming the name 'Dwarke' or 'Dorke'. The spicier version of Pathrado we eat today is highly influenced by Tulunadu and Kerala where we settled centuries ago.

Pathrado is GSB Konkanis' traditional signature dish, a kind of steamed colocasia leaf savoury roll which is tangy spicy and tasty with the distinct aroma of asafotoeda, nutritive and digestive. Typical GSBs make Pathrado with a masala paste mainly consisting of whole Moong beans and rice but my mother made pathrado with only Moong. Tuluvas, Brahmins and Jains and Tuluvas make Pathrode with only rice in the masala paste. Those living on the Udupi Kundapur belt add jaggery to pathrode. 

Pathrode can be recycled by making tawa roast or deep fried podis, upkari or usli and also dipped in Ghashi(a bland masala gravy with roasted methi seeds and tempered with chopped onions or with mustard seeds and curry leaves). Some of the Mangalorean Catholics make meat curry and soak the pathrode in that. Jains deep fry the savoury pathrode and soak it in sweet jaggery syrup which is a fantastic sweet dish like Gulab Jamun!

Whichever way you make this, savoury Pathrado/Pathrode is a fantastic side dish with Rice and rasam, daal curd or with congi. I am so fond of this, I sometimes eat it as a tea time snack with lots of fresh coconut oil drizzled over! Here is my mother's recipe for Pathrode as followed over the years by our family. Our neighbour Vinaya Shenoy also makes similar pathrado that is ultimate in taste flavour and consistency.

Ingredients:
Pathrode(Taro/Colocasia/Alu) leaves - A bunch(15-20)
Whole Moong - 2 cups
Red short chillies - 15-18 roasted with little oil
Freshly grated coconut - 1/2 cup(1/2 of half big coconut or according to liking)
Tamarind - Marble size ball
Salt - To taste
Asafotoeda - a big pinch
Bilimbi/Bimbuli - 4(Reduce tamarind by half if you add this)

Method:
Soak Moong beans in water at room temperature for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Drain and grind coarsely with roasted chillies, grated coconut tamarind/bilimbi and asafotoeda to a thick paste.
Add salt to taste.
Wash the leaves under running water, remove the stem and shave off any visible veins on the back with a sharp knife. Keep aside to drain.
Keep one big leaf dark side down and apply the paste on the back generously and evenly.
Place another leaf/smaller leaves over it with dark side down.
Apply the paste over that layer as well.
Place one more layer of leaves over the first two layers.
Apply the paste over the third layer and carefully tuck the edges of the leaves in, start from one end of the leaves and roll into a tight bundle.
Make rolls with remaining masala paste applied on the leaves, as many as you can.
Heat a steamer with sufficient water in it.
Place the pathrode rolls in a colander and steam for 20-30 minutes or till the pathrode is well steamed and soft.
Cut into pieces and serve with fresh coconut oil drizzled over them or any other way you like.

Perfect Pathrado made by Vinaya Shenoy

Note: If any masala paste is left over, you can use that to make steamed dumplings(Sannan) or savoury dosa(Sanna Polo) with it, mixing in rice flour.