Trek Himachal

Patrodu

Snack made from Colocasia leaves and gram flour

Language sometimes does such injustice or so it seems to our prejudiced minds. I fear one such injustice may have lead to very few people clicking on the link for this page. What kind of a name is Patrodu? A below average sounding one to my mind. Not appealing or appetizing at all. Hardly a name that would water your mouth. Having painted the poor thing's name in sufficiently bad light, let me tell you that Patrodu is a piece of art. A piece of art for the way it looks, a piece of art the way it is prepared and an even better piece of art for the way it tastes.

Having been brought up in Himachal, I had been having Patrodu since I was very young but never realized its worth till I left Himachal and figured out it is something special. Talk about the importance of perspective!! Now that I do realize it and also have the supporting evidence in the form of photographs, I owe this page to Patrodu. Being as presumptuous as I am, I presume that the name comes from being made out of a leaf, patta is leaf in Hindi and Pat in Patrodu sounds like a corruption of patta. As to the rest of the name, I don't pretend to have a clue.

Patrodu is made from leaves of Arbi (Colocasia), Gram flour and spices. Oblong, flat leaves of Colocasia are picked during monsoon. A thick paste of gram flour, salt, ground turmeric, chopped coriander leaves, cumin, ajwain, chopped green chillis, asafoetida, ground onion, ginger and garlic is prepared with 2 spoons of mustard oil. A single leaf of Colocasia is then placed upside down and this thick paste applied to it in a thin layer. Another leaf is then placed upside down on top of this leaf and the same paste applied to it. Once 4-5 layers of leaves and paste are ready, the leaves are very carefully and tightly rolled from one side to the other making a roll. The roll, if needed, can be tied with a string to keep it together. A few such rolls are then put in a pressure cooker and steamed for sometime. Be careful though, you do not want to over-steam them and eat a mishy-mushy paste of leaves. The steamed rolls are then cooled, nowadays in a fridge but natural cooling does just fine.

If you are a city dweller and a health freak, just slice the roll and eat the pieces with a steaming cup of tea. Even these are delicious. If you fancy the full version, fry roast the slices in a little oil. A wide saucepan would be the best utensil to do it in. Preferably, fry in desi ghee, refined oils would never do the needed justice. Remember to remove the tying string before eating!

Mind you, this snack is not commercially available at any place in Himachal. Not that I am aware of at least. However, it is prepared very commonly across households during the monsoon. If you happen to be visiting Himachal during July-October, a few freshly fried Patrodus with a steaming cup of tea on a misty, rainy evening would be an experience to cherish. Easier to find in villages if you go for a trek, these are relatively inexpensive but every bit and more exotic than the widely available Momo and Thupka.

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