Patrode is a dish from Mangalore (a major city and the headquarters of Dakshina Kannada) and something I have grown up eating. A spicy batter is made by grinding rice, dal, spices, tamarind and red chilli. This batter is smeared on the colocasia leaves (also called taro or eddoe), which are rolled and steamed or fried. It is interesting to know that the primary use of colocasia is the consumption of its edible corm and leaves. In its raw form, the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate and the presence of needle-shaped raphides in the plant cells. However, the toxin can be destroyed and the tuber rendered palatable by cooking or by steeping in cold water overnight. In patrode preparation, a generous amount of tamarind is added to reduce the itchiness of the colocasia leaves.
I absolutely love patrode but I never imagined making it myself. A few reasons are because the colocasia leaves are so darn hard to find and the preparation of this dish is time consuming, messy and has to be executed properly to prevent any potential itchiness of the tongue and throat by the leaves. Every time I visit India, my mom and MIL go out of their way to make sure that I get a year's worth of patrode so I that won't miss it much until my next visit. These leaves grow contentedly in the vegetable patch of their backyard so my mom and MIL make it all the time. I bring back a carefully wrapped box or two of home-made patrode to Singapore and eat it judiciously so that it lasts up to a week. That is the extent of my love affair with patrode!
Recently, my hubby came home grinning ear to ear with two bundles of colocasia leaves which he stumbled upon in an Indian store in Singapore. I was surprised to see them because I had assumed that you don't get it here. I was slightly apprehensive of attempting to make it myself since I had never paid much attention to the procedure when it was made at home (eating was all I was interested in 😜). I called my mom anyway and she explained to me how she makes them. I thought to myself, - 'Ok, here goes nothing' and embarked on my patrode journey. An hour later, after I was done preparing it, I was afraid to even sample it. I handed it on a plate to my husband and I was intently watching his expression as he ate it. A few minutes and some contemplative expressions later, he announced that he could not tell the difference between the one his mom makes and the one I had just made. That was the biggest compliment I could ever get (the guy is blessed with seriously discerning taste buds).
There are different ways to make patrode. It can be steamed, shallow fried or made into a stir-fry or gravy but the shallow fried way is the one and only way I like it. I don't know why I've never taken much of a liking to the other versions of it.
Anyway, here is the step-by-step preparation for the shallow-fried version of patrode. I'm sure you will love it.
