Collard Greens Patra

Patra... Ahh ! yumm... One of the underrated snack I would say. Mouthwatering snack for the ones who have eaten this before, little bit of everything in a single bite, sweet, salty, tangy, tasty, crunchy, I bet you need to taste this at least once.

Being a Gujju, we relish this a lot. Well getting alvi leaves is a bit tricky here in Chicago, but some how its managable. As is said in Gujarati " Jya Chah, tya rahh " - " Where there is a will there is a way " . It is true for almost anything, isn't it. 

My husband like a true Gujju is a fan of all Gujarati snacks be it handvo, fafda, patra, dhokla, khaman, you name it he loves them, well and me too ;) I rarely used to cook before my marriage, you know being a daughter and parents home pampering benefits you are blessed with. Phewww, soon they disappear once you are married and they are rarely sighted if you are away from family or stay far due to your job. I used to cook but not a pro at making these specialties. You get these Gujju delicacies at every nook and corners anywhere in Gujarat due to ample availability you rarely make efforts to make this at home. Making these homemade snacks seemed to me a long tedious process unless you crave for it, long for it, but once you make it, the taste is amazing, much better than the store bought ones. After coming to USA you literally crave for home goodies like these. You do get these here well no debates about taste match. People may swear about the popular places where you get these, but if you have had these at home being a Gujarati OR tried any street food of Gujarat you surely know the difference. If you are away from India for a while, you know this already, so instead of craving you start making these. I love to cook and experiment different tastes.

Traditionally Patra is made of alvi leaves also called Colocasia leaves which are much larger and perfect for making them, but as we get these less often I tend to make Patra of different leaves which are easily available. You get a variety of leafy greens here kale, collard greens, etc are some to name a few. Alvi leaves are sighted mostly in Indian stores, but kale and other leafy greens you get almost in every grocery store here in Chicago. So why not make use of them and relish this Gujju snack anytime you want. 

I often make these for dinner time or as a snack or as a starter for guests or a great carry on snack for picnics too. It makes a great potluck carry on too. Make it well in advance and saute crisp OR deep fry it later when needed. Perfect and time saving right.

Tip - Any greens you select for making Patra should be thicker, soft skin leafy greens like cabbage and few other greens make this soft and watery when steamed and does not hold the shape and texture so avoid those. 

Taste - Can say, there is a bit of compromise in the taste as Alvi leaves have a unique taste of its own. But once you make the sweet and tangy stuffing, believe me each leafy greens bears its own unique taste be it collard greens or kale leaves to make these.

Let's get making these.

Ingredients

Alvi leaves - or any leafy greens you like, Kale and collard greens make best Patra.

For the Batter

Chickpea Flour - 2 cup

turmeric powder - 1 tbsp

asafoetida - a pinch

red chilli powder - 2 tbsp OR ginger garlic green chilli fine paste - 4 tbsp  * ( You can use any one of these options ) 

coriander cumin powder - 2 tbsp

( For the tangy taste ) amchur / dry mango powder - 1 tbsp OR concentrated tamarind paste - 2 tbsp OR lemon juice - 4 tbsp  * ( You can use any one of these options ) 

grinded or soaked jaggery fistfull OR sugar 4 tbsp * ( You can use any one of these options ) 

garam masala - 1 tbsp - optional ( I do not add it as it gives a pungent flavor and not added traditionally ) 

salt as required 

oil - 2 tsp  ( optional but I add this as this keeps the patras moist from inside )

water as needed

Steamer

For Tempering and making it crisp

Oil

mustard seeds - 1 tsp

white sesame seeds - 1 tsp

asafoetida - a pinch

few curry leaves - optional 

coriander for garnish

fresh grated coconut for garnish - optional

Serving 

Serve them hot with green cilantro chutney OR just ketchup of your choice. 

It even tastes yumm as is.

Process I follow :

I generally prefer making patra in this manner step wise, so its quick for me and no time is wasted. 

Step 1 : Got a bunch of fresh leafy collard greens. 

Unroll and wash them clean and lay flat to dry.

Step 2 : As the leafy greens are drying. I like to make the batter. Take Chickpea flour and add all the other spices to it and mix well.

Lastly mix in water little by little and stir it to form a paste. Adding water in small quantities and stirring along the way ensures a lumpfree batter. 

The consistency of the batter should neither be thick nor too watery. Do a taste test to check the salt and the spices. Adjust the spices as per your and your family's liking.

* The batter should taste sweet, salty, tangy. The collard greens have no taste so the batter should taste accordingly and not bland so add more accordingly. 

Leave the batter aside to marinate and fuse in all the flavours well until we unvein the collard green leaves.

Step 3 : Heat water in a steamer and bring it to a boil.

Step 4 : Now once all the excess water is dried, chop the hard veins of the greens as per the pics, follow the same process too if using alvi leaves.

* Alvi leaves have a typical bitter throat soaring / itching taste so never bite the alvi leaves raw as it may itch your throat. 

Collard greens or Kale is much safer to eat raw too so no worries.

Step 5 : Once all leaves are done unveining, apply a generous amount of the batter on the inside of the collard green leaf. 

Overlap the leaves applying batter on each one by one.

After approx 4/5 leaves, roll the leaves tight keeping the open side downwards so that it does not open up.

Step 6 : Once all leaves are done rolling, Put all in a lined manner to steam. 

Steaming time : It varies depending on the quantity of leaves you put in. For these many rolls I steamed them covered with a dish for approx 20/30 minutes. Check by inserting a knife / toothpick / skewer after 20 minutes. It's done if it comes out clean if not steam it for more 5/10 minutes.

Once steamed and ready keep it over the counter on a rack to cool. 

Tip : You can make and store these patra rolls,they freeze well and use it later for potluck or carry on picnics following the below steps.

These pre-cut rolls can also be frozen and used when required, thawed and proceeded with the below steps when ready to eat.

Step 7 : Once cooled down, cut them evenly finger distance apart OR at approx 1/2 inch distance. Too thin will not hold the shape and grip of the steamed leaves. 

How beautiful. Here's a close up pic.

Step 8 : Now time for the tempering part. You can relish the steamed patra's as is OR proceed with this step. You get two varieties of these in the market. Steamed and deep fried. But taste best, but it is individual preference as to which one you opt for.

- You can have the steamed patra as is, without tempering. Garnish it with coriander and freshly shredded coconut and enjoy. 

- Fill up a wok with oil and Deep fry it in batches till crisp and golden. Garnish it with coriander and freshly shredded coconut and enjoy. 

- Me and my family like the pan fried version.  Heat up a wok with 2/3 tbsp of oil 

OR if you have a flat pan more better as you can crisp the entire patra's on both sides evenly, add mustard seeds, sesame seeds and asafoetida let them crackle and let the patra's get crisp evenly. Drizzle more oil if required. Garnish it with coriander and freshly shredded coconut and enjoy. 

Super crispy as we like it.

I even superlike some patra rolls which break along the way turning them which become super crisp we call it ' bhukko ' and Gosh we fight over who will get the ' bhukko ' ... though we share it finally. But when kids grabbing the bhukko from one another plate is a fun memory and the loser is one who keeps the bhukko / crumbs till the last to eat. Lol :P

We love having leftover patra with morning tea too.