Pathravadya bhajji (Taro leaf curry) is a long forgotten dish of the GSB Konkani’s. Pathravadya bhajji (Taro leaf curry) is prepared from the mature stem (‘Venti’ in Konkani) and leaves of taro/arvi/colcasia leaves. In the preparation of Pathravadya bhajji (Taro leaf curry) we add raw rice to the ground paste. Bilimbi or star fruit (‘Carmbal’ in Konkani) is usually added to reduce the itching caused by the taro leaves. Pathravadya bhajji (Taro leaf curry) goes well with rice. From the name ‘Pathravodo’ does not mean that we are using Pathrovodo in the preparation of this dish. I will be dealing with those dishes in another posts.
Ingredients
You need
- 1 small bunch of taro leaves with stems
- 2 to 3 medium sized bilimbi (‘Chemin puli’ in Malayalam; I have used bilimbi in my recipe) or star fruit (‘Carmbal’ in Konkani)
- A pinch of asafetida
- Salt to taste
For the masolu (For grinding)
You need
- 2 to 3 tbspns grated coconut
- 2 red chilies
- 1 tbpsn raw rice
For seasoning
You need
- A small spoon mustard seeds
- 1 tspn urd dhal
- A very small spoon methi seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- Coconut oil for seasoning
Method
Peel the skin of the venti of taro as we did for alwathi. If you are using very tender leaves remove only the 3 mid ribs else remove all the veins of the leaves. Wash them well to remove any impurities, soil or sand particles sticking to it. Cut the leaves and stem into small pieces.
Put the cut venti and leaves into a pressure cooker, add bilimbi, salt and water as required. Pressure cook as follows: One whistle followed by simmering for 15 to 20 minutes. Once cooked switch off the flame.
Once the pressure cooker has cooled down open the lid of the pressure cooker and transfer the contents (cooked venti and leaves) to a vessel. Keep the vessel on a flame. Slightly boil it. Taste and see if there is any itching sensation. If you feel so add a few pieces of bilimbi or star fruit and cook it.
In the mean time prepare the masolu by grinding the coconut and red chilies to a smooth and fine paste. Add hing to the paste and just spin once for uniform mixing.
Add the raw rice to it and just spin once more in the mixer. Touch and see with your fingers you should get the feel of broken rice particles in the ground paste.
Add this masolu to the cooked venti and leaves. Mix well and boil it for 1 to 2 minutes.
After boiling do the seasoning. Heat oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds when they begin to splutter add the urd dal followed by methi seeds and curry leaves. See that you do not over roast the methi seeds or else you will get a bitter taste for your curry. Pour the seasoning over the venti and leaves.
Your Pathravadya bhajji (Taro leaf curry) is ready to be served.
Serve warm with rice.
