Palak "Patradau" (Spinach Rolls)

This is a typical Mangalorean (Konkani) dish – something to die for (at least for some)!! It is generally made out of colocasia leaves. Some of these leaves, even after cooking, leave an itchy sensation in the throat after consuming it.

My problem was that no matter how good the leaves were, my husband always felt that it is irritating his throat - with the result, I had almost stopped making this dish. Then one fine day, when he brought fresh Palak (spinach) from the market, (the leaves were huge) and my husband just jokingly said maybe you should try making pathradau out of palak rather than colocasia leaves.

Since then, I have been making this dish out of palak.

Ingredients:

Palak (spinach) leaves	40
Green gram whole	1 cup
Raw rice	¼ cup
Grated Coconut	1 cup
Dry Red chillies	3-4
Tamarind pellet	the size of a bean
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Salt	to taste

Method :

• Wash and soak the green gram for about two hours.
• Pick and wash only the large size leaves (cut off the stem) and dry them on a towel.
• Grind the soaked green gram along with raw rice, grated coconut, dry red chilies,
• tamarind pellet, asafoetida and salt using least amount of water to a smooth paste.
• On the chopping board, place a spinach leaf with its backside up and the stalk end
• towards you. Smear the ground paste evenly all over the surface. Then place
• another leaf over it and repeat the smearing process till 7-8 leaves. Then fold the
• sides inwards and smear the paste on the fold. Then roll gently but firmly from the
• stalk end to the tip in the form of a cylinder.
• When the rolls are done, place them on a greased plate and steam them for about 25-30 mins or till done.
• When cooled, cut it into thick slices and serve immediately.

Note :

From 40 leaves, I made 5 rolls (each containing 8 leaves)

These can be eaten as it is or to make it tastier, it can be rolled in semolina and shallow fried in a pan on both sides till golden brown.