Saru Patra Besara- Sheet of colocassia leaf smeared with spiced rice paste called pithau , rolled delicately and steamed to perfection and then cut into slices and fried till crisp and put into a thin mustard cumin gravy is one of the gems from odia cuisine. Among many other monsoon vegetables that we love , Saru/Arbi or colocasia is a well-known ingredients in most Odia households and monsoon is the best time to eat colocasia leaves, though it is available throughout the year. Its importance can also be found in Ayurvedic theories and is believed to purify the blood, thus helps in curing boils,sores and skin diseases.
Many Indian homes enjoy traditional dishes prepared with colocasia leaves, the western and northern part of India use gramflour as a binder and has sour and sweet taste while in eastern and southern part use rice as a binder which change the taste of the dish , but the texture remains the same across India. The colocasia leaf is quite versatile ; it can be used as the main ingredient in the dish or as a wrapper for many dishes . We use this as chutney, saag , patrapoda as well as in curries.
What is Besara?
There is one masala or paste which every odia household love in their curry is : Besara paste. Every household in Odisha has their own combination for this paste . It’s really easy, just throw all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until you end up with a beautifully moist and sticky red paste, packed with delicious flavors. You can freeze this paste in a plastic bag in the freezer for later use. Besara is a class of dishes that uses the use of mustard seeds and cumin seeds the sauce is enough to classify it as besara.
Besara Paste:
- 2 tbsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 2 Dry Red Chilies
- 8 to 10 garlic pods
Ingredients:
- 10 colocasia leaves
- 2 boiled Potato
- Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 no of Ambula
For the Masala
- 1 cup raw rice, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp cumin seeds,soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
- 4 dry red chillies
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt
Method:
1. Grind together raw rice,garlic,cumin seeds , garlic , turmeric s into a paste and add salt until they become a thick, spreadable paste.
2. Wash the colocasia leaves thoroughly, dry them and remove the protruding main rib from each leaf. Place it face down on a large flat surface/ chopping board, and spread a bit of the mixture on top of it. Make sure the strongest, largest leaves are kept for the outside and that the filling is not too thick.
3. Place another leaf on top of this, spread the mixture and repeat this process for next five leaves. Fold in the sides away from you and then roll it into a cylinder, starting from the tip and ending at the base of the leaf. Once it is shaped into the perfect cylinder, apply some paste on top to hold its shape. Repeat the process for the next five leaves.
4. Steam the rolls for about half an hour and once cool and slice the roll , then shallow fry them until crisp. Steaming the leaves helps in removing the itchiness people complain of while eating colocasia leaves.
5.Now in a pan heat mustard oil and add putana and dry red chili into it , once they start to crackle, add the boiled potato,salt and turmeric and saute on high flame till brown.
6. Now add besara to this and saute for 30 to 40 sec and add 1 cup water and let it come to a boil , add Ambula and once the required consistency of the gravy is there, add the crispy colocasia leaves rolls in it and switch off the flame . Add chopped coriander leaves before serving with hot steamed rice.
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