Patra and Handvo -- Authentic Gujarathi Dishes

There's nothing like luxury of having close friends living 3 houses apart.. I can speak volumes about the fun and the times we spend together and never mention the food we share.. They are from Gujarat and we are pakka Andhrites. My husband loves any North Indian food, especially their chats, rotis, sev and curries.. So they make sure they pack freshly made food( chats , curries, pooris , Sev, Pav Bahjis etc..,) and bring our home exclusively for both of us... This is what i call "Luxury of having Friends near by"... We appreciate each others culinary expertise( hehehe ) so much.. These guys love my dosas, sambar, chutneys, pulaos, cakes and curries... My Friend she would just ask for my sambar in a big bowl,,, yep just some sambar nothing else!! Love them, they are like a family to us!! Here are some authentic Gujarati goodies auntie brought for us and i couldn't stop myself clicking them when she explained how labour intensive those dishes were -- yep you guessed it right! They are Patra and Handvo.


Patra is made from colocasia leaves, besan( chickpea flour ) and some aromatic masalas.. Here's what i remember - Make besan mixture with water and apply the paste on a colocasia leaf and then place another leaf smaller than the first one on top and spread some batter and repeat the same until 4-5 layers.. Roll it and then cut into equals parts.. Steam these packets and then she made some tadka and added some lime juice, sugar(or gur ), grated coconut, cilantro and some seasonings... They were so moist and i could finish them as they were.. So good... they are spicy and sweet at the same time,, has that chat-pata flavour too.. Thanks aunty... absolutely loved them.. Oh, my MIL makes something similar with Colocasia leaves and besan -- Chamadumpa Badeelu( a Pakka Telangana Dish )



Here comes the next authentic Gujarathi recipe Handvo which needs fermentation and expertise.. I remember, She said you need to ferment besan mixture overnight and then add grated Bottle gourd( sorakaya ) .. Just fold the grated dudhi and bake it.. Add toasted sesame seeds and seasonings on top... It was so Good....


Along with these she even brought Besan Sev and Spicy small pooris( Khatta Pooris with ajwain ).. Oh they were sumptuous!! I would try to make these myself soon..

20 comments:

  1. Wow... what a colour & clicks.. Really fantastic & Yummy...

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  2. Anonymous7:30 PM

    It is obviously nice to have friends nearby ,they are so helpful.Nice Dish too.

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  3. Anonymous9:03 PM

    Awesome pics and those are really tempting ones. I am just craving for it.

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  4. umm..my favourite gujarati snack is dhokla u r temptin me with pics,..

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  5. Wow tempting pics. Iam gonna try this out soon. Bookmarked!

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  6. Beautiful....sure is nice to have neighbours like that :-))

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  7. There is a suprise for you in my blog. Click here to know what the suprise is, http://kitchenflavours.blogspot.com/2008/07/fruit-chaat.html

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  8. Anonymous4:37 PM

    Beautiful pictures.. Sure must be yummy too. Hey, I am hosting an event called Sunday snacks.. pls try to post something for that event too..

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  9. Hey that's a real nice entry..i have to try it once..anyways whats the leaf that used in patra??i never heard of it before!

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  10. Hey that's a real nice entry..i have to try it once..anyways whats the leaf that used in patra??i never heard of it before!

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  11. Came here from TOI. Delicious pics. Lucky you! How about asking auty for detailed recipes and publishing here as well?

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  12. Thats a lovely recipe..We in Karnataka espcially udupi make patrode with patra and I love this leaf..

    Nice recipe

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  13. It is indeed a pleasure and delight to have friends like these.

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  14. Thanks Kitchen flavors for the award dear.. im all elated

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  15. Mrs Kannan, its the leaf of colacasia root.. Chamadumpa Aaku in telugu..,

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  16. both looks delecousssss

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  17. I wish I had somebody nearby to make such goodies for me!

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  18. I once bought canned patra once, long time ago and it was not very good. I am sure that the home made ones would taste fantastic! You are lucky to have neighbours like that!

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  19. Anonymous11:56 PM

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    Your readers and fans can vote for you by giving you a star here. Thank you for sharing. ;)

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  20. Anonymous5:55 PM

    I am browsing your blog this morning over a lazy cup of wonderful coffee. It is Sunday and no better way to start the day than to be browsing your wonderful recipes. This one is so amazing, and I love your podi and the black eyed bean curry too.

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