I’m not really sure what I did at the last Philly food blogger potluck, thanks to running around and pouring myself stiff drinks. I do know that all the food was good, and that I almost – yes, almost – didn’t sample my favorite dish of the night. When my boyfriend yelled across the table, “You gotta try these. They’re…uh…something like...uh…kielbasa.” (If it weren’t for the fact that my Dad reads this blog, a bad Polish sausage joke would have followed that last sentence. You can thank my Dad.) Yeah, I didn’t rush over to sample the kielbasa.
What the confused boy meant to say was patra, or maybe colocasia. Patra are Indian rolls made with colocasia leaves (elephant ears, or taro leaves), and a spicy batter.
It wasn’t until the house was almost empty, and Tushar from PhillyFoodGuys started to pack up the leftover patra he brought, that I sampled one. I was in love.
I cleaned him out, and left him with nothing to take home (this is how I usually treat men). I ate them for a 
You can make these at home, that is, if you can find patra leaves in ethnic markets. You can, also, find patra rolls in the frozen food section of Indian markets. They’re good right out of the box, but better if you do as Tushar says. He told me to heat up some oil with whole spices, sauté the slices, and then squeeze lots of lemon on top. Top with chutney, or leave plain.
I was trying my hardest at the end of the night to take in all the info, but under social situations (bourbon) my memory is worse than an amnesiac’s. Other than star anise, I missed what spices Tushar recommended to sauté the patra with. I went with whole cardamom, whole cumin, and whole cloves because that’s what I had on hand, but I’m sure star anise, mustard seed, and coriander seed would be nice, as well.
I hope you all got/get a chance to sample these. Had I sampled them earlier, you wouldn’t have gotten a chance.
10 comments:
Damn tasty, no doubt!
wow...I'm so intrigued. I've never seen these things and I'm having a hard time imagining what they taste like. But, they look so cool.
I was just in Toronto's little india a few days ago shopping. I think I need to go straight back there and search for these!
I eat Patra all the time! I just sautee it in a fry pan with a but of cooking spray the I dip it in Tamrind-Date sauce. OMG!!!
See here is my patra post from back november. I was given a can of patra by a friend. I will have to let you know how they taste. http://everydayveggie.blogspot.com/2007/11/patra.html
I must say my curiousity is peeked about patra rolls! anything like dolmas?
Mark - No doubt!
Megan - Hmm...they taste like Indian spices, and the leaves are very soft.
Liudwih - I tried mine with cilantro chutney, but tamarind would be a great sweet topping.
Vicki - I'm actually not fond of dolmas. The patra leaves are much more tender than grape leaves, and the patra rolls have a larger leaf to filling ratio than dolmas. The spices in patra rolls are much more intense than dolmas, too. If you like Indian food, you'll like patra.
I totally missed these! What part of the table were they on?? well, since I loves me some indian food, it's probably good I didn't find them otherwise you might never have tasted them yourself and enlightened the world about patra! :)
Jenn - They were on the backside. M. probably told you they were kielbasa, so he could have them to himself.
OH my goodness! These look excellent. I have never heard of them before!
i'm going to seek these out - i just wish i could try the fresh version, but that's unlikely.
it's great that you've held philly blogger parties - i wish someone (not me, i'm a nervous party-giver) would have these in boston.
Cakespy - I hadn't heard of them either, but they're a must-try.
Shaun Marie - I'm a nervous party-thrower, too, but these are lots of fun. I'm sure there are bloggers in Boston that'd love to connect.
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