Patholi (Rice dumplings with coconut jaggery filling)

Patholi is a sweet dish made of the classic combination of rice, coconut and jaggery. It is generally cooked in the festivals in rains because that is when turmeric leaves are available in abundance. The combination of rice, coconut and jaggery is used in other sweet dishes too. But the turmeric leaves impart a distinctive flavor to this dish. The dish mainly consists of 3 steps, making the rice paste base, the coconut-jaggery filling and then assembling and steaming the patholis. When you steam these, the whole house is filled with a divine aroma of the turmeric leaves.
Here is the recipe which can make around 25 medium sized patholis
Ingredients

Turmeric leaves – around 25 medium sized

For the rice paste

Finely Grated Coconut – 1 cup
Rice – 1 cup(I used Dosa Rice, but other variety will do)
Poha(thin)- handful
Salt

For the Filling
Finely Grated Coconut 1 cup
Jaggery 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder 1/2 tea spn
Salt
Ghee – 1 tbsp

 

Method

 

1. Clean all the turmeric leaves and wipe out all the water. If the leaves are bigger than your steamer, then cut them into 2 pieces.
2. Soak the rice in water for around 1/2 to 1 hour.
3. For the filing heat ghee in a pan.Add coconut and jaggery and mix it well till jaggery melts and the coconut is uniformly quoted with jaggery. I added a pinch of salt here to balance the sweetness. Add elaichi powder for added taste. Keep this mixture aside.
4. Wash the poha and drain all the water just before starting the next step. Drain the water from the rice and grind it with coconut to a fine thick paste. Next add washed poha and grind it to a smooth paste. Add 1/2 tsp salt for taste to the paste. Don’t add too much water while grinding as the paste needs to be thick.

For assembling the patholi

1. First spread the rice paste in a thin layer on the turmeric leaves. I used a pastry brush to spread it uniformly. The thinner the layer, the tastier the patholi.
2. Next spread the coconut-jaggery mixture on one side – around 2 tsp in each medium sized leaf.
3. Fold the leaf and arrange in a pile on a pre heated steamer. Steam the patholis for 20 mins.
4. Serve hot. The patholis can be stored with the turmeric leaves in the refrigerator and can be eaten cold too.

 

Variations:

1. In case you dont have turmeric leaves, you can use an aluminium foil or baking parchment paper cut into 8 inch X 5 inch long strips. You can add some dried turmeric leaves to the steamer
2. You can replace the rice paste with a simple paste of flour (maida), water and salt. These taste yummy too and are a good substitute when you are in a hurry. I prefer the flavor of rice paste which makes it more authentic.

Tagged with: coconut, jaggery, konkani, snacks, south indian, sweets