Chalkumro Patay Kathal Bichi Paturi (Jackfruit seeds wrapped in Ash Gourd Leaves)

Paturi, it is a dish very traditional and distinctive of us Bengalis and holds quite a chunk of our true-blue Bengali hearts. Derived from “Pata” which means leaf in Bengali, this particular form of cooking involves wrapping the ingredients in leaves to make small and cute parcels and then steaming or roasting them. While people outside the Bengali community know paturi for Ilish Paturis, which is basically Hilsa Fish wrapped in Banana leaves, but what many don’t know is Lau Pata (bottle gourd leaves), Chal Kumro Pata (Ash Gourd Leaves) and Kumro pata (Pumpkin Leaves) are equally loved and celebrated by us Bengalis.

There was a time when, whenever I heard the word Paturi, my mind and heart always thought and pined for fishes, fish paturi. But as I grew older and eased myself out in this delectable and scrumptious world of food, I discovered that paturi can be made with a variety of different things. So today let me share with you how I use Jackfruit seeds and Chal Kumro Pata to make delicious Paturi.

INGREDIENTS

* Jackfruit seeds. In most Bengali houses, we don’t throw the jackfruit seeds after having the fruit. But if you don’t have them, you can easily buy some from your local market or online.

* Chal Kumro Pata(Ash Gourd Leaves). For wrapping we chose Chal Kumro Pata, it tastes the best. However you can use Lau pata or Kumro Pata as well.

* Mustard Paste.

* Freshly grated coconut. You can skip adding this, but it just enhances the overall taste.

* Salt

* Sugar

* Mustard Oil

* Green Chilies

PROCEDURE:

* Pressure cook the jackfruit seeds for 4-5 whistles. Take them out once the pressure releases. Drain water and set aside to cool down.

* Separate the chal kumro leaves from the stems and wash properly. Transfer the leaves to a kitchen basket to drain the excess water.

* While the excess water drains from the leaves and the seeds cool down, grind some black mustard seeds and green chilies into a fine paste. You can use yellow mustard seeds as well, or even a combination of both. I personally prefer black mustard seed over yellow, because they are stronger, hotter and have a more pungent flavor and profound taste.

* Grate coconut. (Though, I didn’t use coconut today)

* In a bowl add the boiled seeds and hand mash them. You can use a grinder to grind them, but hand mash food tastes so much better.

* To the mashed seeds, add salt, sugar, mustard paste, grated coconut and mustard oil. Mix everything well.

* Now comes my favorite part, packing the parcels. Once cooked, Lau/chal kumro leaves become too soft, so layering would be nice. Overlap 2-3 leaves and place them on a flat surface and put around 2 spoonful of the mixture in the middle. The quantity of mixture depends on the size of leaves; if the leaves are big then 2 spoons are good and if the leaves are small then put lesser quantity. Now gently fold the leaves and wrap with cotton/jute strings.

* Heat a pan, brush mustard oil and sprinkle some salt. Now gently place the parcels in the pan. Cover and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes on low-medium flame.

* Uncover, flip the parcels and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Enjoy the dish with piping hot rice, couple of green chilies and a dash of kachhi-ghani mustard oil. The leaves melt in your mouth while the jackfruit mix lingers in your mouth for quite some time. I am a hardcore non-vegetarian person, but this vegetarian dish tops my list of favorites. I hope you will enjoy this too!

SOME MORE PATURI RECIPES

Lau Pataye Masoor Dal Paturi 

Bhetki Macher Paturi