Alu chi Wadi (Patra Maharashtrian style)

This is one of the specialities of "Ganapati".or the Ganesh Festival.

Yup, it is time consuming but the efforts are all worth it!!!

The one thing I remember during Ganapati in our village were piles of Alu Wadi being made apart from the Ukdiche Modak. The Modaks , distributed as Prasad or blessings from Lord Ganesha are a very Delightful sweet treat , so just for a change in taste,it is also served with a subtly spiced Alu Wadi!
Ganpati is celebrated with a great pomp in my husbands hometown...There they have  "Waadi cha Ganapati" (the people in that area have a common ganapati,and Waadi means a farm in Marathi) so the whole village comes over for lunch for 2 days to celebrate one of the biggest festivities of the year.
This recipe I learnt from my Mom in Law, there are a lot a variations, like the whole roll cooked in coconut milk and so on.For now this simpler version but with my twist.....

First thing to make sure while making Alu Wadi are the leaves. There are two types of Alu leaves. Scientific name colocassia also known as Taro. (Yup my kids science book comes handy). They can be recognised by the stems. The green stem ones are used in making subji and the black stem ones are the ones we use for making alu wadi.

Ingredients:

10 to 15           Alu (taro) leaves
8 to 10             Garlic cloves
2 inch piece      Ginger
3 to 4               Green chillies
1/2 cup             Coriander leaves
1 1/2 cup          Coconut
1/2 cup             Jaggery
1/2 cup             Tamarind Pulp
2 tsp                 Red Chilli powder
1 tsp                 Haldi powder
2 sticks            Cinnamon
5 to 6               Cloves
7 to 8               Pepper corns
1 tsp                Khuskhus
2 tsp                Coriander seeds
1 tsp                Jeera
2 cups             Besan
2 1/2 tsp         Namak Shamak


Method:

Wash the leaves and pat them dry. Remove the stems and trim the veins which are a little thick. This makes its easier to roll them.

Grind together the ginger, garlic, green chillies, coriander leaves, coconut, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, khuskhus, jeera and  dhania finely. You can use the tamarind pulp to wet the mixture. It makes grinding easier. Now add the jaggery and grind again.

Take the mixture in a bowl, add the haldi, chilli powder, salt and besan and mix. If it is too runny add a little more besan, the consistency should not be runny.

Take a leaf. Place is on a plain surface such that the darker side is downwards and the lighter side is upwards also the narrow tip should face towards you.  Now apply a light layer of the mixture evenly.

Place another leaf in the same way but this time the narrow tip should be in the opposite direction. Repeat for 4 to 5 leaves. 

Now fold the top portion upto the middle. Similarly fold the bottom portion.

Apply a little more besan on the folded portion so as to ensure that the roll does not unfold.

Now start roll from left to right. Roll tightly and keep aside. If you feel its unrolling tie a string around it.

Oil the plate of the steamer.Put in the roll and steam for 20 to 30 mins.

 
Cool and cut.

Now for my twist. Heat oil in a pan. Roll the cut wadi in khuskhus and fry till crisp. This gives a very unique taste.

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