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Ruchik Randhap

Food & Memories of Mangalore

Ponsache Patholi – Mangalorean Style Steamed Jackfruit Cake

On one of my weekly trips to Hypercity (the most well stocked supermarket in the burbs) I found myself sniffing around as the unmatchable fragrance of the Jackfruit wafted towards the aisle where I was picking my groceries. I left whatever I was doing to rush to the fresh fruit section and there! I saw the gorgeous sight of ripe yellow ‘Ghare’ (pods) of jackfruit being picked and kept for sale. “Wow” was my first reaction to this scene and I ran to pick the juiciest of the season’s bounty. The price was a rip off obviously for a person like me who has spent her whole life eating free Jackfruits at home (and shunning them later when I had had enough). So I bought a kilo for 120 bucks and came home happily with my prized possession. The sweet fragrance of the Jackfruits quickly filled my house and we had a few juicy ones before I jealously guarded the remaining ones to be used for making
Mangalore’s most famous seasonal snacks – Patholi & Gariyo
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When my mum-in-law arrived to spend a few days with us, she was surprised that I had already bought some Jackfruit home when in Mangalore the ones on the trees were still in the process of ripening. Together we set out to make the two delicacies. We made the batter and then split it into half to be used for the two as the ingredients remain the same. If you like to make a small batch of the two, the quantities given below are ideal. You can even make the batter in one go & deep freeze half of it & use it later.
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The Jackfruit tree is just as famous as the Coconut Tree in South India, known for its various uses. While the raw Jacfruit (called as ‘Khadgi in Konkani) is used in curries and stir fries (sukhe – see recipe), the ripe one (Ponos) with the juicy flesh is eaten raw or cooked in sweet delicacies as mentioned above. The seeds of the jackfruit are dried in the sun and used along with other vegetables in gravies. While the seeds are called as the ‘Bikna’ in Konkani, the singular form is not called  ‘Bikon’ (Bug/Pest in Konkani ), its called as ‘Bikaan’. The Jackfruit leaves are shaped into small ‘katoris’ and used to steam a typical Mangalorean idli called the ‘Kottige’ (my mouth is watering already). I hope to be able to make it someday if I manage to get some leaves back from Mangalore.
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While most Mangaloreans/Keralites love the Jackfruit, many North Indians I know run away from the strong fragrance. The Jackfruit is almost similar to the ‘Durian’ which Thai’s love so much if you have visited Bangkok.
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Ponsache Patholi - Mangalorean Style Steamed Jackfruit Cakes
Ingredients
  • Ingredients:
  • 1 kg (4 cupfresh Jackfruit pods cleaned & roughly chopped * see notes
  • 1 cup boiled rice Ukdo in Konkani/Ukda in Hindi
  • 1/3 rd cup raw rice  Surai in Konkani - you can use Kollam/Basmati rice
  • 120 -175  grams powdered jaggery - adjust to taste
  • 1/4 tsp pepper powder
  • pinch of salt
  • coconut shavings of 1/2 a coconut only for the Patholi
  • To wrap the patholi:
  • 4-5 Large Teak leaves or banana leaves cut in 10x4 inch pieces
Instructions
  1. Method:
  2. Wash & soak the rice in sufficient water for at least 3 hours. Remove the seed from each pod and retain the seeds (to be used in curries). Roughly chop the jackfruit pieces. Carefully clean the teak/banana leaves with water & pat dry. Keep aside.
  3. After 3 hours completely drain the rice and grind it along with the jackfruit pieces, jaggery, pinch of salt and pepper powder to a fine paste. The batter should be thick & dryish like dosa batter. The moisture in the jackfruit is enough to get the grinding going & hassle free.
  4. To the ground batter add coconut shavings and mix well. Place about 1 cup of the batter on a teak leaf and spread it in an oblong shape. Fold into packets & fasten with tooth picks.
  5. Bring water to a rolling boil in a traditional Mangalorean Tondor or idli/ dhokla steamer and place the prepared packets into it in such a way that all packets receive steam proportionately. Do not overcrowd. Steam for 20-25 mins.
  6. Remove & allow to cool a bit. The colour of the leaves would have changed from deep green to brown or purplish brown. The Patholis will also have this colour. Open the packets & discard the leaves. Cut into slices & serve!
Recipe Notes

The jackfruit pods should be cleaned of the seed & pith and then weighed. I have used 1 kg of cleaned and ready to eat jackfruit pods. However you may adjust the amount of fruit used according to your taste and according to the sweetness of the fruit.

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Comments

  9. Shireen Sequeira says

    @Sharmilee, Raji & Jay: Thank u ladies for your lovely comments!!
    @ Priya: U r most welcome to my place anytime!! I have deep freezed the Patholis so I can cut & serve some for you instantly 🙂
    @ Miriam: Thanks so much, yes Jackfruit is precious to those who savour it, isnt it?
    @ Aipi: Thanks a lot! Do you get Jackfruit where you live in the US? If yes, do try these two delicacies 🙂
    @ Vardhini: Thanks so much! Glad u liked the post 🙂
    @ Mich!!! ROFL! Thanks so much darlin, I will definitely catch the next flight to Canada, but Roshan (who created this blogging monster in the first place) will come after me for sure 🙂 Thanks, hugss!!

    Reply

  13. Clem says

    Hi, I am a Mangalorean abroad. I love your website. It has been VERY helpful to me. Regarding the patholies, I do not have access to teak or banana leaves. I am thinking of using grape leaves! What do you think? Greeks do use grape leaves in their cooking. I would appreciate comments from you are the readers here about this. Thanks very much….Clem

    Reply

  14. Shireen Sequeira says

    Hi Clem! Thank u so very much for the kind words of appreciation!!! It feels great to receive such positive feedback. Regarding the patholies, in Mumbai my friend uses the leaves of the badam/almond tree – I am not sure it is the real almond tree..but we have such trees in Mlore too famously referred to as the Badam tree…the leaves are suitable for steaming patholies I heard. Also, you can use banana leaves to steam patholis..i have done that to steam pathrade and the result was great! How about aluminium foil? It works great too! And last but not least, grape leaves? Sounds great to me although I have never heard of grape leaves used to steam food but innovation is key! No harm in trying out something new and for all you know if it tastes great, i am sure other people will follow suit!! Do let me know if it works! Good luck & have a good day!!

    Reply

  15. Clem says

    Yes, I will let you know. I will be trying them this weekend or the next. I will be using one packet of frozen,plus a tin of canned ripe jack fruit. Cheers. By the way, I remember my mom celebrating the monthi / novin feast by cooking only vegetarian dishes and so many of them! That was when I was quite young. I remember enjoying that lunch very much! I am looking forward to more recipes under the 'novin'category. Here is a video of grape leaves cooking. Thanks & Cheers…Clem
    http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/lebanese-grape-leaves-recipe/index.html

    Reply

  16. Clem says

    Hi Shireen, If you or any readers are interested, here is some information about grape leaves. It answers questions such as (a)Are grape leaves edible? (b) How to prepare grape leaves for cooking with (c) Different ways of preparing the grape leaves. Interesting!

    (a) http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090818053734AAIS701

    (b) http://mamastaverna.com/how-to-prepare-grape-leaves-for-dolmades-ampelofylla-yia-ntolmades/

    (c) http://greekfood.about.com/od/ingredientpreptechniques/a/abelofylla.htm

    Cheers!…..Clem

    Reply

  17. resmi thampi says

    Hey shireen,
    This dish looks very yummy n I was thinking of making it. But I don't have access to jackfruit. Do you know if we can substitute jackfruit with any other fruit?

    Regards
    Resmi

    Reply