Collard Green Patra

Patra or pattarveliya is a very famous Gujarati snacks. This is known as aloo vadi in Maharashtra, Patrode or Pathrode in Himachal. It has a blend of sweet, sour and spicy taste. Traditionally it is prepared using colocasia leaves (arbi patta) and besan. They are steamed first and then shallow fry. I love patra but here in Canada it is hard to find arbi patta in Indian grocery store. I tried making spinach patra they turned out perfect. But compare to arbi leaves, spinach leaves are much smaller so it takes time to arrange it. So when I notice collard green at my regular Canadian grocery store, they looked exactly like colocasia leaves. I even tested a small piece and there was no specific taste so I decided to use it to make patra. I found making patra with collard green was so much easier and quicker. I bought 2 bunch (15-16 leaves) and it was enough to make 4 rolls. They turned out really delicious 😋. If you don’t tell someone that you are using collard green instead of arbi leaves (keep this a secret 😉), they will not feel the difference in taste. It was great success and I will be making it again and again.

It also freeze so well. After steaming, if you have extra rolls which you don’t need it right away, let rolls cool down first and then wrap in aluminum foil and then freeze it. You can even make extra batch for later use. It will stay good for almost a month. When you want to eat, remove from freezer, let it thaw for an hour and then shallow fry. This is gluten free (skip wheat flour), nut free, vegan, plant based recipe.

Please note that you can see printable version at the end. You need to use chrome browser to print or save a copy of the recipe.

Preparation Time: 20-25 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
15-16 collard green leaves
Handful jaggary
2 marble size tamarind
2 cup besan (gram flour)
1 tbsp wheat flour or oats flour (skip for gluten free)
Salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp slightly crushed coriander seeds
Masala (spice blend):
15-20 black pepper
3-4 cloves
Small stick of cinnamon
1/2 star anise

For Stri Fry:
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Small pinch of asafoetida
8-10 curry leaves

Procedure:

1. Wash all collard green, dry with damp towel. Remove thick stem and veins with sharp knife. You can use the peeler to scrap off veins. It is very important to do this step.

2. Soak tamarind in 1/3 cup for few minutes. If you have hard jaggery then soak with tamarind. Then blend it with hand and make pulp.

3. Grind masala ingredients in dry grinder and keep it ready.

4. In a bowl, first add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, crushed coriander, masala blend (you prepare earlier), jaggery and tamarind pulp.

5. In the same bowl add besan (gram flour), wheat or oats flour and salt. Make paste like consistency adding little water at a time. Mix everything well and keep this on side.

6. You need to arrange leaves based on the size. When you make rolls, biggest leaf goes to the bottom and smallest goes on top.

7. Now on a flat bottom, lay one big collard green leaf upside down. Spread little paste on whole leaf. Then next, lay slightly smaller leaf on top and spread some paste. Continue with 3rd and 4th leaves and arrange smallest one on top. I used 4 in each rolls. Once all four leaves are glued with paste on top of each other, fold sides and spread little paste, this will help in binding the roll. Then roll it this like burrito, carefully and slowly make the tight roll and stick the end with besan paste.

8. Arrange these rolls in charani (steaming tray). I made 4 rolls using around 15-16 leaves. You can use pasta pot or steamer tray to do this.

9. Heat 2 glass of water in a steamer or a big pot and steam patra (covering the lid) on high for 15 minutes and then low to medium heat for 20 minutes. Once done, turn off the heat.

10. Remove tray from steamer and let patra cool down completely before you cut in pieces. Once it cools down, you can wrap it in aluminum foil and then freezer bag and freeze it for later use. It freezes really well. When you want to use it, thaw it for an hour and continue with next step.

11. Cut patra in 1/2 inch thick slices.

12. To stir fry, heat a wide bottom pan with 2 tbsp oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds and then sesame seeds. Once mustard seeds starts to pop, add asafoetida and curry leaves. Lower the heat to medium. Then add patra  slices. Do not over crowd the pan. You can do this in 2 batches if pan is not big enough. Saute on both sides on medium heat until slightly crispy and brown. Stir this occasionally, don’t let it burn.

13. Patra are slightly crispy from outside. Some people even deep fry but I personally like it shallow fry or just sauté in pan. You can eat these for breakfast, snacks or light supper. We also serve this as a side dish with Indian thali meal. It is very healthy as it is steamed. Serve it with masala chai or fresh home-made yogurt or masala chhas (spiced lassi). This stays good for 2-3 day. Keep it in fridge and warm it before eating.


Patra has a wonderful flavour different spices. It is vegan and nut free. You can skip wheat flour to make it gluten free. It freezes really well. So you can make extra batch and use it after couple weeks.  Kids will enjoy it too. Shhhhhh… don’t tell anyone that you are using collard green not arbi leaves 😉😀.

Please do leave a comment or let me know if you have any questions regarding this dish.

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