“Godshe-Tikshe Venti Polo (Patrade Panna Denta Polo)/ Sweet- Spicy Colocasia Stem Dosa” … if you are chucking out venti/ colocasia stems/ kesuvina kaalu/ arvi leaf stem, as a waste then think before doing so … not only are there plenty of dishes that can be prepared using them but they also are a very healthy veggie that our ancestors used in plenty during monsoon when they are in season, specially the one’s that mother nature puts to growth by themselves … tried out this delicious polo/ dosa and it tastes excellent served either thin textured or thick textured along with some loni/ coconut chutney … Yummilicious ….
** Venti ie patrade panna dentu as is known in GSB Konkani Saraswat Community is colocasia (taro) leaves stems and in kannada known as Kesuvina Kaalu. I am not sure what the stems are exactly called in other languages but the roots are called arvi and leaves arvi ke patte. I have often noticed that in market when people purchase these leaves which comes along with the stems, they just ask the vendor to cut it off and take away only the leaves.
** During my initial days in Mumbai when I settled in Thane in outskirt of Mumbai, I was a bit surprised and asked my neighbor why they do not use it, to which the surprise reply was nobody eats it and I said we do. The next time I asked the vendor what he would do with the discarded stems to which he replied that it would be thrown in dustbin, I gave hims some money and brought them all home, to his surprise giving some lame excuse on his query.
** On reaching home I stringed them, cut them to pieces, prepared gojju and shared it with my neighbor, who was at first hesitant to eat it, however once she did, she loved it, learnt the method after which like me she too brought them home always. Knowledge be it in any field should always be shared, we Indians have so many communities that each one has their own method of preparing veggies and it is always a joy to learn more and enjoy them.
** Dosa, Idly etc. are common breakfast items in every amchi home and we hardly purchase bread or any other outside snacks though these days things have changed. But trust me if we follow the pattern our ancestors did we are sure to lead a healthy disease free life. All information are out there, we just need to try them out and not fall prey to new gimmicks of advertisement on food promotions, nothing outsourced can really be healthy.
** I hardly prepare this dosa these days as most of the time I add them on to curry like alvati and finish it off, thanks to hubby for reminding me about this one which I had learnt from my Shetty (Bunt’s Community) friend who told me that her mother used to prepare it during monsoon when available in plenty. Well, to cut short, you can google the health benefits of colocasia stems, and you will be surprised that it is indeed a storehouse of nutrition.
** There is a traditional recipe of Venti Gojju/ Colocasia Stems Gojju, a sweet, tangy, spicy dish prepared and served in Konkani Saraswat homes to newly delivered mothers. I am sharing the link to that recipe at the bottom of this recipe, do browse through the same for more information on venti which I have written a little bit on there. Again, do not waste food, remember there are many needy out there, so food saved is food earned.
** Here is my recipe for “Godshe-Tikshe Venti Polo (Patrade Panna Denta Polo)/ Sweet- Spicy Colocasia Stem Dosa” … my style …
** Soak 2 cups of normal rice/ tandul/ akki in plenty of water for 4-5 hours. Drain, wash well a few times till you get clear water, drain off excess water and it is ready to ground to batter. Meanwhile prepare the stems as mentioned below.
** Peel off/ string outer black or dark greenish skin of Venti/ Colocasia stem and cut them into pieces (check out attached picture for reference). Wash well and then put them into pressure cooker along with just half cup of water.
** Add a little bit of salt into a pressure cooker pan and pressure cook on medium flame to 2-3 whistles. Once the pressure drops on its own, then open the lid and let the cooked venti cool a bit to room temperature before you begin to grind.
** I have used about 2 cups of cut pieces of venti which got reduced to about 1 cup after cooking, a little more if added does not matter. You can also cook venti in a vessel, however using pressure cooker is faster and gets done well.
** In a mixer grinder add in cooked and cooled venti along with the remaining water if any, add in drained rice, 1 inch piece of ginger (alle’/ adrak) cut into pieces, 5-6 green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari mirchi) cut into pieces.
** Now add about1 cup of freshly grated coconut (nariyal/ soyi) and grind all to a very smooth batter adding in water as in necessary little by little while you keep mixing in intervals. Do not add water in excess to avoid batter going thin.
** Lastly add about approximately 3-4 tblsp/ 50 gms of grated or powdered jaggery (goda/ bella/ gud) and grind further till you get a good medium thick consistency batter. You may increase or decrease the sweetness as desired.
** Remove the ground batter into a vessel and check out and add in salt (namak/ meeta) as is necessary, remember we have added some while cooking the venti, so do be careful with adding it on otherwise it may turn out too salt.
** Mix all the ingredients well, cover with a lid and keep it aside just for 2-4 hours depending upon the weather conditions. Say about 3-4 hrs during monsoon, otherwise about 2 hours only. However, DO NOT FERMENT THIS BATTER overnight.
** The batter is now ready to be prepared into Dosas. Here I must mention that this batter can be prepared into using slightly thicker as well as thinner dosas, though not very thin texture. You can see that I have shared picture of both textured ones.
** The thickness of the dosa really is individual choice, some like the dosa, soft and thick while some prefer thinner slightly crispier, nevertheless both taste awesome served with loni/ butter though I served with spiced coconut chutney.
** For Preparation of Dosas : Check consistency of batter and add water depending upon its thickness. However, do not make batter too thin as even though the batter is thicker when applied the dosa on getting cooked turns slightly thicker.
** Once tava is hot, lower heat to minimum, apply oil+ ghee all over tava and rub lightly with a tissue paper/ cloth, so that the tava gets evenly coated. However, do not rub off the oil from tava, just spread it with the tissue evenly to retain thinly.
** Using a deep rounded ladle add about ½ cup of batter on center of tava and then with the rounded bottom gently spread it into a round thick dosa of say about 6-8 inches in diameter or thinner larger dosa of about 10-12 inches in diameter.
** Remember to apply the dosa gently in smooth motion and by not pressing the ladle too much on tava or else this dosa will bubble up and tear. Raise the heat to medium and sprinkle some oil+ ghee all round the rim of the dosa and some on the top too.
** Let cook till the bottom side is done and the upper surface too cooked and not wet to touch, if need add in a few drops of ghee+ oil and then gently with spatula loosen and flip it over. Let cook on the top side too, as this dosa is cooked on both sides.
** When done remove dosaa and put it on serving plate and then proceed to remove rest of required number of dosas with the batter in similar way. Season tava and rub with tissue paper every time to ensure that the dosa comes off perfectly done.
** “Godshe-Tikshe Venti Polo (Patrade Panna Denta Polo)/ Sweet- Spicy Colocasia Stem Dosa” is done and ready to be served. For best taste serve hot with some loni/ butter or spiced coconut chutney, tastes excellent.
** As the dosa is already spiced and sweet it really does not need chutney but tastes great served with butter or ghee, however in my home I prefer loni while hubby likes chutney, you may serve anyway though children prefer butter.
** Remember to not chuck out the venti/ patrade panna dentu/ colocasia stem/ kesuvina kullu next time you purchase the leaves to prepare patrado or muddo, there are many delicious dishes that can be prepared using them, check out my blog for more dishes, many to follow soon.
** Note : The heat when adding dosa on tava should be minimum ie. low, then it should be raised to medium and cooked throughout on medium heat, you may check and raise or lower the heat to maintain as required taking care to see that dosa is not burnt. If you find that the tava has turned out too hot and you are running short of time to wait for it to cool down, in such times, sprinkle water on the tava to bring down the temperature, be careful as the water splutters, but gives good results.
** For the traditional recipe of “Venti Gojju” please follow the link given below ….
** For more recipes using “Venti/ Colocasia Stem”, browse through the common link shared below ….
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Thanks.