South Indian Patra | How to make South Indian Patra

How to make South Indian Patra

1. Wash and soak the toor dal and urad dal for an hour. Drain the water.
2. Gently wash the arbi leaves and place face down on a counter. Carefully slice off the thick spine without tearing the leaf, so as to make the it less stiff and easily fold-able.
3. Add the dals, hing, red chilies and salt to a blender. Grind to a fine paste using very little water.
4. Now spread an arbi leaf face down and apply a generous ladle-ful of the paste over it. Cover with another leaf and repeat the process. If the leaves are quite large, 2 should suffice, else 4 medium.
5. Once the leaves are stacked and well-smeared with the stuffing, roll them into a tight cylindrical shape.
6. Prepare a steamer bowl and place the rolled leaves on a steamer plate. Let cook for about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
7. Cut the rolled leaves into 1/2 inch thick slices and shallow fry till crisp, just before serving.