Come monsoon and the coastal parts of western India are flooded with large elephant ear leaves which is how colocasia leaves are also known as. A regional delicacy which is a festive speciality, colocasia leaves are consumed in coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and even Gujarat. From curries to sambhar and fritters to chutney, this indigenous culinary treasure is a favourite during the monsoons. Given that some leaves can leave you with an itching sensation in the throat, it is always recommended that you choose leaves which have a blackish-purple stalk.
Here is a look at some dishes prepared using colocasia leaves.
Colocasia Leaf Chutney: this chutney is prepared by cooking the leaves with green chillies, salt and tamarind and grinding with coconut and spices like cumin, coriander, urad dal and red chillies roasted in coconut oil. Give it a tempering of mustard seeds and garlic prepared in coconut oil and relish it with hot rice or roti!
Colocasia Leaf Curry: prepare a batter of rice soaked for about 5 hours along with spices like cumin, coriander, tamarind and red chillies. Grind this along with coconut and add salt, jaggery powder and turmeric. Make sure it is thick. Add finely chopped colocasia leaves and steam the mixture. Once steamed, crumble the mixture and add it to a tempering of mustard seeds, red chillies and urad dal prepared in coconut oil. Add some sugar and garnish with finely grated coconut.
Colocasia Leaf Vada aka Fritters: this is similar to the above curry but instead of steaming the mixuture of chopped colocasia leaves and the batter, shape them spherically and deep fry them. You can also shallow fry/roast them on a pan.
Colocasia Shoot Gojju: the shoots of the colocasia plant are edible too.
Remove the outer layer and then chop the soft, porous inner green shoot finely. Cook it with green chillies, tamarind, jaggery and salt. Add some rice flour for thickness and finish off with a tempering of chopped garlic, mustard seeds and red chillies. This sweet and sour sauce is great with rice. You can also add a bit of rasam powder and skip the garlic seasoning.
Read more about colocasia leaves in my article in The Hindu.
