Patholi | Patoli | How To Make Rice Rolls Or Dumplings

Patoli or Patholi or Patoleo is a steamed Indian dish where the rice rolls or dumplings are filled with jaggery and coconut mixture. The highlight or the unique aroma of this dish comes from steaming it in turmeric leaves.

This dish or dumpling is vegan and vegetarian, gluten-free, oil-free, and dairy-free. One of the healthy desserts that you can try during the festive season, as no oil or butter or sugar, or flour is used in the recipe. Jaggery is used as a sweetener instead of sugar.

Turmeric leaves are popularly known as haldi pana in Konkani, arasina yele in Kannada, and this dish (patholi) is known as sihi kadubu in Kannada. The dish can also be prepared using Banana tree leaves or leaves of the Frangipani (Champe/Champa) tree.

From mid-June to September, fresh turmeric leaves are in peak season in Goa and Coastal Karnataka (Mangalore, Udupi) region of India.

Naga Panchami (Nagara Panchami) and Gowri Ganesh Chaturthi (Vinayaka chavithi) festivals are incomplete without patholi in Mangalore and Udupi region. You prepare multiple recipes during GANESH CHATURTHI but nothing can beat the fragrance of patholi steamed in turmeric leaves. It is just heavenly.

Feeling Nostalgic

I really miss my young days when I used to help mom in preparing patholi during these festive events. Yes, patholi makes me nostalgic. For me helping mom in the kitchen was the happiest pass time during festivals or holidays.

We had a house full of guests at every single festival - which meant a lot of dishes had to be prepared in the kitchen and in huge pots. When preparing patholi, I especially enjoyed spreading the outer layer and sweetened coconut filling (some with extra filling). I even gobbled the filling during the process. Once patholis were steamed and ready to be served, we (my siblings and I) used to demand her to serve us patholis that had more filling.

If I start writing about festivals, their significance, family get-togethers, and traditional recipes I can go on and on. Let me know if you are interested in any of the above and I would love to share a few family videos 🙂

Other than patholi, turmeric leaves are also used to make kheeri (rice cooked in coconut milk), taushe idli (steamed cucumber cake), ponsa muddo (steamed jackfruit cake). I will share the recipes for the same soon.

Dishes similar to patholi

I would say patholi is similar to Maharashtrian modak. The filling is all the same for both modak and patoli, but they are shaped differently and in the case of patholi you get the additional flavor from turmeric leaves. Of course, the consistency of the outer covering is different before modak and patholi are steamed.

Another dish that I remember is Tamale. A tamale (tamal) is a traditional mesoamerican recipe made of masa dough, a starchy and corn-based steamed cake (that also contains fillings) that is steamed in a corn husk.

In both patholi and tamale, the leaf you use can be discarded after steaming, just before eating or used as a serving plate 🙂

If you are unable to find turmeric leaves, you can steam patholi in banana leaves, leaves of the frangipani tree, or corn husk.

If you are not able to find any of these leaves but still want to try this, you can steam this on parchment paper too, and to make it fragrant like traditional patholi, place one or 2 dried turmeric fingers while steaming 🙂

The most exciting part of my food blogging journey is that I get to learn a lot every single day and today I found that there is a dish similar to patholi called haldi patra pitha or enduri pitha from Odisha. I will soon share this variation too. The preparation style and the filling are the same. The only difference is in the batter for the outer layer, where urad dal or black gram is added with rice, and the batter is fermented for good 6 hours before preparing these steamed cakes.

Ingredients

For the outer layer

1 cup raw (uncooked) Rice
½ cup Grated coconut
¼ cup Puffed rice or Popped rice or Flattened rice (poha, murmura, layi) - optional. makes the outer layer soft.
½ teaspoon Salt (adjust to taste)
¼ cup water

For the filling

½ cup Jaggery
1 cup Grated coconut (adjust accordingly)
¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder

6 Big leaves or 10 to 12 small turmeric leaves (check tips for substitute)

How to make Mangalorean Patholi | Patoli | Kadubu |Arashina Ele Kadubu

Step I (Prepare batter for the outer layer)

• Wash & soak rice in water for 1 hr and then drain.
• In a mixer add coconut, poha or popped rice, salt, soaked rice, and ¼ cup water to make a medium-thick and smooth paste.

Step II (Prepare the filling)

• In a bowl, add ½ cup coconut and jaggery, and mix.
• Depending on the moisture content in the jaggery or if using jaggery powder, adjust the amount of coconut accordingly. Add coconut in increments until the coconut absorbs moisture from jaggery. I added 1 cup of grated coconut to the recipe.
• Then add cardamom powder and mix.

Step III (Steaming Kadubu or Patholi)

• Wash the turmeric leaves and wipe out any excess water. Depending on the size of the steamer and the leaves, you may have to trim ends or cut each leaf into halves.
• Make your steamer ready: Depending on the steamer or cooker you are going to use, add water to it. Cover the steamer, and bring it to a rolling boil.
• Now spread the batter about 1 or 2 tablespoon on each turmeric leaf. Thick or thin is an individual choice. We love when the outer layer is on the thinner side. (Check the video for more details)
• You can add the filling in two ways, horizontally or vertically (again, check the video to get a better idea) -  First method: add the filling along the length of the leaf and fold one side down, or the Second method: add the filling from center to one end of the leaf and fold from another end down.
• Place these in the steamer and steam for 12 to 14 minutes or until done.
• Let it cool so that patholis separate easily from the leaves. When hot, the outer layer may stick to the leaves and may crack when separating from the leaves, but it still tastes good and we do this almost all the time because the aroma that fills your kitchen while steaming patholis will not allow you to wait till they cool down.

Tips and FAQ

• If, for some reason, you add too much water while grinding, make the batter thick by adding some rice flour.
• The filling is very flexible. Adjust the sweetness to taste.
• The filling mixture can be cooked for 5 to 6 minutes on medium heat before spreading if desired for longer shelf life.
• If the moisture content in the filling mixture is high, you can add coarsely powdered popped rice (layi pitto)
• If you are not able to find turmeric leaves, use banana leaves, corn husk, leaves from the frangipani (champa/kudchampe) tree, or even parchment paper with dry turmeric (whole, not powder) to give a traditional taste.

Leftover outer layer or filling :

• If you have leftover batter prepared for the outer layer, you can simply spread it on the leaves and steam to make a savory rice roll or plain version of patholi. You may even dilute the batter and prepare dosas similar to neer dosa.
• If you have leftover filling, you can serve it with any dosas, with bread, or eaten as is.

How to store Patholi?

You can keep it at room temperature in an airtight container for one day, in a refrigerator for up to 7 days. To heat it you can use a steamer or microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Video recipe

Check out the video on how to make patholi.

Recipe Card

Detailed recipe for Patholi | Patoli | Kadubu | Patoleo | Indian style rice rolls |Mangalorean Arashina Ele Kadubu.

Recipe card

Other recipes similar to patholi

Check out some other recipes for fasting, upvas, or vrat during Navratri, Ekadashi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Sankashti, Shivratri, or Sai Guruvar.

Sabudana Vada	Sabudana Khichdi
Milk Barfi / Milk Powder Burfi	Almond or Badam Ladoo (Laddu)
Kheer / Rice Pudding (substitute with sabudana )	Nankhatai

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