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Nag Panchami Special: Haldi Paan Patholi

Last updated on: August 21, 2023 14:35 IST

No Indian festival is complete, usually, without at least one dish that includes coconut, jaggery or haldi in some form.

In Karnataka, Haldi Paan Patholi or Arisina Ele Gatti or Manjal Irre Da Gatti -- gatti which is made with rice and turmeric leaves -- is a staple for almost all occasions. 

Gatti is a sweet preparation concocted from rice flour, coconut and jaggery and is steamed, traditionally, in haldi paan or turmeric leaves. You can also use plantain or banana leaves or badam or almond leaves.

Gatti or Haldi Paan Patholi, as it is popularly known in parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa, is cooked for Nag Panchami, Ganeshotsav, Diwali and Dusshera.

A version of this dish, called Ela Ada, is also prepared in certain parts of Kerala during Onam -- the turmeric leaves are replaced with plantain leaves.

If there are elders in your family who are diabetic or health-conscious, you can prepare this dish without jaggery.

If you are making it with red rice, be warned that it can be a slightly more challenging process because red rice is tough to grind in a mixer, especially if you are using very little water. If you are using regular par-boiled white rice, it is much easier to put together.

In certain parts of Kerala and Karnataka, gatti or ada is also prepared with pineapple or jackfruit batter. Please have a look at this recipe of Pelakkai Gatti made using jackfruit batter.

Kumudini grew up in Shirva, a village in Udupi, Karnataka. The 66-year-old homemaker divides time between her ancestral home in Udupi and Mumbai to be there for her three children and two grandchildren and to celebrate important festivals with them, especially Diwali and Dasshera.

When friends and guests come home, she loves pampering them with different versions of gatti, goli bajje, pathrade (colocasia-based steamed cake), neer dosas, kori rottis and Mutton Sukka, which are a few special dishes of her vast repertoire.

Haldi Paan Patholi or Manjal Irre Da Gatti or Arisina Ele Gatti

IMAGE: Kindly note the image has been posted only for representational purposes Photograph: Kind courtesy: Sanferd Rodrigues/Wikimedia Commons

Haldi Paan Patholi

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

Method

Kumudini's Note: Gatti is best served hot and for breakfast or as a dessert along with your main meal.

If you are not using jaggery, have the gatti like a steamed pancake with any curry or chutney of your choice.

Kumudini Shetty

When in Mumbai, Kumudini lives in Thane. 

KUMUDINI SHETTY