Kumro Pata
Rui Paturi

Which literally translates to Pumpkin Leaf Rohu Paturi. Paturi, essentially steamed fish but also far more flavourful, is one of the most classic Bengali ways to eat fish . While this recipe is not authentic, it packs wonderful flavours along with your favourite macros. 

Pumpkin Leaves are edible!

Pumpkin leaves are edible and Bengalis in India and perhaps Bangladesh too, have devised 100s of ways to cook such effortless recipes with ingredients that are most often discarded.

I recently had an unpleasant experience while buying pumpkin leaves in the market(I live in Delhi). The vendor was a young man from Bihar, an Indian state lush with its own unique zero-waste recipes. To my surprise, a local kept badgering me with stereotypical remarks about how Bengalis eat anything and everything and how pumpkin leaves are discarded and fed to his cows. 

Often remarks like these, ones that discriminate our food, leave us feeling hollow and makes us question if the things we eat are appetising. I am here to tell you, Pumpkin leaves are most definitely appetising. Bengalis don’t waste any part of the Pumpkin plant – the fruit, the seeds, the flowers, the leaves and the stems have their own unique flavour profile and have different functions in a dish.

Paturi with Pumpkin leaves is not traditional but very tasty. And unlike the traditional Paturi, which is made with banana leaves, the entire thing can be eaten with rice. Paturi, according to many food historians, comes from two words – “pata” and “Patri”. “Pata” means leaf. And “Patri” means a slab of stone. When the spiced fish is enclosed in banana leaf and steamed, it ends up looking like a tablet or a “patri”

The flavour profile of the Paturi is both complex and fragrant. Complexity of various textures goes perfectly with the pungency of mustard and the fattiness & sweetness of coconut.

Ingredients

  1. 3 piece Bengali Cut Rohu fish(You may use whichever fish is available to you)
  2. 10-12 Pumpkin Leaves (including small, medium and large size)
  3. 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
  4. 1 tsp white mustard seeds
  5. 2 tbsp poppy seeds
  6. 100g grated coconut
  7. 1 tbsp mustard oil
  8. 40g yoghurt
  9. 1/4 tsp kashmiri chili powder
  10. 1/4 tsp red hot chili powder
  11. 1/4 tsp turmeric
  12. 1/2 tsp salt
  13. 1 tbsp sugar
  14. 10 chilis(4 for the spice mixture, and rest to be placed whole in the paturi)
  15. Butcher’s twine (or regular white thread)
  16. 1 tbsp water

Instructions

  1. Cut off Pumpkin leaves. Make sure to include larger and smaller leave. This ensures better packaging of a fish piece. For each piece of Rohu, I used 3-4 pieces of pumpkin leaves. One large and 2-3 smaller pieces
  2. Clean each leaves very well. There may be insects on and under the leaves and we don’t want to ingest those.
  3. Soak black mustard seeds, white mustard seeds, poppy seeds, and 4 green chilies in hot water for 20-30 minutes to make them softer. Drain the water after 20 minutes, add 1 tbsp fresh water to the seed mix and grind it in a mixer-grinder.
  4. The mustard-poppy paste should not be too liquid like at all since yoghurt and oil will liquify it further down the ingredient list.
  5. Grate fresh coconut, and add the mustard-poppy seed paste to it. 
  6. To this, add yoghurt, mustard oil, two types of chili powder, turmeric, salt, and sugar. Mix everything well and set it aside for 15 minutes
  7. Add the fish pieces in the mixture. Coat both sides of the fish with the mixture and set aside for 10 minutes.
  8. Arrange pumpkin leaves in a way so that the centre does not contain any holes. 
  9. Place the fish piece at the centre of the leaves and put some of the coconut+mustard mixture on top and also on the sides of the fish.
  10. Place 4 sliced green chilies on top of the fish.
  11. Fold the pumpkin leaves – fold in from the right, then from the left, from the top and finally from the bottom. Hold it tight, and wrap butcher’s twine or a normal thread all across the Paturi. Secure the thread.
  12. Steam the Paturi for 20-25 minutes
  13. Finally, on a hot pan, add 1-2 tsp oil and spread it throughout the pan. Sear both sides of the paturi (each side = 1-2 minute on medium heat), until slightly brown. (This step is optional)
  14. Cut off the thread and serve with steamed rice. 

Lots of love,

Feashts

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