A few years ago, a cousin of mine lived in Lakshadweep, where pumpkin plants grow on the roadside. On a typical Sunday morning, my cousin’s husband would go out to pluck these plants with his hands. When an islander got curious, he replied, “I am taking these for making a curry eaten in Odia households with steamed rice.” The islander was awestruck that even plants were eaten.
We Odias don’t waste a single part of the pumpkin plant — leaves, seeds, skin and the whole plant are eaten. A variety of dishes are prepared using this beautiful plant. When we steam or grill marinated fish wrapped inside layers of pumpkin leaves, we call it macha paturi , patra poda macha and so on. Probably, with the Odia people not branding their foods, many of their dishes have been claimed by other cuisines.
With pumpkin leaves turning scarce, people use sal or banana leaves to make this dish. But the true essence of paturi comes when it is prepared using pumpkin leaves. One reason is you can eat the flavourful pumpkin leaves with the fish, unlike sal or banana leaves. Pumpkin leaves release water when cooked, adding a beautiful flavour. So on a Sunday morning, when my brother bought some pumpkin leaves, I rushed to the nearest fish shop and bought fresh Rohu.
Mildly spicy
The best part of Odia cuisine is the humble and mild usage of spices. A spoon of mustard, a few cloves of garlic, some raw red chillies, salt, turmeric powder, a few spoons of mustard oil and chopped green chillies and onions (purely optional) are enough to make paturi . Mustard, garlic, red chillies, salt and turmeric powder are mixed to make a thick paste to be applied to the raw pieces of fish or prawns as marinade. After gently applying mustard oil to the leaves, fish is wrapped inside a few layers of them. The number of layers are normally decided based on the medium of cooking. If you are grilling on open fire (coal or wood-fired stoves), more layers are used and fewer if you are steaming it. Whether steamed or grilled, the most important thing is to slow-cook the food. There are no hard and fast rules — we saw it being cooked in Odia villages like this and that’s the way.
When the food is served, remember that pumpkin leaves are edible, so don’t throw them away. Trust me, the leaves taste better than the fish (on a lighter note though). Serve with lime juice and hot steamed rice, though I would prefer it with a large bowl of Pakhala or mildly fermented rice.
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