Patoleo

Patoleo is a Goan sweet made by wrapping a rice batter and a sweet filling in turmeric leaves and steaming them. When the leaf is opened, the rice layer has taken on the leaf’s fragrance. The filling is commonly a mixture of coconut and jaggery.

Spreading rice batter on turmeric leaves

In a Goan family recipe, rice is soaked in water overnight and then ground into a thick paste. The rice is spread thinly on washed and dried turmeric leaves, and grated coconut and jaggery are placed on top. The leaves are folded, the edges pressed together, and the parcels are cooked in a steamer. Some versions also add pulses to the filling. In another household, salt is added to the ground rice and it is worked in a pot over the heat, then cooled slightly and kneaded before being spread thinly on the leaves.

When steamed, the rice layer becomes a soft skin enclosing the filling, while the leaf supports the batter and lends its fragrance. Turmeric may bring to mind the yellow powder made from its rhizome, but this sweet uses the fresh leaves. To eat it, open the parcel and take the contents off the leaf.

Monsoon leaves and community celebrations

In Goa, the leaves grow during the monsoon season and are tied to local events, including harvest celebrations. Some Hindu households make it for Nag Panchami, and some make it for the Catholic Feast of the Assumption. Nadine Sousa, who lives in Goa, makes the outer layer from local red rice that has been soaked and ground, and uses dark palm jaggery for the filling. She grows turmeric in her garden too, and sometimes buys extra leaves at the market for her family.

When several people make them together, one person spreads the rice batter on the leaves, another adds the filling, and yet another folds them and arranges them in the steamer.

Sharing the freshly steamed parcels with neighbors is also one of the pleasures of the festival.

Kumbilappam from Kerala is also a steamed sweet that uses fragrant leaves, but it differs in shape: it is packed into a cone, whereas patoleo is spread thinly on a leaf and folded.

Glossary