Pothi Choru — Finger Lickin’ Good

Pothi Choru also known as Packed Rice is something everyone should experience once in their lifetime. A set of authentic Kerala dishes combined with rice and wrapped in toasted banana leaf…it most certainly is Finger Lickin’ Good. Insert Padma Lakshmi’s Carl Jr’s commercial ^.^ Just kidding, I definitely don’t look like that when I am eating with my hands from a banana leaf.

Moving on…and let’s dive straight into how to assemble a Pothi Choru.

Start with Banana Leaf. You can get this from an Asian supermarket. Make sure it’s not frozen. Wash the banana leaf. After drying it with a paper towel or kitchen towel, lightly burn the banana leaf until they start to wilt. This really brings out the aroma and makes it easier to pack.

Add Rice. I prefer Kerala Matta Rice, but we didn’t have any and white rice worked just fine.

Then Beans Thoran. “Thoran” is a dry side dish made with any vegetables, grated coconut, onions, and spices.

Then Cabbage Thoran.

Then pieces of Fried Fish. Preference for me is fresh Mackerel. But using Salmon is just as fine.

Then Avial/Aviyal. This is THE VEGETABLE DISH. You can’t go wrong with combining 13 vegetables and cooking it with grated coconut and spices. Hearty, Super Healthy, and Delicious.

Then Kerala Style Omelette — Ok I said “Kerala style” because I added curry leaves, green chili, and grated coconut.

Last but not least — my favorite. Mango Pickle. Place a good amount in the middle and voila!

Wrap it up. And then tie it using a string. If you have newspapers lying around you can add a second layer.

One hour later. Open it. Take a whiff of the delicious goodness. Proceed to have a photo shoot with OAO.

Finger Lickin’ Good.

This is easy to assemble, but it does take a lot of time to prep the dishes. Thankfully, my mom already pre-packed us Avial, Beans Thoran, Cabbage Thoran, and Fish Fry. Mango Pickle was store brought. I ended up cooking the rice and making the omelette. Not to mention toasting the Banana Leaf — which requires careful temperature check and concentration. Rounds to 37.5% of labor. So I mean the contribution still counts?

I hope you all get a chance to make this. If you Google “Pothi Choru”, the number and type of dishes served varies every time. It really is up to your preference and convenience. Whatever you do, please eat with your hands. Please don’t use any silverware. It just would not taste the same.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience with eating from a Banana Leaf. This is an experience to indulge in.

Here’s to more dishes packed in banana leaves,

A, Ben.