Savory Collard Green Vadi

Ingredients-

• 1 big bunch of fresh collard green leaves

For the filling-

• 1 cup besan or chick pea flour
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
• 1 teaspoon grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder(or to taste)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder
• 1 teaspoon roasted coriander seed powder
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ½ ~ 1 teaspoon amchur /dried mango powder, depending on how sour the yogurt is.
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• About 2 tablespoons water, if needed, for batter to be of spreading consistency

For the tempering-

• 1 teaspoon oil
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
• ½ teaspoon poppy seeds
• 2 dried red chillies
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida

To make the Collard Green Vadi-

1. Wash the collard green leaves. Remove the stems and trim the central thick vein behind the leaves, taking care that the leaves don’t rip.
2. Boil a large pot of water. Add the leaves, in batches, for about 10 ~ 15 seconds each. Remove with tongs, and drop them in a pot of cold ice water. Remove and set aside on a kitchen towel.
3. Simply combine all the ingredients for the filling. The batter should be of spreading consistency like dosa batter but not runny.
4. Lay out 4 leaves of the collard greens, face down and overlapping, as shown in the photo. Spread the batter
5. Repeat step 4 twice again on top of the first layer. Total leaves used 12 with 3 layers of leaves and 3 layers of filling.Repeat steps 4 and 5 for another roll.
6. Roll as shown in pictures and steam, seam side down, for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool and cut in slices about a 1/4 inch thick, and serve as is, or covered with tempering or shallow fried. they also taste good with Mango and Red Pepper Chutney.

Note:

• The vadis can be made in advance and warmed up or shallow fried later.
• The rolls can be frozen for use later too. Just defrost and proceed to warm them up, cover with the tempering or shallow fry..