Swiss Chard Aloo Vadi is my twist on the traditional Maharashtrian Aloo Vadi, usually made with colocasia leaves. These Vadi are a delightful blend of spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors, pan-fried with sesame seeds for an extra crunch. They make a perfect snack or appetizer that everyone will love!
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Minstry of Curry
Jump to:
Colocasia Leaves
Also known as Patra in Gujarati or Pathrado in Konkani, this dish is traditionally made with Colocasia leaves. Colocasia leaves are large green leaves that are often found in Indian grocery stores and can be hard to find in regular US grocery stores.
Swiss Chard for Patra
Every time I visit our local farmers' market I see the fresh, colorful bunches of Swiss chard leaves. So one summer I decided to try using them in place of colocasia leaves. The idea was to turn the traditional Aloo Vadi into Swiss Chard Vadi. I followed the exact recipe that I use for the traditional aloo Vadi made with colocasia leaves.
When my husband and mother-in-law tasted the crispy Vadi, they could not guess that I had not used colocasia leaves. I was excited to have found the greens that are easily available year-round.
Alu Vadi makes a yummy gluten-free snack or appetizer. The rolls can be steamed ahead of time and simply pan-fried when ready to be served. The steamed rolls, as well as pan-fried Vadi, can be frozen, so they make for a perfect make-ahead snack.
How to Make Aloo Vadi using Swiss Chard
- Get a fresh bunch of chard leaves with vibrant yellow, red, and pink stems.
- Trim the thick stems and wash the leaves a couple of times. Pat dry each leaf with some paper towels. Then fold each leaf into the half with the stem vein running in the middle of the leaf. Carefully cut the thicker vein, while trying to keep the leaf in one piece. Sometimes the leaves do split into two on the top, which is ok. The key is to trim thicker stems which makes rolling the leaves easy.
- Mix gram flour, red chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind pulp, jaggery, and salt with some water. Make a smooth paste that is not too thick or thin. Add water a little bit at a time, to get a good consistency that is slightly thinner than peanut butter.
- Each roll can use 10-12 leaves. So depending on how many leaves you have, divide up the leaves into different piles, each having leaves that go from smallest to biggest leaf. I had about 24 leaves, of all different sizes so I decided to make 2 rolls.
- Start with the biggest leaf and lay it upside down on a large cutting board. Apply about 1 tablespoon of the gram flour paste evenly to the leaf using your fingers. Put another leaf that is slightly smaller or the same size on top of the first leaf. Apply the paste to the back of the second leaf. Repeat this process for the first 10-12 leaves, starting from the biggest leaf to the smaller ones. Then roll the stack of leaves starting from the narrow end. Roll as tightly as possible, folding any thin edges inward. Keep the roll aside.
- Repeat the same process for the remaining leaves and make another tightly folded roll. Arrange the rolls in a lightly greased steamer rack.
- Add some water to the steamer pot and put on medium-high heat. Put the steamer rack with the rolls in them in the pot. Cook covered for 15 mins. Turn the heat off. Let the rolls cool down completely.
Steaming in Instant Pot
Add 1 cup of water to the stainless steel insert. Place the steamer basket inside and close the lid with a pressure valve to venting. Select a Steam option and cook for 10 minutes with an external timer. Turn the Instant Pot off and open after 5 minutes as the rolls finish cooking. Open the Instant Pot and take the steamer out.
- These rolls can be refrigerated for upto a week or frozen individually in zip-lock bags for later use. Cut each roll into half and then cut each half into 6-7 pieces about ¼ inch thick slices also known as Vadi.
- Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and lightly grease with some cooking oil. Arrange the vadi on the skillet. Sprinkle half of the sesame seeds on top. Cook for 4-5 mins, spread the remaining oil over them, and then carefully flip each vadi. Sprinkle remaining sesame seeds on top. Cook for another 4-5 mins or until the vadi's are golden brown and crispy.
- These layered Swiss chard spirals or Aloo Vadi can be optionally garnished with chopped cilantro and freshly grated coconut. They taste best served hot!
More Indian Snacks
★ Have you tried this recipe? We love your feedback, Please click on the stars in the recipe card below to rate.
Recipe
Layered Swiss Chard spirals {Aloo Vadi}
Ingredients
- 24 large swiss chard leaves
- ¾ cup gram flour
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp
- 3 tablespoons jaggery brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped optional
- 1 tablespoon frozen grated coconut optional
Instructions
- Trim the thick stems and wash the swiss chard leaves a couple of times. Pat dry each leaf with paper towels. Fold each leaf into half with the stem vein running in the middle of the leaf. Carefully cut the thicker vein, while trying to keep the leaf still in one piece. Sometimes the leaves do split into two on the top, which is ok. The key is to trim thicker stem which makes rolling the leaves easy.
- Mix gram flour, red chili powder, turmeric, tamarind pulp, jaggery and salt with some water. Make a smooth paste that is not too thick or thin. Add water slowly to get a good consistency that is slightly thinner than peanut butter.
- Each roll can use 10-12 leaves. So depending on how many leaves you have, I would divide up the leaves into different piles, each having leaves that go from smallest to biggest leaf. I had about 24 leaves, of all different sizes so I decided to make 2 rolls.
- Start with the biggest leaf, lay it upside down on a large cutting board. Apply about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the gram flour paste evenly to the leaf. After the first leaf has a thin layer of paste applied all over, take another leaf that is slightly smaller or same size as the first leaf. Put it on top of the first and apply some paste to the back of the second leaf. Repeat this process for the first 10-12 leaves, starting with the biggest leaf to the smaller ones. Then start rolling the stack of leaves starting from the narrow end. Roll as tightly as possible and folding any thin edges inward. Keep the roll aside.
- Repeat the same process for the remaining leaves and make another tightly folded roll. Arrange the rolls in a lightly greased steamer rack.
- Add 1 cup of water to the steamer pot and put on medium-high heat. Put the steamer rack with the rolls in them in the pot. Cook covered for 15 mins. Turn the heat off. Let the rolls cool down completely. Then cut each roll into ¼ inch thick slices.
- Heat a skillet on medium high heat and grease with 1 tablespoon oil. Arrange the slices on the skillet. Sprinkle half of the sesame seeds on top. Cook for 4-5 mins on medium heat, spread remaining oil over them and then carefully flip over. Sprinkle remaining sesame seeds on top. Cook for another 4-5 mins or until the Vadi are golden brown and crispy.
- Layered swiss chard spirals or Aloo Vadi can be optionally garnished with chopped cilantro and fresh grated coconut. Enjoy hot!
Notes
Nutrition
♥ We LOVE to hear from you! Did you try this recipe? Please share your food photo with hashtag #ministryofcurry on Facebook or Instagram, so we can see it and our followers can enjoy it too! Thank you and Happy Cooking ♥
Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for tasty and easy video recipes. Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out our delicious Instant Pot Recipe board on Pinterest.
Indu says
Excellent idea! I will try this too now !
Archana says
Thank you Indu! Let me know how you like them. I found them tasting exactly like the alu wadi.
Tasty Eats Ronit Penso says
Such an interesting way of preparing Swiss chard. I will keep it in mind. 🙂
Archana says
Thank you! Please let me know how you like it.
Hans D. Susser says
These look very appetizing, I,ll be preparing these for sure. Thank you 🙂
Archana says
Thank you Hans! I would love to know how you like them.
Kouzounas Kitchen says
Great recipe!!
Archana says
Thank you!
Nandini says
I love the one they sell in stores I usually eat it for snack 🙂
Archana says
I agree Nandini, they make a great snack.
msersgettingfit says
Good thinking! I'll have to try this!
Archana says
Thank you! I am sure you will love the flavors.
Karina Pinella says
Looks great. We had a great chard harvest this summer. Too bad I didn't come across this recipe then.
Archana says
Oh I know, Def save it for next year. You will love the flavors.
cook the beans says
This looks amazing! Love those flavours ?
Archana says
Thank you! These indeed are super flavorful!
Kirti says
Archana dear, I came across your blog & bought the instant pot & it’s accessories.
You totally motivated me & I love the options . Especially cooking multiple things at once .
I put away my rice cooker , crock pot & pressure cookers .
Will have to give this recipie a shot .
You are awesome .
Love you.
Archana says
Thank you!! You made my day with your kind feedback.
Protima Advani says
Hi Archana,
Can I use honey instead of jaggery? How much should I use? I plan to make it this weekend.
Thanks
Archana says
Yes you can use honey and use same way as the jaggery
Stuti says
Any ideas for other leaves we can use for the same? This recipe was great and I could not tell it wasn’t the arbi leaves
Archana says
Collard greens also work great!
Uma says
Greetings Archana, I don’t have tamarind pulp. Can tamarind paste be used?
Love your book, website, blogs. I have great success with everything I try here.
Uma
Archana says
Yes you can add tamarind paste
Unaiza says
Will the instant pot steam time be the same if we used cabbage leaves? Thank you!
Archana says
I have not tried this recipe with cabbage leaves. But i believe it will be the same time
Niloufer says
These were yummy, though not as perfectly shaped as yours !
Will try again for sure.
Archana Mundhe says
Thank you for the feedback! Shaping the rolls can be a bit tricky, since the Swiss chard leaves can be of varying sizes. It definitely gets easier with a little practice. I hope you’ll give it another try!