Purathe pathiri- steamed masala prawn pie with rice crust

Purathe pathiri- steamed masala prawn pie with rice crust

Biriyani spiced prawns wrapped in fresh coconut and fennel scented rice crust- my grandma’s cooking was always awesome. The taste was wonderful and the preparation, painstaking and tedious. Cooking “purathe pathiri” was a family affair. My mother- herself a great cook- will be focusing hard with my grandmother overseeing each step. I never understood why “purathe pathiri” was called so. The words literally mean- “outside flat bread” I felt it must be called “akathe pathiri” (inside flat bread) since all the yummy stuff was inside. We- kids- did not like the crust much then (just like my kids do now). But believe me, the crust is every bit as delicious as the filling. You should serve this with fresh coconut milk… ooh…yum!!! By the way, the name does make sense. The “pathiri” (flat bread crust) is indeed outside.

Let us embark onto the long winding journey. Starting a day or two ahead will keep you sane throughout the process.  Make the dough and masala early. These will keep well in refrigerator for 4-5 days. We buy prawns shelled and deveined from market. Once at home, I cook it with some curry paste and freeze. So, I used my cooked frozen prawns here. 

To make this dough, we always use “parboiled” rice. We get fresh grated coconut from the supermarket- a big help!!! Bring the water to a rolling boil in a heavy bottom pan. Add the rice and take off the heat. Keep covered and let the rice soak for about 2 hours. Drain, combine with the remaining ingredients and grind to a coarse paste in the wet grinder. Grinding rice is very easy with a wet grinder. My grandmother used to get it done on a traditional stone grinder. My mother used the small jar of an Indian “mixie” (blender).  I grind fennel seeds coarsely beforehand. No one here likes to bite into whole spices.

Peeling all those shallots does test your patience and then there is the garlic, ginger……. I used the tomato paste because I didn’t have a fresh tomato.

For masala, chop shallots, garlic, green chillies and ginger fine. Sauté in the oil till it start to darken and lightly brown. Add the spice powders and fry for 2-3 minutes in low heat. Add the tomatoes and sauté tills it merges well in the masala. Add lemon juice and salt. Add the prawns (if using cooked prawns, add ½ cup water too), cover and cook over medium heat till water from prawn is released. Uncover and cook over high heat till most of the water is evaporated to make a thick masala. Keep stirring while cooking to prevent burning.

Slice/chop onion and coriander. Heat the oil and deep fry onion and coriander leaves in a wok. Drain, combine and set aside.

Now at last, we can start assembling the “pathiri”. Grease a flat bottom bowl or a cake pan of about 7 inch radius. Take a pressure cooker that will hold the bowl and a ring mould or anything to elevate the bowl inside the cooker. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, a soup pot will do. Pour in water to reach about 3-4 inches inside. Set it over medium high heat, keeping the lid off.

Take 2 pieces of aluminium foil large enough to line the cake pan. Press both pieces on the bowl/pan to get an idea of how big we need to spread the dough. Grease the foil pieces on one side. Take two golf size balls from the dough. Keep on each foil and spread with your palm to make circles of the dimension we have marked. The thickness should be about ½ inch.

Divide fried onion-coriander into 6 portions. Sprinkle each dough disc with one portion each of the fried onion-coriander. Spread a third of the masala on top of one disc. Slowly invert the other dough circle on top. Seal the edges well. Lift the stuffed “pathiri” into the cake pan keeping it covered with the foil.

The water inside the cooker must be boiling now. Set the pan on top of the ring mould and cover the cooker. Cook over medium high heat till the first whistle. Then lower the heat and cook for 10 more minutes. If cooking in a soup pot, this will take 30 minutes. Take off heat and let cool for some time. Use the foil to gently lift the “pathiri” out. Cut into wedges and serve hot!