Genasale with jackfruit | Patholi

Genasale – steamed rice cakes filled with coconut and jaggery, wrapped in banana leaves. Patholi/Patoleo – steamed rice cakes filled with coconut and jaggery, wrapped in turmeric leaves.

Genasale and patholi/patoleo are two very similar sweet rice dumplings prepared in the western coast of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. The outer cover is made of rice batter. When it is filled with a coconut and jaggery, it is called kayi genasale, kayi meaning coconut. When jackfruits are in season, genasale gets an upgrade with added jackfruit in the filling and is then called halasina hannu(jackfruit) genasale. Addition of jackfruit adds a unique, fruity flavour to genasale!

The technique of making genasale is unique which results in a very thin outer cover. It’s hard to say where the shell ends and filling begins! There may be minor regional variations in the method of preparation. The recipe/method shared here is from the Havyaka community.

Havyaka community makes tons of seasonal delicacies using jackfruits at various stages! Check out some recipes here!

• Young jackfruit curry
• Unripe/ripe jackfruit dosa
• Unripe jackfruit(Halasinakayi) palya
• Jackfruit gatti/kottige

Genasale, Patholi, Modak, Kadubu – Similarities and differences

Similarities

• They have an outer cover made of rice.
• They are filled with a coconut and jaggery

Differences

• The difference between two is that the outer shell of modak and kadubu is prepared using a rice dough whereas genasale and patholi are prepared using a rice batter. This difference results in a different textures of the shells.
• There is a subtle difference in taste too as genasale is steamed in banana leaves, patholi is steamed in turmeric leaves and modak, kadubu are steamed plain, without being wrapped in any leaves.
• The outer shell of genasale, patholi is thinner than modak, kadubu, hard to say where the shell ends and filling begins 🙂

Ingredients

• Rice – I use sona masoorie rice in this recipe. In Mangalore, a variety of long grain rice called dosa rice(not idly rice) is used. Regular long grain rice available in North America works well too. Do not use other stickier Asian varieties of short/medium grain rice.
• Coconut – Use fresh grated coconut in this recipe, not dry desiccated. Grated fresh coconut is available frozen in Indian/Asian stores.
• Jaggery – Jaggery is an unrefined Indian sugar with a deep caramel/molasses-ey flavour. Available in Indian stores/online.
• Jackfruit – Optional ingredient. Use ripe fresh jackfruits. Although I haven’t tried, in my opinion, canned jackfruit in brine would work fine too.
• Cardamom powder – for extra flavour.

Tips

• Blend the rice into a smooth batter, no grits should remain.
• The consistency of the batter is important. If it’s too thick genasale won’t be soft. If it’s runny, it won’t set. Please check the video to check the required thickness of batter.
• A small amount of fresh grated coconut can be added to the rice when blending.
• 1/4th cup of beaten rice/poha/avalakki can be soaked for 5 minutes and added to the rice when blending for added softness.
• When placing the filling, make sure to add filling right till the edges to make sure entire genasale is filled.
• Start heating up your steamer before you start assembling the genasale. The steamer should be steaming when you place the folded packets in the steamer so that it starts cooking immediately. If not, the batter moves around more.

Serving

Genasale is generally served after it has cooled down until it’s at least warm to the touch. It can also be served at room temperature.

Genasale with jackfruit | Patholi

Shwetha

Steamed, sweet rice dumplings from coastal Karnataka and Goa, called 'genasale' when wrapped in banana leaves and 'patholi' when wrapped in turmeric leaf.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Rice soak time 4 hours hrs

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Havyaka, mangalore

Servings 8 genasale

Equipment

• Steamer
• Blender that can blend rice into a smooth paste.

Ingredients

  

Outer cover

• 1 cup rice uncooked
• 7 tbsp water which is 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp
• ¼ tsp salt

Filling option 1 (Measurements for jackfruit genasale)

• 1 cup coconut grated, fresh/frozen, not dry desiccated.
• 1½ cup ripe jackfruit check notes for genasale without jackfruit.
• ¾ cup jaggery powder/grated.
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder

Filling option 2 (Measurements for kayi genasale, without jackfruit)

• 2 cups coconut grated, fresh/frozen, not dry desiccated.
• 1½ cups jaggery powder/grated
• ½ tsp cardamom powder

Instructions

 

• Wash rice a few times and drain. Add fresh water and soak the rice for 4 hours or overnight.

Make the filling

• Finely mince jackfruit into tiny pieces. It can also be finely chopped in a food processor.
• Add grated coconut and jaggery into a heavy bottomed pan and stir on medium heat. Jaggery melts. Turn off the heat when excess water evaporates, the mixture does not have to be completely dry.
  
• Mix finely minced jackfruit and cardamom powder into the coconut jaggery mixture. Set aside to cool.
  

Make rice batter

• Drain water from the soaked rice. Add rice into a blender jar. Add ¼ cup + 3 tbsp water and blend into a very smooth paste, no grits should remain.
• Transfer rice batter into a bowl and add in the salt. Mix well.

  NOTE: For the right consistency of batter, please refer the picture/video.
  

Assembling and cooking

• Cut banana leaves into approximately 12 x 12 inch pieces. Clean the leaves using a wet towel or carefully run them under water and dry using a towel.
• Move the leaves in quick motions over a flame to make them pliable, they otherwise break on being folded.
  
• Before continuing with the next steps, set up a steamer with water over medium heat, so that the water is boiling by the time we are done folding the genasale.
• Lay out all the pieces of banana leaves on the counter. Pour a small ladleful of the batter at the center of the banana leaves. Repeat this step on all the banana leaves.
• Spread the batter into a 7 inch circle or rectangle. Batter can be spread using the back of a ladle or by lifting and moving the banana leaf which will in turn make the batter spread. Repeat this step on all the banana leaves.
  
• Cover one half of the rice batter with the sweet filling mix, right till the edges. Repeat this step over batter on every banana leaf.
  
• Lift the banana leaf and fold over, so that the plain half of the batter (without filling) is now on top of the filling. Fold the sides of the banana leaf to form a pocket. Place the packet folded side down, so that it doesn't open.
  
• Steamer should be steaming by now. Carefully place all the folded packets, folded side down inside the steamer. They can be placed on top of each other.
• Cover and steam on medium heat for 40 minutes.
• Allow it cool down until it's cool or at-least warm enough to handle. Opening the packet when it's just done steaming may cause genasale to break.
• Serve with a dollop of ghee. For a vegan option, use coconut oil.

Video

Notes

• Use fresh coconut, not dry desiccated.
• If using frozen fresh coconut, remember to defrost it.
• I use sona masoorie rice. Regular long grain rice works well too. Do not use other stickier medium/short grain Asian varieties.
• Adjust the amount of jaggery to suit your taste. As a general rule of thumb, it should be a little too sweet for your palate as the unsweetened rice batter balances out the sweetness.
• If using turmeric leaves, it’s not possible to fold it into a pocket. Fold it in the middle either vertically or horizontally. 
• Some people don’t cook jaggery before filling it into genasale. Cooking jaggery till it melts and excess water evaporates is a good idea so that jaggery doesn’t melt and leak out of genasale. 

 

Keyword genasale, patholi