Breakfast In A Leaf

Breakfast In  A Leaf
It's a tradition in Mangalore to eat rice, coconut and jaggery cakes wrapped in various leaves and steamed. Somewhere while growing up we seemed to have forgotten this age-old tradition. The leaves add a different aroma and flavour to the cakes. More important, the leaves have a lot of medicinal value which it imparts to the food. I requested a cousin to courier the teak leaves from Mangalore. It's not so easily available here.

Health Benefits of Teak Leaves

Healthy hair

Healthy skin

Reduces cholesterol

Helps to overcome anemia

Reduces blood pressure

Prevents hypertension

Improves blood circulation

Prevents absorption of fat 

Natural slimming aid

Health Benefits of Jackfruit Leaves

Prevents diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels

Detoxification - can remove toxic substances from your body

Contains phytonutrients which can prevent various diseases

Enhances immunity

Improves breast milk production

Stalls the aging process

Weight loss aid

Health Benefits of Turmeric Leaves

Helps boost digestion and reduce problems of gas and bloating

Strong anti-inflammatory properties - boon for those suffering osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

Antiseptic properties

 Jackfruit Cake in Teak Leaf

Ingredients

Rice – 1 cup (I took half cup each of brown and white rice)

Udad dal powder – 1 tbsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Coconut – ½ or ¾ cup

Jaggery – ¾ cup (adjust according to taste)

Curd – 1 or 2 tbsp

Greeen cardamom – 2

Cloves - 2

Peppercorns (coarsely ground) – 2 or 3

Jackfruit (finely cut)  – 1 cup

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Teak leaves – 6 (more or less depending on the size)

Note: If you don’t find these leaves, you can use banana or turmeric leaves

Method

Soak the rice for 3 to 4 hours (Brown rice needs 5 hours)  

Grind it with all the ingredients except peppercorns, half cup of jackfruit and ghee

Mix the rest of the ingredients

The batter should be thick

Take spoonfuls into each leaf and fold the leaves

Steam for about 30 to 25 mins

Serve warm

Cucumber Cake in Jackfruit Leaves

Ingredients

Rice powder – 1 cup (I took half cup each of brown and white rice powder)

Cucumber (grated) – 1 cup

Salt – ½ tsp

Coconut – ½ or ¾ cup

Jaggery – ¾ cup (adjust according to taste)

Curd – ¼ or ½ cup

Greeen cardamom (powdered)  – 2

Cloves  (powdered)  – 2

Peppercorns (coarsely ground) – 2 or 3

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Jackfruit leaves – 6 (more or less depending on the size)

Method

Mix all the ingredients except curds

Adjust consistency using curds

The batter should be thick

Arrange the leaves in an an oiled aluminium mould so as to cover it completely

Pour the batter into the mould

Steam for about 30 to 25 mins

Serve warm

Note: You can replace the cucumber with white gourd. I tried it but baked it in Teak leaves.  The two cakes above.  

Wholewheat Cake in Turmeric Leaf

Ingredients

Turmeric leaves – 8 (depending on their size)

Outer covering

Wholewheat flour (coarsely ground) - 1cup
Salt - to taste
Filling
Coconut (grated) - 1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup (more according to taste)
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Method
Make a thick paste with rice flour using little water
Spread evenly over the leaves
Spread the filling over it
Fold the leaf
Steam for 15 mins
Serve warm
Note: I've tried replacing the wholewheat with equal quantities of brown rice and jowar flour. It's good