When the new maize comes in, villages in Himachal make lotadu: fresh corn ground into a paste, mixed with a little jaggery or spice, spread on fig leaves and cooked until set.
The leaves give it a gentle, sweet green aroma. It is a true harvest dish.
Recipe card
Lotadu (Fresh Maize Cakes on Fig Leaves)
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Diet
- Vegetarian
Ingredients
Method
- Grind the corn
Grind the corn kernels into a thick paste with no water.
- Flavour it
Mix in the jaggery and cardamom for sweet lotadu, or the chilli and salt for savoury.
- Spread on leaves
Grease the fig leaves with ghee and spread a thick layer of paste on each, then fold the leaf over.
- Cook
Cook the parcels on a covered tawa on low heat, or steam them, for 20–25 minutes until the corn paste is set and golden.
- Serve
Unwrap and serve warm with a spoon of ghee.
Tips from our kitchen
- Only very fresh, milky corn works — dried corn will not set the same way.
- Banana leaves are a fine substitute for fig leaves.
