Panvu, are taro stems that are the young leaf stalks or petioles of the taro plant.These stems are typically from the young,new growth leaves.This variety of plant has large dark green leaves with purple stem,The leaves are referred as Kaale Alva paan in konkani. The stem and the tubers are also included in konkani cuisine to make talasani and phodis. Taro stems are fibrous,so they must be peeled prior to preparing. These leaf stalks contain beta carotene,calcium and iron.They are also a good source of vitamin A & C.
These plants grow abundantly during monsoon season or can be seen in wetland areas or near the fields.During rainy season due to water clogging on roads,the tender roots that grow from this plant spreads widely due to the creeping roots.These fresh and tender stems grow in great length .The young, as-yet unrolled leaves and stem are removed from the plant without damaging the main plant and are dried for 2-3 days to remove the water content (moisture) in the root,which can cause itchiness.They have a slight sticky/gluey texture just like lady’sfinger. Later, the tough outer skin is scrapped,then chopped and cooked in garlic and chilli seasoning. This talasani tastes just like venti talasani.
In olden days people made use of the vegetables available around them. Panvu is one such vegetable which was used by konkanis in south Canara regions. I learnt about this from my mother in law. Luckily this time when my hubby had been to Mangalore, he found this in the vegetable market and brought it home. As this is a good old recipe and a forgotten vegetable as well,I thought to share this with you all.I have tried my level best to give the details.If anyone know more details about this please feel free to share with us,so that many will be benefited by the knowledge.
Ingredients:-
- Panvu – 1 bel (tied in circle shape as seen in pic below)
- Garlic pods – 6-8 nos crushed
- Red chillies – 3 nos
- Hog plum – 1 no crushed
- Salt to taste
- Oil for seasoning
Method:-
The picture seen below is panvu as it is sold in the market
and this pic is of the individual stems ( I used this pic for reference from a blog site)
The pic below is from my garden ..you can see the roots growing
Scrape the outer skin of the panvu and chop into 1′ inch length. Refer the pic below to differentiate the outer skin and the inner part thats been chopped
This is how the skin Is scrapped
- Heat a pan with oil and fry the crushed garlic, saute until they change the colour.
- Now add the red chillies broken into two pieces ,fry for two seconds and then add the chopped panvu,crushed hog plum,salt and water just enough to cook.
- Close and cook until the vegetable is soft and cooked.
- Serve with rice.
Konkani Khann Anik Jevan 
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