Saina

Saina is such a special snack/dish for us Fijians. It is a dish that takes times, but its so treasured because the work behind it is so worth it! Saina is made with fresh taro leaves (taro leaves) stuffed with a lentil, gram flour, and spice mixture. It is first steamed until fully cooked then fried to give it a crunchy texture outside. The dish is a variant of Indian Patrode/Patrodo/Patra/Patrodu, a vegetarian dish from Western coast & Himachal Pradesh, India.  Fijian Saina is likely introduced to Fiji by Indian immigrants in Polynesia.

The traditional Patrode in India is prepared with nutritious colocasia leaves which are stuffed with a mix of ingredients such as garam masala, gram flour, mustard seeds, sesame seeds, turmeric, chili paste, and asafetida. The leaves are then rolled, steamed, and fried or deep-fried until crispy.

It is known as Patra in Gujarat, Patrodo in Maharashtra (especially in Malvan) & Goa, Patrode in Coastal Karnataka & Patrodu in Himachal Pradesh. Patra in Sanskrit & its derivative languages means leaf & vade/vado means dumpling.