Patravali

Patravali or Pattal or Vistaraku or Vistar or Khali is an Indian eating plate or trencher made with broad dried leaves. It is mainly made from Sal leaves. It is also made from Banyan tree leaves. It is made in circular shape, by stitching 6 to 8 sal leaves with tiny wooden sticks.[1] It is popular during traditional meals, festivals and in temples.[2] It is a cottage industry in India where women work on weaving them at home in spare time.

Vistaraku (An Indian eating plate) at Visakhapatnam

History

It was used extensively in the ancient times by Hindu sages for its purity. It was a custom to serve food in a patravali for guest meal or celebrations, temple prasadam.

The plate
Sal tree leaves used for making patravali

Patravali is made from wildly grown plants like sal tree, fodder, pala tree, jack fruit etc.

Regions

The plates are popular in villages in arid region in India like parts of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, madhya pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu etc.[3] The Flame of the forest Butea monosperma=Modhuga in Telugu amongst others provide leaves that are used either with many pieced together or singly (only in case of a banana leaf) to make a leaf-plate for serving a meal.[4]

Custom

In olden days, until a century ago, a would-be son-in-law was tested on his dexterity in making a patravali plate and bowl (for serving more liquid parts of the meal such as daal or stew) before being declared acceptable by the soon to be father-in-law.

Outside India

Pattal is one of the most eco-friendly, disposable food serving systems. Many other countries like in Germany are realizing its benefits and a few companies have started making pattal commercially.[5] Although, in India Pattals can be spotted at every general stores.

Modern day

The plate is made by machines with silver foil cover at the bottom and with border for better form. And the traditional patravali is back because of its environment-friendly nature and biodegradability.

Benefits
  1. It is one of the most eco-friendly, disposable food serving systems. It degrades quickly, unlike a metallic/porcelain utensil.
  2. The antioxidants (polyphenols) in banana leaf is reported to help fight diseases.[6]
  3. It smells good and are used exclusively as aromatic food wrappers.

See also

References
  1. Traditional 'pattal' loses out to convenient plastic - Times Of India
  2. When dinner comes on nature's plate
  3. The Telegraph - Calcutta : Jharkhand
  4. Sal-leaf dishes make way for plastic ones - Times Of India
  5. "Leaf Plates From Germany: Time to Switch Back to Ancient Indian Traditions?". NDTV Food.
  6. "The Nutritional Value of Banana Leaves". OurEverydayLife.


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