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Patra is Indescribably Delicious at Saybrook’s Shakahari

Even if it weren’t for patra, we’d still be preaching about Shakahari in Old Saybrook. Opened by a longtime Old Saybrook family with roots in the northern Indian state of Gujarat, the vegetarian restaurant has a relatively small menu that encourages straying from the basic biryani and samosas (which they also do exceptionally well). Good stuff, all around, but patra immediately became one of our favorite foods ever. It’s basically colocasia leaves (a type of elephant ear) layered with chickpea flour, carom seed, lemon, and jaggery (a type of raw sugar), rolled into a pinwheel, and lightly fried with some secret, magical ingredients that render it both tender and toothy, savory and a tiny bit sweet, and a little peppery. I’m not doing it anything close to justice in this description, but as it’s unlike anything we’d ever had, it’s a challenge to describe. Try it yourself and let us know what you think at www.facebook.com/foodcourtct.

Shakahari is at 1458 Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook, 860-876-2697. Read others’ raves about patra at www.facebook.com/ShakahariOS.

-Brian Boyd