I never thought I will be making these here, never in my wildest dreams, but guess what? I just did! KhoTTaw and chutney!
For the people who have no idea of what I am talking about, here is an explanation. What is a khoTTaw? It is a steamed lentil (urad dhal) and rice batter, also known as idli, steamed in a packet/mould made with Jackfruit leaves. I recently found out through a close friend that the leaves were available on Ebay. My husband who was nearby heard our phone conversation, and had ordered the leaves even before I had hung up the phone. He grew up eating and loving these, so he was very thrilled that we can now have this delicacy here in the US too.
To make the packets/ moulds, I attached the jackfruit leaves together with toothpicks. I learned something new from Hundi’s cousin after I posted a picture of the khoTTaw on our Family Whats App group. I was told that a good alternative to the toothpicks, is to use dried curry leaves stalks , and that using those will give a light flavor to the steamed khoTTaws as well. Of course, I will definitely be trying the new technique next time.
Here is the recipe for the idli batter that I use for the khoTTaws. I made 10 regular size and 4 small khottaws.
If anyone wants a tutorial on “How to weave the Jackfruit leaf khotto packet” here is the you tube link. I did not even think about making a video or looking for one as I grew up learning how to make it and making it with my mom and later, with my vanni. 🙏💕
Anyway, I found a tutorial video that is pretty good.
https://youtu.be/nUsY3DKpF5k
KhoTTaw Recipe (My basic Idli batter recipe)
Ingredients:
• 1 and a 1/2 cups urad dhal
• 3 cups idli rawa
• Salt to taste
Steps:
1) Soak the udad for at least 5 or 6 hours. You can soak in tepid water to make sure the udad has soaked well.
2) Soak the idli rawa for a few minutes. (I usually soak it right before I grind the urad batter.)
3) Grind the soaked urad dhal to a smooth and fine batter, and keep aside.
4) Next, discard the water on top of the soaked rice rawa, and squeeze the water out with your (clean) hands and add into the udad batter. Add salt to taste and mix well. (I always mix it with my hands as it helps in fermentation)
5) Ferment the dough overnight. Leave the dough at least for 10 - 12 hours in the oven with the light on.
6) Fill the batter into the washed and cleaned jackfruit leaf moulds, and steam for at least 20 minutes in an idli steamer.
7) Serve the soft delicious khoTTaws with sambhar and a chutney of your choice.
Notes:
• I left the batter in the oven with the light on. In the morning, I still felt that the batter had not fermented enough, so kept it covered outside on the patio table in the gazebo for about half an hour or 45 minutes. Made khottos only after I was satisfied that the dough had fermented well, and as I was making it for the first time in US, it had to be perfect, just like when I had it in India. We both thought it was really good, and we will surely be making it again and again. and don’t add it directly into the batter. When you are ready with the udad batter, discard the water on top of the soaked rice rawa. And squeeze the water out with your (clean) hands and add into the udad batter. Add salt to taste and mix well. (I always mix it with my hands as it helps in fermentation)
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