Kotte Kadubu

also called Halasina Kotte Kadubu · Khotto · Hittu · Gunda

Idli batter steamed in folded jackfruit-leaf cups - the leaf perfumes the cake and replaces the moulds entirely.

Coastal Karnataka - Udupi & Mangalore

Image: Wikimedia Commons - Kotte Kadubu, Bhatru Hotel · CC BY-SA · photo shows the finished idlis on a banana leaf, not the leaf wrap itself

Kotte Kadubu is a traditional Udupi–Mangalore idli that goes by half a dozen names depending on the household - Halasina Kotte Kadubu, Khotto, Khotte, Hittu, Gunda. At heart it is regular idli batter steamed in cups woven from leaves, which infuse the cake with an earthy, herbal aroma you simply can't get from a metal mould.

The most common wrapper is the jackfruit leaf: four leaves of similar size are folded and pinned together with thin coconut-leaflet sticks (toothpicks tear the leaf and are never used) into a cone or cup. Pandanus / screwpine leaves are woven into cylinders for the Tulu specialty called Moode; turmeric leaves are used elsewhere for their especially fragrant steam.

It is made for Ganesh Chaturthi and Nagarapanchami, served with sambar, coconut chutney or koddel. Practically and ecologically, the leaves are elegant - they replace greasing and washing of moulds, and compost back into the garden.

The Recipe

Yield · ~10 servings

Effort profile

Soak1–2 hours (urad)

Ferment6 hours (summer) / 10–12 hours (winter)

Steam20–30 minutes

Steps7

Each axis is scaled against the longest example in the archive.

Ingredients

Batter

1½ cups whole urad dal (de-husked)
3 cups idli rava / rice rava
Salt to taste

For the wrappers

Jackfruit leaves (4 per cup) and coconut-leaflet sticks for pinning, or idli moulds as a substitute

Method

1.
Soak urad dal 1–2 hours; grind in a wet grinder to a light smooth fluffy batter.
2.
Wash idli rava well, drain, and squeeze handful by handful before mixing into the urad batter.
3.
Cover and ferment 6 hours in summer or 10–12 hours in winter.
4.
Form jackfruit-leaf cups - take 4 leaves of similar size, fold and pin them with coconut-leaflet sticks (never toothpicks, which tear the leaf) into a deep cup.
5.
Stir salt into the batter. Pour into the leaf cups (or greased moulds), filling ¾-full.
6.
Steam on medium heat 20–30 minutes (longer than ordinary idli because the batter is thicker and the cups deeper).
7.
Snip the leaves open at the table - the idli unwraps with the aroma of the leaf.

Serve with

sambarcoconut chutneykoddel (Konkani-style sambar)chutney pudi with a drizzle of coconut oil

Notes

For Moode, the same batter is steamed in cylindrical moulds woven from kedige (pandanus / screwpine) leaves - a Tulu Mangalore specialty. Turmeric and banana leaves are also traditional wrappers.

Adapted from cookwithkushi.com.

Where it's from

Udupi, Karnataka · 13.34°N, 74.74°E