Aayisrecipes would not be a “Konkani site” if I had missed this dish. Hittu/khotte is one of the most popular dishes for Konkanis (This is also popular among Kannadigas). For most of the people, it is just a festival food, but at my home, aayi prepared this whenever we wanted. She made these small baskets with jack fruit leaves and then poured idli batter and steamed them to get the “ hittu “. Though it is just idli batter poured in these baskets, the ‘ hittu ‘ gets a very distinguishing aroma from the leaves.
Hittu/khotte is usually prepared during Ganapathi festival and served along with sprouted moong sidedish( mooga moLe randayi ) .
The other most popular combination is called “ hittu-hinga udak “( hittu with asafotida water). Hittu with few drops of coconut oil, asafoetida water, ginger pieces, fresh grated coconut, salt and green chilies. While eating, the hittu is powdered using hand, chilies are crushed in salt and mixed with coconut-asafoetida water-salt-ginger. Then the hittu powder is mixed with this coconut mixture. Few drops of coconut oil are put on top. This tastes so amazing that once you eat it, you will never ever forget the taste. (This is also done with nomal idlis).
Many of us also eat the “ hittu-hinga udak ” combo with sprouted moong sidedish ( mooga moLe randayi ) . The mixture is dipped in the sidedish and eaten.
At my home, we liked to eat this hittu with sambar and chutney just like idlis .
As I said earlier, the batter is same as the idli batter . But I am going to post the pictures of how to make these baskets here. These are woven with 4 jack fruit leaves and thin sticks (called as “ shigir ” in Konkani). These sticks are either got from the betel nut tree or coconut tree.
Hold 4 leaves with ends one upon another as shown.
Fix one leaf to the second with the help of stick. 5 small sticks are necessary to hold all the leaves together.
The leaves with the bottom woven looks as below.
Now fold two adjacent leaves taking care there is no space in between. If there are small holes, the batter comes out.
Cut the tips/ends of the three leaves. Leave one as it is so that when the ‘hittu’ is cooked, it can be lifted easily.
Following is the traditional steamer used to steam these ‘ hittus ‘.
Pour the fermented idli batter in these baskets.
Steam in steamer/cooker.
Serve hot.
Vangi-eggplant, bhath-rice is probably one of the most popular rice items in Maharashtra and few places in Karnataka and Andhra. I say few places because it is not very common at my native (which is in Karnataka) but I have seen this a lot in Bangalore. I have seen most of my Andhra friends preparing this dish, so I guess it is popular there also. But the Marathi name suggests it might be originally from Maharashtra.
Everybody has their own spice mixture for this dish. I always used the store bought “Vangi bhath masala” and prepared this. But when I tasted my friend Poornima ‘s Vangi bhath, I just loved it (considering I am not a big fan of eggplants). Few days back I asked her for the recipe along with the “Vangi bhath masala” and prepared it. Now I prepare it once in a week for lunch. I have prepared a big batch of masala and making the vangi bhath with ready masala takes hardly 15-20mins. I have become a huge fan of this dish now.
Have a look at the methods followed by few of my food blogger friends: Manisha , Vineela , Mandira , Pavani , Asha .
Vangi bhath masala: Chana dal 1 tbl spn Urad dal 1 tbl spn Moong daal(yellow) 1 tbl spn Coriander seeds 3/4 tbl spn Cumin seeds 1/2 tea spn Cinnamon 2″ piece Cloves 5-6 Red chilies 7-8 Oil 1/4 tea spn
Roast all the spices (except chilies and cloves) one by one on a very low flame till they leave a nice aroma. Heat oil and fry the cloves. Take out and in the same vessel, fry the chilies a bit. Powder them all. Store in an air tight container.
PS: According to the original recipe given by Poornima, the masala includes “Moggu” – which looks similar to cloves but slightly bigger than that. I tried searching for it in the Indian store, but could not find it. I don’t even know the English name of this spice, so I replaced it with cloves. She uses different kinds of chilies, some for the color and some for the spicy taste. I had only Byadagi chilies (a variety available in Karnataka). So I just tried with these chillies. You can increase or decrease the amount after trying the vangi bhath yourself.
Vangi bhath Ingredients: Pea nuts 1 tbl spn Chana dal 1 tbl spn Mustard seeds 1/2 tea spn Curry leaves 4-5 Green chilies 1-2 Onion(chopped) 1/2 cup Eggplant(thin long ones) 1-2 Tamarind extract 1/4 tea spn Vangi bhath masala 2 tea spns Turmeric powder a pinch Shredded dry coconut 1 tbl spn Rice 1 cup Lemon juice 1 tbl spn Oil Salt
I have cut the eggplants into small thin pieces to suit my taste (this is what I understood from the description given by my friend). Be careful about the Lemon juice – tamarind. Since both are souring agents, use them carefully.
Method: Cook the rice and keep aside. Take care not to over cook the rice, otherwise it gets mashed after mixing with the spices. Cut the eggplants into desired shapes. Keep the pieces in water. Before using, discard the water.
Heat oil and fry peanuts. Take them out. Add chana dal, fry and take out. Heat remaining oil (take slightly more oil, say around 1 tbl spn) and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add curry leaves and fry for sometime. Add green chilies, onion and fry till the onions turn slightly brownish. Add eggplant pieces and fry for sometime. If required, sprinkle very little water, close the lid and cook. When the eggplants are done, add tamarind, salt, vangi bhath masala, turmeric powder, dry coconut and mix well. Take off the heat. Add rice, lemon juice, fried peanuts and chana dal and mix well.
(Do not garnish with coriander leaves).
Serves :2 Preparation time : 20mins
