Khotto weaving

                                     Hittus / khottos are an another example of how GSB s refine foods to their taste & give it more flavour & make food more attractive to eat!  Plain idli batter is made more tasty by adding  chopped ginger  , green chilies ,& jeera & steamed in jackfruit leaf cups giving it an ultimate taste …plain batter steamed too will get a fresh flavour of the leaves . Now to learn how to weave these khottos ( baskets – literally )
                 First of all collect Jack fruit leaves  and the spine of coconut leaves ( vhiru as we call it ) . Cut the vhiru into 2 inch  long sizes. soak them in water to make them pliable . You may also try with tooth picks . Halve them if they are too thick  .Clean the leaves thoroughly & dry them with a cloth . Now keep  the leaves & vhiru ready!
First of all take four leaves of same size !
Now keep two leaves as shown – overlapping  and join them using the vhiru as shown !
Take a third leaf and place it at right angles  to the first pair . join them as shown .
                  Add the fourth leaf opposite to the third one .
Now join two sides of the leaves keeping the dull side inside and the shiny side outside .
         Join all the sides likewise  to form a cup .
Now trim  three leaves , leaving one leaf untouched  so that it can be lifted like as shown .
Now add finely chopped  green chillies ,  ginger & Jeera  to the batter  ( you may also use it plain .)
Now fill about three – fourths of the cup with the batter.
Now keep this along with the other khottos in a pedavan / steamer . and steam for atleast 20 minutes .
                             Check for doneness .
Now remove the sticks at the sides remove the steamed hittu from the leaves . 
Now enjoy this hot with Chutney & sanbhar!
 In case you are not able to get the  leaves  you may also use greased steel glasses to make hittu!

Hittus are a must for Parabhs  & all festival days ! . so the next festival season ..dont miss making this !
 Pics by Maya Rupesh … Text by Usha Bhat

6 replies to “Khotto weaving

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