Brunch with 'khotte' and 'madagane'

“Khotte and madagane on Sunday? Why?” snarled an old neighbourhood aunty, twisting her dishevelled eyebrows, and tightening her wrinkled forehead on hearing my menu for a laid-back Sunday brunch.

“Make idlis and chutney instead. Khotte and madagane are reserved for occasions,” cribbed Umakka, a veteran housewife who serves lip-smacking delicacies from Goa and Karnataka
Umakka couldn’t digest the fact that I was planning khotte and madagane — normally reserved for Ganesh Chaturthi — in February. After taking voluntary retirement from kitchen duties in 2008 due to persistent knee pain, Umakka’s job now entailed giving free and often unsolicited advise to youngsters on the nuances of cooking.

I justified my forthcoming endeavour in the compact kitchen by telling her that I wanted to experiment with something unique, a break from sandwich and poha — my routine preys at the breakfast table.

“Ok then, do what you want,” sighed the self-anointed guardian of Karnataka cuisine.

This was my first attempt at cooking two dishes which are placed like fraternal twins on the serving plate every Ganesh Chaturthi.

They form the nucleus of the galaxy of dishes prepared on that auspicious day.

Lord Gajanan loves chana dal, he really enjoys rice and jaggery, and the khotte-madagane provide complete satisfaction to his enormous appetite. That’s why the two are a must on that day, as they not just fill your stomach, but also wash your mind and heart with profound happiness, explained Umakka.

My earliest memories of khotte (idlis steamed in jackfruit leaf cups — the idlis acquire the fragrance of the leaves) and madagane (a kheer cooked using chana dal, cashews, coconut milk and jaggery) appear disdainful.

I remember looking at these two holy items, which my ancestors consider all time favourites of the elephant headed god, with a big frown splashed across my face.

As a five year old, I could not swallow octagonal idlis which had to be rescued from the jackfruit leaves. And the madagane, no chance. I didn’t like any liquid or semi solid sweet.

As years passed, I developed some attraction for khotte-madagane, which I now enjoy by breaking the idlis and soaking them in the kheer before allowing the resulting manna to rest in my mouth.

So having drafted my Sunday plans well in advance, the idli batter was sitting lightly on the top compartment of the cherry red refrigerator. I first set out to wash the jackfruit leaves, which I had so meticulously plucked from the jackfruit tree in my building compound. Knitting the cups by placing the pointy ends of 4 leaves one upon another with thin sticks gathered from the baniya became a Herculean task.

I again needed Umakka’s experience and expertise to knit the cups by first weaving the ends of the 4 leaves to form a strong base, and then folding adjacent leaves. Once ready, I dropped in one or two tablespoon of idli batter and placed it for steaming in a thick vessel.

I now strode to concoct the madagane. Mixing and boiling the ingredients I had shopped three days in advance, took about an hour.

Once ready, I placed the fraternal twins on a plate, and first offered the fruits of my experiment to the potbellied Vignaharta, before feeding mouthfuls to Umakka, who finally managed a brief smile.

For khotte
Ingredients
l  Urad dal - 1.5 cups
l  Idli rava - 3 cups
l  Salt - to taste
Preparation

Wash and soak urad dal for 2-3 hours and grind into paste. Mix the rava and salt and keep it overnight for fermenting. Pour the batter into cups made from jackfuit leaves and steam it in a vessel or cooker for 20 minutes.

For madagane
Ingredients
l  Water, 4 cups
l  Chana dal, 1/2 cup
l  Rice flour - 1/2 cup
l  Cashews - a handful
l  Jaggery - 1 cup
l  Coconut milk - 1 cup
l  Cardamom powder - 1tsp
Preparation
Soak chana dal and cashews in water for 4-5 hours. Boil water in a pan. Add chana dal and cashews and boil for 10-15 minutes. Later add jaggery and boil again. Mix rice flour in water to make a smooth paste and add it to the kheer. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. Add coconut milk and cardamom powder 15 minutes after turning off the flame.