How to weave jackfruit leaves basket (khotto, hittu, khotte kadubu)

Jackfruit leaves basket is a traditional basket made from the leaves of jackfruits. It is woven with string and twine, which are tied around the midribs of the leaves. The basket has an unusual shape that resembles a half-moon or crescent moon.

Jackfruit trees are a type of fruit tree that grows in tropical regions. The leaves can be woven into a basket to store food or other items.

Here’s a video showing how to build a jackfruit leaves basket.

To steam idlis, jackfruit leaves are woven into small baskets. Hittu/khotto/khotte kadubu is made by filling jackfruit leaf baskets with idli batter and steaming them. 

On Konkani households, idlis are cooked in jackfruit leaves for any special event or holiday. In Konkani, these idlis fashioned with jackfruit leaves are known as khotto, hittu, and khotte kadubu. Khotte is a favorite breakfast in Karnataka’s Udupi, Mangalore, and Kundapur areas. The jackfruit leaves give these idlis a pleasant aroma and flavor, plus also save you time and work in cleaning the idli molds.

In Konkani, these jackfruit leaves baskets are used to steam idlis, horse gram idlis, and spicy idlis for lunch, which is known as sanna khotto.

Ingredients:

• 24 jackfruit leaves – makes 6 khotto, 4 jackfruit leaves each basket
• Sticks – petioles of coconut leaves, bamboo sticks, or anything comparable

Serves: 2

Time to weave: 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your skill level.

To make a jackfruit leaf basket, follow these steps: (called as khotto topuche in Konkani)

1. Wash the jackfruit leaves well before drying them with a towel. In Konkani, jackfruit leaves are known as ponsa paan or khotte paan. 
2. 4 jackfruit leaves of similar size, freshly picked If the leaves are dry, they are more likely to break off when weaving baskets, resulting in baskets with holes. The batter then drips out of them, making your steamer a mess. 
3. Hold two jackfruit leaves together at their tips, facing each other. Use a stick to secure them together, as seen below:
4. If you seal the leaves at the tips, you’ll get large baskets; otherwise, you’ll get little baskets. The size of your baskets is also determined by the size of the leaves. Miniature leaves may be used to create tiny baskets. Larger leaves result in larger baskets.
5. If the sticks you’re using are too thick, weaving these baskets becomes tough. They have a tendency to rip the delicate leaves off. If the sticks are too thin and weak, you won’t be able to weave baskets with them since the sticks will break off.
6. Keep another jackfruit leaf atop the two sealed jackfruit leaves and seal them together, as seen in the image below. 
7. The fourth jackfruit leaf should be kept and sealed. Pathravali is a Konkani word that means “four leaves linked together.” 
8. This is how the opposite side looks:
9. To create a pocket, fold the ends of two jackfruit leaves together. To make a jackfruit leaves basket, fold all of the leaves together as shown in the video.
10. Check for holes in the sides and bottom of the woven jackfruit leaves basket once it has been completed. The batter will then be held in the baskets. If the batter spills out of the tiny holes, it will make your steamer a mess.
11. Other jackfruit leaves may be woven into baskets (khotto in Konkani, khotte in Kannada) that can be used to steam idlis. 
12. The jackfruit leaf basket’s top should be thin. If it’s wide open, the jackfruit leaves baskets may not hold their shape after they’ve been filled with batter and put in the steamer. If they aren’t packed firmly enough inside your steamer, they will fall off. 
13. To create a wide enough hole to put batter into these jackfruit leaves baskets, fold one of the leaves outwards as in the image above.
14. Allow the idlis to cool for a minute after steaming to prevent them from splitting apart.  
15. Then, one by one, pull off the leaves to extract the steamed idlis. 
16. Enjoy them while they’re still hot! 

Observation:

These jackfruit leaves baskets are traditionally woven by women and then washed. They then air dry them upside down for a few hours to ensure that no water remains in the baskets. If there is any leftover water, it will dilute the batter. To save time and effort, I like to wash the leaves first and then wipe them dry.

Tags: GSB Konkani recipe, vegan, vegetarian recipe, South Canara Konkani recipe, Konkani cooking, GSB Konkani cuisine, hittu, khotto, khotte, khotte kadubu, jackfruit leaves basket, GSB Konkani recipe, vegan, vegetarian dish, GSB Konkani cuisine 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you weave jackfruit leaves?

I am not sure what you mean by weave.

How do you use jackfruit leaves in an aquarium?

You can use them as a part of the decoration in your aquarium.

Related Tag

• jack fruit images