Authentic Kotte Kadubu | How to make idli in jackfruit leaves

Kotte kadubu or idli in jackfruit leaves detailed recipe with step by step pictures and a quick video. Mangalore – Udupi style kotte kadubu is quite easy to make. This is a glutenfree and vegan recipe.

All around the world, across many cuisines, its a common practise of cooking food wrapped in leaves.

Jackfruit leaves have many herbal and culinary uses

Down South in India we find people using banana leaves, jackfruit , screwpine leaves, turmeric leaves in steam cooking food.

This kotte kadubu is healthy, softer bigger in size and modak shape in comparison to normal idlis. This is an authentic and traditional dish prepared during Ganesh Chaturthi and Nagarapanchami in most of the households of coastal Karnataka.

Idli or kadubu is considered as one of the healthiest breakfast option as this is gut friendly as they are fermented food.

In karavali region of Karnataka, kotte kadubu with sambar is go to breakfast in most of the restaurants.

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Karavali special Kotte Kadubu

Kotte kadubu is also called as kotte idli or gunda. Fluffy aromatic and delicious dish from coastal Karnataka or Karavali. In kannada it is called as halisna ele kadubu.

Kotte kadubu or kotte idli is a traditional recipe from coastal Karnataka. These are steamed rice cakes in jackfruit leaves. This is Mangalorean and Udupi regional cuisine.

Udupi style kotte kadubu is vegan and glutenfree recipe.

These soft and fluffy kadubu is one of the best breakfast recipe. And one big kadubu will surely fill your tummy at one go!!!!!

When we say idli steamed in jackfruit leaves cup doesn’t mean we have to eat the leaves with the idli. We have to un-wrap or unmould the leaves and then serve them. The leaves are discarded and not reused.

Kotte kadubu batter mainly prepared with urad dal and rice rava or idli rava. This makes the batter a slight coarse compared to normal Bangalore or Tamil Nadu style idli.

Kotte kadubu leaf used in this recipe are jackfruit leaves.

Gunda or kadubu is soft with aroma of jackfruit leaves. The healthy flavours of jackfruit leaves makes this idli the best.

However, as we move up away towards the western ghats or malnad regions, they use banana leaves to make the moulds.

Coastal Karnataka people use both banana leaves and jackfruit leaves to make kadubu.

Making kotte kadubu with jackfruit leaves has been favourite part of festivals. When I was a kid, we used to visit our maternal grandparents and this kotte kadubu was our breakfast every alternative day.

I learnt making kotte from cousin sister who is a great inspiration to me in many ways. From then on whenever we find jackfruit leaves, this is a must breakfast in our family.

If you love coastal Karnataka recipe, check the recipes on blog

How different is this kotte kadubu from normal idli?

Kotte kadubu is large, aromatic and soft modak shape compared to our typical traditional idli.

These kadubu are steamed in jackfruit leaves however traditional idli is cooked in greased idli plates.

Kotte kadubu requires more time to cook compared to normal idli.

List of ingredients used in kotte kadubu

Gather the ingredients to make this delicious kadubu using jackfruit leaves mould.

To make kadubu moulds:

Jackfruit leaves

Clean thin 1 ¼ inch sticks / Coconut leaf stick / Hidisudi kaddi

To make idli batter:

Rice rava or akki tari (as called in kannada)

Urad dal

And add salt as per taste.

So, we have all the ingredients and next we learn to weave the jackfruit moulds.

Selection of jackfruit leaves

The selection of jackfruit leaves is an important step.

If the leaves are very mature, then they break after while weaving these into moulds.

Gather good fresh semi-tender leaves. They should not be too soft otherwise the moulds do not stand stiff and upright while preparing the kadubu.

To make the process simple, after you select tender leaves, select four same sized leaves to prepare kotte.

Same sized leaves helps to get a perfect cup shape otherwise the mould height becomes uneven and the batter might spill out.

Now let’s see how to weaves these same sized leaves into kotte.

What kind of sticks to use in fastening the leaves?

It is important to select good small sticks for fastening the jackfruit leaves. If the sticks are too thick, then they create large holes in the leaves. As a result, the batter leaks out of the moulds.

So how to avoid this leakage, select thin sharp coconut leaf stick. We also call this as hidisudi kaddi in kannada.

Use any other stick which are not blunt and thick. Do not use toothpick, these tend to make big holes.

Which rice is used in kotte kadubu batter?

Kotte kadubu is prepared using rice rava or idli rava and urad dal or split black gram.

Use good brand rice rava available in the market. Clean dust free rice rava should be used. Rinse and wash the rice rava before using it.

What is the alternative to rice rava?

If you don’t find rice rava, need not worry. You can soak dosa rice for 30 minutes and shade dry the rice on cloth. After 30 minutes, make a coarse powder of rice.

Use this coarse rice in the kotte kadubu batter. The process seems a bit time consuming however a best alternative to store brought rice rava.

Few people use Bombay rava or semolina, but I have never use this for preparing kadubu.

What is the ratio of rice rava to urad dal ?

In every idli or kadubu recipe, the ratio of rice rava and urad dal is important to get soft idli.

We use rice rava and urad dal in the ratio of 2:1 in making kadubu batter. Since we grind urad dal in wet grinder, it becomes light and fluffy comparatively when ground in table-top mixer. So this ratio makes a perfect batter.  

The quality of urad dal and rice rava also play an important role in this recipe.

How to make the kotte kadubu batter?

Soft and fluffy kadubu can be prepared if the batter is of right consistency. Soaking urad dal for right time is also key point.

Do not soak for more than two hours, the odour of urad dal changes if its soaked for long time.

Make sure you soak the dal with enough water as it swells over time and requires more water than rice.

As I said earlier the ratio of urad dal and rice rava is also key to get a perfect batter.

Do not add more water while grinding urad dal. Also add water little by little. The urad dal batter should be thick flowy and not watery. However, we can adjust the batter consistency at the end while mixing.

And don’t be tempted to wash the grinder and add the water to the batter. If you want to save the water, use this for watering your plants.

As the dal is grinding it raises and becomes fluffy, this is perfect grinding.

Use soaked water for grind the dal, this also helps to get fluffy kadubu.

Grinding stone is also an important part of grinding for batter. Since the surface area is large enough for grinding it doesn’t create much friction and as a result less heat. This results in soft fluffy kadubu. However, in mixer grinder, more heat is created while grinding the dal. 

Next important step here is mixing the ground urad dal and soaked rice rava. I recommend mixing with hands to ensure proper mixing and break the lumps of rice rava.

How long the kadubu batter be fermented?

The first key point my mother-in-law says mixing with hands ensures good fermentation. So I follow this and I suggest when you are doing any idli or dosa batter follow this hand magic. 

For fermentation, always pour the batter into large bowl, since the batter rises and spills out if you use a small bowl.

Do not add salt before fermentation, as it inhibits the microbial fermentation. We ferment the kadubu batter overnight.

If you plan to prepare kotte kadubu during summers, batter can be fermented for 8 hours. During winters it takes long hours for the kadubu batter to ferment.

How long to steam the kadubu?

Kotte kadubu can be steamed in idli steamer. Fill water in steamer with the plate in top as mentioned by the manufacturer.

If you do not have a steamer, then do not worry you can always use the pressure cooker. Fill water as required, place a ring or stand at the bottom and use this for steaming kotte kadubu.

Keep this water for boiling while you plan to pour the batter into the kotte. This is important for proper steaming cooking. This is very much like pre-heating the oven for baking.

If the water is boiling in the steamer, when the batter filled moulds are placed on the plate, kadubu directly starts to cook.

This ensures that after 20 mins of steaming kadubu is perfectly done.

Do not over cook the kadubu, this makes them dry.

Kotte kadubu requires more time to cook compared to normal idli. Since these are big in size and it must cook till the center of kadubu.

After 20 minutes, to check if they are cooked, insert a knife or fork at the center, it comes out clean.

The other way the surface of the kadubu slightly cracks open, this ensures they are perfectly cooked (This is the tip I have learnt from my mother-in-law).

Can we reuse the jackfruit leaves mould?

We cannot reuse the jackfruit leaves mould. After unmoulding they are thrown away or used as compost.

I assure you the happiness you get after eating this kotte kadubu will be satisfying!!!! They are so delicious.

Can we refrigerate the moulds and batter?

Unused moulds can be refrigerated in a covered plastic for a day.

They cannot be stored for long as the odour of the leaves change and kadubu do not taste good.

Kadubu batter can be refrigerated as we do for idli batter. Do not add salt when you plan to do so.

What if I can’t make the mould?

Making jackfruit leaves mould is an art, perfect leaves, perfect sticks and an experienced hand to make weave the moulds.

This said its simple technique, little patience and practise will help you to make this mould.

However, if you still find it difficult, you can follow this method. Take tall stainless-steel tumbler, pour the batter and place individual jackfruit leaves on the circumference of the tumbler.

This way it imparts the aroma of jackfruit leaves to the kadubu.

Detailed recipe of kotte kadubu

Lets see a detailed recipe instructions on how to prepare the batter, how to weave the moulds and also to pour the batter and steam the kadubu

Weaving jackfruit leaves moulds

Weaving is nothing but fastening or joining using thin firm sticks – to put the jackfruit leaves together in the form of cup

Wash and clean the leaves with wet cloth.

Select semi-tender jackfruit leaves and make a group of 4 leaves of same size.

Now hold 3 leaves together and pin them together with sticks.

Next take the fourth leaf and place it on pinned leaves, attach the same with a stick.

For the first corner, fold L shape with two leaves and pin them with two sticks as shown in video.

Second corner, again fold two leaves into L shape and pin them using two sticks.

Do the same for third corner of the mould as shown in the pic below

For fourth corner also do the same, see the video in recipe card

This way you have now stitched all the four corners and prepared a beautiful mould. If the moulds are done properly they stand upright.

Now chop off three tips of the mould as shown in the video. The fourth tip helps to lift and place the mould in the steamer.

This helps in easy pouring of the batter into the mould. Keep this covered till we prepare the batter.

Kadubu batter recipe

Clean and rinse urad dal in water. Soak the same in water for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, separate the water and soaked urad dal. Grind urad dal into thick fine paste using wet grinder for 15 to 20 minutes.

Use the same soaked water while grinding. This helps in good fermentation. Add water little by little and do not add more water at once.

The fluffiness of ground urad dal can be seen.

I strongly recommend wet grinder for grinding idli/kadubu or dosa batter. Wet grinder helps to create fluffiness and aeration in the batter.

If you plan to use mixer grinder for grinding the batter, then grind at intervals and do not allow the batter to heat up.

If the batter is hot while grinding in mixer, it creates uneven fermentation.  

In the meantime, clean and soak rice rava or idli rava in little water (water just enough to soak the rava).  Keep this aside.

Take ground urad dal in a large mixing bowl. Squeeze water and add rice rava into the ground thick urad dal.

Mix the batter well with hands and bring it to right consistency.

Add water if required to the batter. Here mainly we must remember the batter consistency should be thick not watery.

So do not add more water to the batter. The batter should be dropping consistency.

Ferment the batter for 8 to 10 hours or overnight is also fine.

After fermentation, add salt as per taste to the batter and mix again.

Pouring into the mould and steaming

Take the jackfruit leaves moulds, pour in two ladles of batter straight into the moulds until ¾ th. Do not fill them full. Leave some space at the top for the kadubu to raise during steaming.

Keep the batter filled moulds in idli steamer or pressure cooker without whistle.

Steam the moulds with batter for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the moulds.

After 20 minutes of steaming, carefully open the lid and check if the kotte kadubu are done. There are two ways you can check this.

First one is, you can insert a toothpick and check.

Second one is, if you see the cracked top of the kadubu, this confirms that they are done.

Cool the kotte kadubu for 5 minutes, otherwise they break into pieces or stick to the surface of leaves.

To unmould the kadubu, remove the sticks on the sides and gently remove them.

How to serve the kotte kadubu?

These steamed kadubu is served with menthe kodilu, sweetened coconut milk, coconut chutney.

In our family we serve this with urad dal chutney and seasoned majjige menasu.

Seasoned majjige menasu recipe:

This is one of the best side dishes for kotte kadubu. It’s simple to prepare.

I have given recipe here, prepare this with your kadubu to enjoy them the most.

Heat coconut oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Next add in the majjige menasu. Fry on low heat until they turn dark black colour.

Make sure to fry them on low heat, otherwise they get burnt and does not taste good.

This mixture can be poured on the warm kadubu and served with other side dishes.

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