Itoo – I came across this recipe last year. Till then I had only heard about it. Since I had just got some fresh jackfruit leaves from India I decided to not just make it but shoot a video while I did. It was a super fun thing to do – shape leaves into cones. I totally love such rustic recipes that think out of the box. Mangalore has plenty of such recipes that make use of leaves to cook food in. From kottige to patholi we enjoy our food steamed in leaves isn’t it? From the same batch of leaves that came from Mangalore I also made Idiyo (Steamed Rice Dumplings). Somehow I left this recipe in my drafts to languish for almost a year (no kidding!) Now that the kids are having their summer vacations I am all set to pull out my recipes in draft and post them before yet another year passes by.
Since I have been a die hard fan of the kottige (another way of steaming idlis in jackfruit leaves), I thoroughly enjoyed the Itoo as the flavour was almost the same. The leaf cones are an attractive packaging that is definitely a genius idea cooked up by some masterchef Mangalorean. Do scroll down below to watch how its made. I hope you enjoy it!
Do check out the video of how to make this dish! I hope you enjoy it!
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Itoo
Ingredients
- 20-22 fresh jackfruit leaves approx
- unused broom sticks or toothpicks
- 1 cup raw rice
- 1/2 cup black gram dal urad dal
Instructions
To make the leaf cones
- Wash the jackfruit leaves & pat them dry with a clean kitchen cloth.
- Take a leaf and fold one side of it towards the centre, then fold the other side towards the centre to form a cone. Ensure that there are no gaps or else the batter will spill out
- Secure the cone with the toothpicks or broom sticks. Repeat till all the leaves have been shaped.
For the batter
- Wash and soak the rice and the urad separately for 3-4 hours. Then drain the water and grind the urad dal till smooth & fluffy. Add it to a pan
- Grind the rice to a smooth batter and add this to the same pan. Mix both the batters using your bare hands till everything is well incorporated.
- Keep aside to ferment in a warm & dry place of your kitchen, about 6-8 hours or overnight.
To steam the Itoo
- When the batter has fermented, add salt to taste and give it a good mix
- Arrange the prepared cones in an idli steamer in such a way that they stand upright.
- Pour the batter, about 2/3rds full into the cones. Cover the pan and steam for 15 minutes
- Carefully open the steamer and remove the Itoo using a pair of kitchen tongs.
- Peel off the leaves and serve hot with dal, sambar or any veg or non veg curry. You can even enjoy them plain or with ghee & sugar
Disclaimer
The nutritional values are only indicative.
Ingredients used in this Itoo idli steamed is different from sanna recipe in Itoo, urad and raw rice is used and in sanna 3 ingredients. Using only raw rice will the idli cooked in the leaf cone be soft.
Hi Juliana,
I got this recipe from Isidore Coelho’s Konkani book. Yes, as you pointed out, these are not sannas. The itoo were soft, a bit like kottige which are also steamed in jackfruit leaves
Thanks for sharing Shireen !!! I’m thinking of experimenting it with a drop of kewra water and some butter paper to substitute for the jackfruit leaves. Dont know how it will turn out 😀
Wow! You are very creative Sandy 😀 Can’t wait for your feedback!
Can I use basmati rice for this?
You can…any raw rice variety would do.
wonderful presentation and detailing mam. it vd hav been an added advantage of giving information about where the cones are available in market or online
Thanks a lot for your kind words Uma!Actually I am not aware of where these cones would be available. In Mangalore you could try the central market or the flower market in Car Street. Not sure if they are available online. I made them by hand, they are pretty easy to make if you can source some jackfruit leaves