Saemai da addae a.k.a nook addae or gonchel dosae
This is a noodle like preparation traditionally made from par boiled rice. One of the key differences between Idiappam and Semai da Adde is that, in idiappam the raw noodles are steamed while for the nook addae, it is the rice balls which are steamed prior to pressing. In addition, Idiappam uses rice flour instead of cooked rice. In olden days, the end product was often dried, tied up in rice hay to make large balls (known as mudis) and then stored in the loft for lean times when food was scarce, or set aside to be given to the kids as a snack. Rice is still available in mudis (but the practice is slowly dying) with a mudi holding 42 saers (seer’s) of rice. This is approx 39 kilos. The interesting thing is that the loft was right above the kitchen fireplace and made out of criss-crossed wooden beams painted with Cashew nut oil (which is caustic) to keep the termites at bay. The smoke from the fireplace which burned for long hours each day, thanks in part to the large joint families of that time, kept insects and pests at bay and the stored food from going bad. Turning the handle of the nook addae press was a tough job and usually the women would fill the press and collect the addae in little bundles on a tray made from the outer layer of the trunk (stem) of the banana plant, while one of the menfolk turned the handle. It was also called gonchhel (Lit. bunch) dosae because the noodles were collected in small bundles or bunches from under the press.
An interesting oft repeated custom or apocryphal tale goes something like this. When people traveled in the past, they had to travel long distances on foot or ox cart for many days. They therefore used this opportunity to drop in on their relatives whose houses fell on the way. It was also safer as most of the area was heavily wooded and populated by wild animals. When they stayed at a relative’s place, unlike now, they understandably stayed for more than a few days. When they overstayed their welcome and became a burden to the limited resources of their host, they were usually fed the nook (push) addae to give them a hint that it was time for them to leave. Once again, this could either be an apocryphal tale or a discreet/polite way of bidding the guests goodbye.
For those who landed on this page via a search engine, remember that the red “F” indicates that the batter or dough for the preparation is fermented overnight. It would also taste slightly sour on account of this.
Idlis steamed and ready in a modern aluminum steamer
This, like the dosa, is very common in south Indian cooking. As mentioned before, the dough is ground coarsely (relative to the dosa) and poured into oiled idly molds and steamed in a steamer. Kottaes and Moodaes are similar except that they are poured into cups made out of leaves from the dattoli and the jack fruit trees respectively. I wonder if these were how idlis were made before the advent of metal cups. When the leaf molds are used today, people use pieces from broomsticks made from the coconut leaf or strip a leaf or two from a fallen frond or more traditionally, use the long thorns of the karkate mullu shrub. I have seen people making idlis in restaurants covering the idly mold with a cloth before pouring, instead of oiling the molds. Our idlis were not traditionally shaped like the thin pressure cooker idli stand molded idlis available today. They were much thicker and uniform -as shown in the picture. My grandmother even used stainless steel tea cups! Personally though, I prefer the thinner restaurant style idlis.
A pair of moodaes
This is made from a long leaf from the dattoli ( probably from datt’ = thick and Voli = long leaf) plant after stripping off its thorns. This leaf is similar in shape to the Yucca and probably belongs to the same Agavaceae family. It is however less fibrous than the Yucca. It is wrapped around itself spirally to form a longish container (about 5 to 8 cm in length on average and with a diameter of about 4 cm) into which the batter is poured. The cooked moodae is then unwrapped, sliced and eaten just like an idly would be. Of course anything steamed in a leaf becomes more flavorsome as it absorbs the flavor of the leaf. Like idly, this is steamed in a traditional steamer which has a perforated shelf (picture in part 1 of this post) on which the filled moodae leaf molds are positioned. Ready made moodae leaf molds are also available for sale in the market.
The Gunda is a kind of an idly-gatti cross -it is fermented like an idli but the consistency of its dough and its steaming is like that of a gatti. Once again, a relatively thick dough is patted into place on a large leaf of the pongar tree. The dough is placed on half of the leaf and the leaf folded over. It is steamed on the standard steamer which has a perforated shelf on which the filled leaves are stacked.
Kottiagae or kottae
Kottige (kotti -gay) or Kottae is similar to the moodae, the only difference being that leaves from the Jack fruit tree are used here. Four leaves are pinned together to form a cup as opposed to the single dattoli leaf used for the moodae. The leaves are left in the sun to wilt and soften for about 15 minutes or harvested and left overnight to make them pliable enough to form cups. This is necessary because fresh leaves tear easily and the batter will then flow out of holes/tears in the mold. If it is not made and pinned properly, the batter will leak out as it is poured. The cups are traditionally secured with thorns from the karkate mullu plant or from pieces broken off from the midrib of the coconut leaf. (about 1.5 cm long)
This is a dish that has probably been adopted from north Karnataka. The griddle used was made of stone ( later of cast iron & now stainless steel or aluminum alloy an even teflon non-stick griddles). It is known there as Padd’ and as guri appa here in and around Udupi. The griddle has a number of circular depressions or pits like the halves of a hollow sphere . These are oiled and filled with batter. Onions, chopped chillies etc… are often added to the batter. When it is done, it is pried out with the tip of a knife. If you go towards Dharwad you can still see stone griddles being sold in the weekly market.
A gatti wrapped in a teak leaf (This will give the gatti a reddish tint)
The gatti is a semi-solid paste which is wrapped in a leaf much like you would wrap a gift in wrapping paper and then steamed in a steamer. The kinds of gatti usually either get their names from the leaf that is used to wrap the gatti or from its main ingredient. E.g Manjal da gatti is made by wrapping the dough in a manjal (turmeric) leaf while pelakai da gatti is made by adding ripe jack fruit to the dough which is then wrapped either in teak or banana leaves. The other fruit that is rarely used because of its smell is the gatti made from the cashew fruit. In fact in our place, most of the cashew fruits are left to fall to the ground and rot or fed to cattle, ( I can see Goans shaking their heads sadly… so much Feni down the drain 
) while their nuts are treasured. (The termite resistant caustic oil in the nut shell is used to paint wood. The cashew nut sells for a high price). Like the plantain plant (Musa balbisiana) and the tender coconut, cashew juice can can stain your clothes permanently.
The leaves that are used are the Manjal (turmeric -arasina in Kannada), Mature Tekki (Teak) leaves (Gatti’s wrapped in teak leaves take on a reddish hue), baaarae or baare (banana – Musa balbisiana ), pela (jack fruit), Uppalige (probably Macaranga indica) and the Pongar leaf. The gatti made from turmeric leaves are usually stuffed with grated coconut and crushed jaggery. Since most of the gattis are more or less flat rectangular packages and might block the flow of steam, the female end (The shoot end) of a halved coconut shell is placed over the large central steam hole in the steamer after making a hole in the coconut shell through the soft black eye of the coconut where the shoot generally emerges from. The gattis are then placed around the shell or left leaning on it.
A Pongar leaf. If someone knows the botanical name of this plant please leave a comment. Thanks.
The Pongar leaf Gatti is also used for medicinal purposes. Once a year in the summer, Mango seeds ( Mangifera indica ) were shelled and the endosperm (cotyledons) soaked in water for 3 days. This was then ground and used as the chief ingredient for making the Pongar Gatti. Germinated Mango seeds that had fallen from the trees and had been soaking in the rain, were also used, as the seed cover would have split open by itself. There are some differences of opinion on whether the seed cotyledons were soaked for a few days and whether the red layer on the cotyledons was scraped off. This preparation is reputed to have a cooling effect on the body. In my maternal grandmother’s house. This was mandatory to be eaten once a year during the hot mango season.
Pundi with chutney
The name comes from the process of forming balls with a fistful of hot dough to shape the pundi. Coconut, chopped green chillies, onion etc can be added to it. The dough can be seasoned with curry leaves and mustard in oil. The balls are then steamed as usual. Inserting a wet tooth pick or knife tip into the pundi lets you know when it is done. Like most of the other preparations, it can be adapted for breakfast or for any of the meals. Since the dough is stiff, it doesn’t need any container to hold it. pundis can also be stuffed with a mixture of grated coconut and crushed jaggery before steaming to turn it into a sweet dish.
A chilmi mould made from a leaf of the Jackfruit tree
The chilmi has the exact same ingredients as that of the sweet pundi mentioned above. The only difference here is that a leaf container is made from a single jackfruit leaf which is twisted and pinned to form a cone.
This is totally different from any of our preparations and must have had a European heritage or have been brought here by one of the Basel Mission’s missionaries who were of German origin. It is in fact a recipe that a lot of people would use to bake bread, cake or bannock when camping in the outdoors. An iron,cast iron or pottery griddle is placed on the fireplace or hearth which is called a dikkel in Tulu. This is lined with a a couple of centimeters of sand. The inside of a vessel/pot is greased with ghee (clarified butter) which is then placed on the sand. A single layer of banana leaves is placed in the container to prevent the dosa from sticking to it in case you choose not to brush the inside of the pot with ghee (Clarified butter) -probably a workaround for poor families. This is allowed to cook slowly. when it is just about done, the top of the gendaddae is brushed with clarified butter, the lid put back on, and sufficient coals scooped from the fireplace and placed on the lid. This was supposed to be cooked unhurriedly. My mum says that it was often left overnight in this state and eaten in the morning. This is also one of the few recipes where baking soda is used in place of fermented batter. This addae was on an average about 5 cm thick.
Kori rotti (Chicken curry with rotti)
This is a thin, flat, dry & brittle preparation sold in sheets in the market. It needs considerable expertise to spread a fine even and thin layer of rice batter over a flat griddle. Nevertheless, in times gone by people made it at home as markets were far away and only on designated days and money scarce. This was a time when people were truly self reliant. They might not have had a lot of money, but then they didn’t have a lot of expenses either. They even made their own tooth powders and medicines and let nature deliver their babies. Kori rotti (chicken rotti) is a delicacy here. The rotti is placed on the plate and broken into manageable pieces and then chicken curry is spooned over to soften the hard rotti. Curry in Tulu is kachhpu, however some curry preparations are also called paladya and some others saar (usually thin soupy gravies).
The traditional way of making it was by using the bottom of a damaged gurkae -a huge pot any where from 1/2 to 2 meters or more in diameter which was used to heat bath water for the whole family. (The gurkae was/is placed over a fireplace and fitted in such a way that it can be fired from outside the house, while the pot can be filled and hot water used from within the bathroom -sans the smoke. They are probably no longer made from pottery, but copper and aluminum gurkaes are still around.)
A copper gurkae (Goor-kay) seated into the bathroom corner
The base of the broken gurkae was placed over the fireplace and heated. No oil was used. probably the pot base was sponged with salt water between each rotti to make it non stick. What stands out here is that the ground rice has to be freshly ground. It has to be so fresh that one person must keep grinding small quantities of rice to a watery batter while the other simultaneously pours the batter onto the griddle. By running the edge of a flat metal sheet over the batter, he/she quickly spreads it out evenly till the thickness is about that of a millimeter. The rotti comes out as a flat sheet which was traditionally stacked on a madal (A woven coconut frond that was also used to create partitions in a room, to thatch or extend a roof or make shutters for the windows during the rains) hanging over the fireplace. this allows the heat of the fireplace to dry out the rotti completely. This rotti has a long shelf life.
There are also other rottis made from jowar, bajra and corn none of which I have eaten. These are thicker and usually patted into place on a vodu (an inward sloping griddle made from pottery). All of the rottis were made on such clay griddles. Between the rottis, a rag was dipped in salt water and dabbed on the surface of the vodu to prevent the rotti from sticking to the vodu.
Tamarind (tamarindus indica) was also stored above the fireplace to protect it from worms. Tamarind was shelled, de-seeded and pounded in a mortar probably with salt and with a bit of water till it could be formed into a ball of the right consistency. This was then wrapped in banana leaves and tied with fibers from the same tree and then sold in the weekly market called the Santae or Sante. After purchase, a hole of the appropriate size would be made in the packet and the required quantity of tamarind removed from it. This was then stored in the rafters above the fireplace where the smoke kept the tamarind from getting infested with worms.
Bimbuli (Averrhoa bilimbi)
Tomatoes were not available at that time so tamarind (tamarindus indica) was used for imparting a sour taste to dishes. Tamarind is puli in Tulu and huli in Kannada. There are other types of souring agents also called puli which are not now so common. Some of them are esal puli, budd’ puli, ambade, punare puli (kokum), bimbuli (Averrhoa bilimbi) aka the pickle tree and Jaarige (probably Garcinia gummi-gutta). It is important to remember that cast iron reacts with any thing that is sour, so after cooking food should be immediately transferred to another container. It might also react with copper and brass, thus the practice of tin plating (kalai paadun) the inside of copper and brass cooking pots from time to time.
Exceptions here are daare puli (Literally ridged tamarind) (Averrhoa carambola), aka star fruit and ambade, both of which are sweetish when ripe. They are probably called puli’s, because the raw fruit is sour and is probably used in cooking.
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Glad I’ve filnlay found something I agree with!
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An excellent and lovely article which reminds us of the glory of Tulunadu. Please keep up the good work and post some more articles of this type for the benefit of people like me who are hardly aware of the delicacies of this land!
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Thanks a lot for your comment and encouragement Kshama. I grew up in Mumbai and am now in Delhi so I yearn to learn about the tradition and culture of Tulunadu and of its grand history.
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Dear Benjy,
I am a little confused. Do you want to learn about the culture and traditions of Tulunadu or about its cuisines which you have not mentioned here? This is because at the time of writing this comment, I am busy with a translation of a Tulu book entitled ‘Kathe aiyer ponnulu aiver’ an award winning book written by my famous mother Mrs. Pramoda K. Suvarna which I have translated into English with the titled ‘Five women who became legends’ and it is about to be published within a month if I am lucky. Maybe that book will be an answer to your curiosity about Tulunadu, its traditions and culture with a glossary of terms explained in English. So let me know about it.
Mrs. Kshama Shashidhar
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Hi Kshama,
My primary interest is in how the people of Tulunadu lived, what they ate etc.. in times gone by. I realized that I had done a lot of research on other cultures but was blank on my own. This section on cooking and recipes was what I could glean out of my mother and her sisters, so I put it down as they are well advanced in years and it might be the only first hand information I get. I was fascinated to know how they brushed their teeth before toothpaste or prepared turmeric, both of which for me (and now for them) come packaged from the store. I don’t plan to write much on cooking, apart from a few traditional hand me down recipes.
I’ve only recently been able to lay my hands on the book by Rev. A Manner on Tulu grammar which was very exciting. I’d like to see the Tulu lipi in use once again though. It also revealed that the Tulu we speak as protestant Christians is not the real Tulu. I’d love to be able to spend time with the fisherfolk and tribals of this region and learn about their ancestors, bushcraft skills and how they survived the times before the industrial revolution.
The translation of your mother’s book would be very interesting to read! Please let me know when it is done.
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Hi Benjy,
It was really very refreshing to hear so promptly from you. I have no idea where you are based at present. If you are based closer to Udupi, I suggest you make a small visit to my place where you can get a chance to have first hand information about some more recipes from Tulunadu as my mother is a great cook too but that is only if it is not too inconvenient to you. She can give you a lot of inputs about what they used to wear including their inner wears! Also some inputs on what were the items used in beauty care, ornaments used etc, etc! Besides she would love to have research intellectuals like you for a tete-a-tete. For more information you can contact me on 9845650345. Yes, I will let you know when my book will be published.
Mrs. Kshama Shashidhar
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Hi Kshama,
That was very kind of you. I am based in Delhi. I will let you know whenever I am in Udupi. Thanks again.
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