Kithul buttermilk or Chaas/ eendu masala majjige/ Savory Buttermilk with kithul flour

This tree is a multipurpose tree and any part of this doesn’t go waste, but lesser known & mostly underrated. Yes, I am talking about Caryota urens, a plant belongs to Palm family. Eendu as we call it in Mangalore/ Coastal Karnataka is found very commonly in India, Shrilanka, Myanmar, Malaysia.  The trunk & leaves are favorite food of elephants (The leaf is called as eendina kai). The tree is known for toddy, which the wine made from the sap of various palm tree. Though the tree was found around us, we never used any of its product as food. It was about 2 years ago when we travelled to Karkala, a town near Mangalore I observed something written as “Illi eendu siguthade” ( Kannada), means Kitul is available here in many shops on the way. As I was into food blogging already, I was attracted to such things and wanted to try local food always. Somehow, I could not stop & buy then and made my mind that I will buy during my next visit to the place😊

Later I read posts of my friend who is also a blogger – Shrikripa and wanted to try this flour at any cost.  So, during our next Karkala visit, I made it a point to buy some of this flour. I also checked with an old man in the shop about its usage and how do they use it as food. He told me that, they just mix this flour with cool water kept in earthen pitcher / madike (in kannada) overnight and drink it in the morning. He added, you can have it with buttermilk too! It works as a wonderful coolant. The Kitul flour is believed to be helpful in lowering blood pressure and the cooling property helps in curing cracked heals, ulcers… This flour is a best thickener for soups, gravies, even payasa/ kheer.. 

 After bringing this flour home, I was bit confused as I could not differentiate between Kitul flour and arrowroot flour (from MIL). Then my friends Shrikripa & Vidyalakshmi of Sahaja Natural farms helped me with the properties. As they said, this is more gluey, if little more flour is added than required, it quickly turns into hard jelly which is not the case with arrowroot. I also did some online research to learn how this flour is used in Srilanka & other countries and found many interesting facts. Today I am sharing a simplest and quickest drink made with the kittul flour and buttermilk which is just perfect for the season. It reduces the body heat and works as wonder against the scorching summer heat. You can call it as masala majjige or chaas or buttermilk, but it is with the goodness of Kitul or eendu. Other names of the tree are – Caryota urens (scientific mane), Baine mara or Baine tree (Kannada), Toddy palm/ Jaggery palm are other common names.

Now let us jump to the recipe.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2

 

Ingredients:

Kitul or kithul flour/ eendu hudi – 1 tsp

Buttermilk – 1 glass

Water - 1 glass

Salt – to taste

Green chilli/ birds eye chilli – 1

Finely chopped coriander leaves – ½ tsp (for garnishing)

Cumin powder – a pinch

Method:

• Dissolve 1 tsp kithul flour in ½ glass of water. Boil it until cooked on low flame, keep stirring so that no lumps are formed. It will be done in 3-4 minutes maximum.
• Allow cooling.
• Mix cooked kithul, buttermilk & remaining water. You can make thinner by adding more water depending on your liking.
• Add crushed chilli, coriander paste. Add salt and cumin powder too.
• If required, you can churn once using a mixie in a juice jar which is optional.
• Serve with or without ice cubes. Enjoy this refreshing drink.

Notes:

• Adding more flour may result in lumps which cannot blend with buttermilk.
• This flour doesn't have any smell or special taste.
• This works as a best food thickener.
• You can apply your own recipe of making masala buttermilk. There is not any rules!