Sutham Punnav is a special day for Konkanis. Konkani men wear a sacred thread called the 'jannuvey' from the left shoulder around the body loosely. This is worn to symbolise the faith and purity in thought, word and deed. On this day, the old jannuvey is replaced by the new one. It is a feast for the people at home also. Many interesting dishes are prepared this day like the traditional 'hittu'. This consists of a leaf from the jackfruit tree that is thatched into a basket with small sticks. Then the idli batter is poured into the basket and sealed. It is steamed until the batter is cooked to get hittu. I love hittu... not because i like to eat it but because it gives me so much fun opening the basket out to get a cylinder of white mass in it! It tastes very much like idlis but are way more thicker than them. This hittu is paired up with a 'gessi', which usually is made of potatoes/ yam and channa dal along with a chutney. Other konkani dishes make their way into the lunch menu but one dish makes to the top of the list and is a must for sutham punnav. It is called the 'ambatt'. It can be sweet or savory and is made of dal and bananas and jaggery. Of course do not forget the 'appolu'..(a.k.a appalam, pappadam, crackers :) The appolu is the official food of konkanis. Survey says that a konkani eats the most appolu of all people! OK now don't beleive that! But trust me we eat a lot of them! And that is another nickname for a konkani.. (psst dont call me appolu)
I shall upload pics of these fabulous dishes when my mom makes it :)
