Kesuvina Gojju

What is kesuvina gojju (colocasia leaf gojju)?

Kesuvina gojju (ಕೆಸುವಿನ ಗೊಜ್ಜು) is a colocasia leaf gojju: a thick relish of chopped colocasia leaves and stalks, cooked with tamarind or another sour, then finished with roasted spices, jaggery and a coconut oil tempering. Kesu (ಕೆಸು) is the Kannada word for colocasia, also called taro or arbi. Kesuvina means “of colocasia”.

Gojju is a family of thick sweet, sour and spicy dishes, a little like a cooked chutney. A spoon of gojju sits on the side of the banana leaf and is mixed with rice, a little at a time. A good kesuvina gojju tastes sour first, then sweet, then hot, with the earthy, slightly smoky taste of the leaves underneath.

Many families call it simply kesu gojju. In some homes it is made thin enough to pour, while in others it is thick and almost dry. Both are right. What matters is that the leaves melt into the sauce and never scratch the throat.

Where does Malenadu kesu grow?

Malenadu kesu grows wild and in gardens wherever the soil stays wet: beside streams, around wells, along the channels of areca gardens and at the edges of paddy fields. It shoots up with the first monsoon rains in June and the leaves are at their best from June to September.

That is why kesuvina gojju is monsoon food. When rain falls for weeks and the market is far, the greens around the house become the vegetables. Kesu, bamboo shoot and wild mushrooms are the three monsoon foods every Malenadu kitchen waits for. Our Malenadu food guide shows where they fit in the meal.

Every family knows its own kesu. Some clumps itch badly however long you cook them, while others are gentle. Older cooks keep the gentle plant growing near the house and pass on suckers from it, so the same “good kesu” stays in a family for years.

Why do colocasia leaves itch and how do you stop it?

Colocasia leaves itch because they hold tiny needle shaped crystals of calcium oxalate that prick the mouth and throat when the leaves are eaten raw or undercooked. A technical bulletin from ICAR’s Central Tuber Crops Research Institute names calcium oxalate as the cause of this “acridity” and notes that boiling, steaming, frying and pressure cooking reduce it. Malenadu cooks have handled this for generations with three simple rules.

1. Pick the right leaves. Use tender, fresh green leaves from a plant your family trusts. Old, yellow or torn leaves are more likely to itch.
2. Cook them fully. The leaves must be cooked until they collapse into a soft green mass. Half cooked kesu is what gives kesuvina gojju its bad name.
3. Add a strong sour. Tamarind, kokum or vate huli always goes in with the leaves. Every Malenadu cook will tell you that kesu without enough huli (sour) will itch.

Soaking also helps. One study on household processing of colocasia leaves found that soaking and cooking each lowered the oxalic acid content of the leaves. Some cooks soak the chopped leaves in water for an hour before cooking for this reason.

Always taste a tiny bit of the cooked leaves before you add the spice paste. If you feel even a faint tingle on the tongue, add more sour and cook for another five to ten minutes.

Ingredients for kesuvina gojju, explained

Kesuvina gojju needs only a handful of ingredients. Each one has a job. Here is what goes in and why.

• Colocasia leaves and stalks: the base. Use leaves no bigger than your palm with their tender stalks. Peel the thin skin off the stalks.
• The sour: tamarind is most common. Kokum (murugalu) gives a fruity sour and a deep colour. Vate huli, dried monkey jack fruit, gives the deepest, roundest tang.
• Jaggery: balances the sour and is what makes it a gojju rather than a curry. Grated jaggery or joni bella both work.
• Roasted spice paste: dry red chillies, coriander seeds, a little urad dal, cumin, a few fenugreek seeds and white sesame, roasted and ground with a little coconut.
• Turmeric and salt.
• Tempering: coconut oil, mustard seeds, a dry red chilli, curry leaves and hing.

In Malenadu homes the sour often comes from vate huli instead of tamarind. Its tang is round and fruity and it never makes the gojju taste muddy.

Jaggery is the other half of the balance. Liquid jaggery is the easiest to use here because it stirs straight in and you can add it a spoon at a time, tasting as you go.

Kesuvina gojju recipe: how to make it at home

This kesuvina gojju recipe takes about 45 minutes and serves four with rice. Most of the time is spent cooking the leaves until they are completely soft, so do not rush that part.

The finished kesuvina gojju should be dark olive brown, thick enough to sit in a small heap on the plate and smooth with no stringy bits of leaf. It should taste clearly sour and sweet, with the chilli heat coming in last.

Coconut oil is the right fat for this dish. It is what Malenadu kitchens use for gojju. Its smell carries the whole tempering.

Kesu gojju variations to try

Kesu gojju changes from house to house and from one valley to the next. These five variations are the most common.

Without coconut, with more sesame

Leave out the coconut and double the sesame. This version is darker, sharper and keeps a day longer. Many older cooks prefer it.

With kokum instead of tamarind

Soak 8 pieces of kokum in the cooking water and leave them in while the leaves cook. The colour turns a deep reddish brown and the sour is cleaner. This is the version to make if you already have kokum rind for kokum saaru.

With garlic

In homes that use garlic, fry 6 to 8 crushed cloves in the tempering until golden. It suits the earthy taste of the leaves. Many traditional Havyaka homes skip garlic and onion, so leave it out if you are cooking for them.

Stalks only (kesuvina dantu gojju)

Use only the peeled stalks, cut into short pieces. They cook in a few minutes and stay slightly crunchy. Simmer them with tamarind, jaggery and a spoon of saaru powder for a quick, thinner gojju.

A hotter kesu gojju

Grind one or two gandhari menasu, the tiny bird eye chillies of Malenadu backyards, into the paste in place of two dry red chillies. The heat is sharp and fresh. Our bird eye chilli is very hot, so start with one.

What to serve with kesuvina gojju

Kesuvina gojju is best with plain hot rice and a spoon of ghee, as a side to a simple saaru meal. It also goes well with breakfast staples.

• Rice and ghee: the classic. Mix a little gojju into each mouthful of rice.
• Saaru and tambuli: a monsoon lunch of menthya tambuli, then rice with saaru, with kesuvina gojju on the side.
• Akki rotti: the thick rice flour flatbread of the hills, with gojju instead of chutney.
• Dose and kadubu: a spoon of gojju next to plain dose or steamed kadubu.
• Curd rice: the sweet and sour gojju lifts plain curd rice at the end of a meal.

Other kesu recipes from Malenadu homes

Kesuvina gojju is one of several kesu recipes that Malenadu homes make through the rains. Once you have a good plant, you will want to try the others.

Dish	What it is	Part used
Pathrode	Leaves spread with a spiced rice paste, rolled, steamed and sliced	Leaves
Kesuvina ele chutney	Leaves cooked with tamarind and ground with roasted dal and coconut	Leaves
Kesuvina dantu gojju	Quick gojju of peeled stalks	Stalks
Kesuvina gadde palya	Boiled corms stir fried with spices and coconut	Corms
Kesuvina gadde huli	Corms cooked in a sour coconut curry	Corms

The same rule runs through all of them: cook well and never skimp on the sour. For the Kannada names of the leaves, roots and spices in these dishes, see our list of spice and ingredient names in Kannada.

How long does kesuvina gojju keep?

Kesuvina gojju keeps for a day at room temperature and three to four days in the fridge in a clean, closed jar. The sour, jaggery and oil help it keep longer than most vegetable dishes. Always use a dry spoon.

Warm it gently before serving. The gojju thickens as it cools, so stir in a spoon of hot water if needed. If it smells sour in a fermented way or grows mould, throw it out.

Common mistakes when making kesuvina gojju

Most problems with kesuvina gojju come from undercooked leaves or a poor sour and sweet balance. Here is what to watch for.

1. Undercooking the leaves. This is what causes itching. Cook until completely soft and taste before adding the paste.
2. Too little sour. Kesu needs more sour than most vegetables. Be generous.
3. Using old or yellow leaves. They itch more and taste bitter.
4. Burning the spices. Roast on low heat. Burnt chillies or fenugreek make the whole gojju bitter.
5. Skipping the jaggery. Without it the dish tastes harsh and flat.
6. Picking from roadsides or drains. Pick only from clean water and clean soil.

What to cook next

Kesuvina gojju is one dish in a full monsoon meal. Pair it with our kokum saaru recipe and a tambuli, then explore the rest of the hill kitchen in our Malenadu food guide. The sours, jaggery and oil used on this page are all in our spices section and natural sweeteners.

Frequently asked questions about kesuvina gojju