''botidao'' also known as ''chulesi'', ''botki'', ''dao'', ''da'', ''aruvamanai'', ''chulesi'', ''pavshi'', ''vili'', ''morli'', ''pahsul'' or ''pirdai'' is a cutting instrument, most prevalent in
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
,
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
,
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
and the
Bengal region
Bengal ( ) is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern- ...
,
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
,
Tripura
Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...
, the
Barak Valley of
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
.
It is a long curved blade that cuts on a platform held down by the foot. Both hands are used to hold whatever is being cut and move it against the blade. The sharper side faces the user.
The method gives excellent control over the cutting process and can be used to cut anything from tiny shrimp to large pumpkins.
Variations and names
A larger version of the instrument, with a bigger blade, is used for gutting and cutting fish. Another version of the instrument comprises the ''Nariyal Khuruchni'' (coconut grater) in the form of a flat round top with sharp small shark-like teeth all around it to serrate coconut. ''Dao'' or ''daa'' (one of many variants called in Bangladesh, specifically
Chittagong
Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
and
Sylhet
Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...
) is a variation of boti, which is handheld.
The cutting instrument is not unique to
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. It is also used in regions throughout
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
. It is known by different names in different languages. The names in various Indian languages or region are:
*
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
: বটি (''Boṭi''), Kuruni (''কুরুনি''- coconut grater), Dāo/Dā (''দাও/দা'' - hand-held)
*
Nepali: चुुलेेसी (''Chulesi'')
*
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
: அரிவாள்மனை/அருவமனை (''Arivāḷmaṇai''/''Aruvamaṇai''), திருவி (''Tiruvi'' - coconut grater)
*
Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
: ಈಳಿಗೆಮಣೆ (''Īḷige Maṇe''), ತುರಿಯುವ ಮಣೆ/ತುರಿಯಾ ಮಣೆ (''Turiyuva Maṇe/Turiyā Maṇe'' - coconut grater)
*
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
: ചിരവ (''Chirava'')
*
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India
** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language.
* Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
: కత్తిపీట (''Kattipīṭa''), ఈలపీట (''Ēlapīṭa'')
*
Konkani __NOTOC__
Konkani may refer to:
Language
* Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India.
* Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language
**Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
: आदोळी (''Ādoḷi'')
*
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
**Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
: मोरळी (''Morḷi''), विळी (''Viḷi''- coconut grater)
*
Odia: ପନିକି / ପନିଖି (''
Paniki''/''
Panikhi''), କୋରଣା (''Koråṇā'' - coconut grater)
*
Maithili: হাসু/কত্তা (''Hāsu/Kattā'')
*
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
: पिरदाइ (''Pirdāi''), पाहसुल (''Pāhsul'')
*
Sinhala: හිරමන්ය (''Hiramanya'' - coconut grater)
Purpose
It is designed for the cooks to sit comfortably on the floor and cut vegetables and meat with one leg folded on the wooden base and the other leg stretched. The coconut scraper is in all states mentioned above who produce and use more coconuts in the cuisine.
See also
*
Dao (Naga sword)
''Dao'' is the sword of the people of Northeastern India, mainly in the Indian states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Kachin, Sagaing region of Myanmar. The sword, with its wooden hilt, and unique square form is used for digging as ...
*
Dha (sword)
Dha (; also spelled ''dah'') is the Burmese word for "knife" and "sword" similar term to daab or darb () in Thai language for a single edge sword. The term dha is conventionally used to refer to a wide variety of knives and swords used by many ...
*
Khukri
The kukri () or khukuri (, ) is a type of knife or short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting/chopping tool throughout ...
References
{{Reflist
*