Kozhukattai- South Indian Modak

During every birthday of Lord Sri Ganesha, in India we prepare Kozhukattai and make it as an offering to him.
It is supposed to be one of the favourite dishes of Lord Ganesh.
In Tamilnadu, it is called as Kozhukattai whereas in other parts of India it is known as Modhakam.
Mostly, this is prepared mainly from rice and in some parts it is prepared from wheat or maida.
In Kozhukattai , there is a sweet and a salt variety.
Have you ever wondered how these are made? Last year, during Vinayaka Chaturthi I got a chance to see how they prepare it.(Yes! It took me one whole year to write a post about it!)

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED

·       Rice                –                 1 cup 
·       Coconut          –                  one
·       Jaggery           –                  150g
·       Cardamom Powder     –        ½ tsp
                                                   

Dough Paste

Puranam

How to Prepare:

• Soak rice in 2 cups of water and keep it aside for an hour.
• After one hour, completely squeeze the water out from the bowl, powder it.
•  Boil 1 and ½ cups of water.
•  Add 2tsp of gingerly oil.
• Mix the powder in the boiling water and make soft-smooth dough.
•  Keep it aside by closing in a wet cloth.
• Meanwhile, grate the coconut.
• Add Jaggery and the grated coconut into the frying pan.
• Mix them till it turns golden brown and add a pinch of cardamom. This is called “Puranam” for making Kozhukattai.
• Now, Keep this “Puranam” aside and let it cool.

Dough Balls

Coming to the dough part, make them into small balls as shown in the picture.

(Picture above shows the small balls of the dough)

• Now, from each ball make a small cup like shapes.
• After the “Puranam” has cooled down, according to the size of the cups (Dough) keep the “Puranam” inside the cup-dough and close it.
• Here comes the final part of the preparation, keep these uncooked Kozhukattai’s inside the cooker and steam it for 10 minutes.

HAPPY Kozhukattai-ying!!!