Kozhukattai

Kozhukattai

Say lord Ganesha’s name and the first couple of things that come to my mind is remover of obstacles and lover of kozhukattai, the wonderful sweet dumpling. Don’t ask me if the lord himself told me he likes it but I can speak for myself and say I love it. Ganapathy being more popular among Iyers or shivites, iyengars call the lord Thumbikkai Azhwar. Not all iyengar families celebrate vinayaga chathurthi elaborately but as my brother and I were keen, my mom always encouraged us to celebrate. We would go with my father to a nearby temple and buy the idol, one for my bro and one for me. Then pick a nice umbrella for each of our idols and ofcourse buy garlands, arugam pul etc. and head back home. The interesting bit is decorating the place where we will keep the idol and worship. My mom would make the festive meal and ofcourse kozhukattai. My grandmother makes this dish so well and she makes it seem so easy. I also learned some tips from my MIL to shape them nicely, it is no surprise that she is good at that as she is from iyer family. Anyway, here is the recipe...

1 cup rice

1 coconut, grated

¾ cup jaggery, crushed or powdered

Oil

Soak the rice for about 10 minutes and spread on a cheesecloth so it dries completely. Grind to fine powder

In a kadai, put the rice flour and add required amount of hot water to make a soft dough. You may add few drops of ghee to increase flavour and aroma

In a kadai, sauté the coconut and jaggery until they come together

Pinch lime sized ball of dough and make it like a cup by pressing it between your fingers of both hands

Place a spoon of the coconut jaggery mixture and seal it by pulling over the dough and sealing by pressing the dough

Steam for about 10-15 minutes, until the dough becomes glossy

Serve!