Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

Hello all, my best wishes to you with regards to Ganesh Chaturthi. Ganesh loves modak, in tamil we call it kuzhakattai. And we prepare three different types of kuzhakkati - sweet kuzhakattai, uppu kuzhakattai and mani kuzhakkatai.  Let see the recipes.

 

 

Sweet kozhukattai (Modak)

Ingredients:

Fresh grated coconut: 1 cup

Jaggery : 3/4 cup

Elaichi : 3-4

Rice flour : 1 cup

Salt :pinch

Ghee/Gingeley oil : 1/2 tsp

Note: Buy the rice flour which is specially packaged for preparing kozhukattai. e.g. 'Anil' brand Kozhukattai Rice flour.

Method:

Heat a pan, add little water, once water becomes hot, add jaggery. Keep stirring, you will see that jaggery will melt down. Now strain this melted jaggery to remove sand/impuruties.

Again heat the jaggery and once it starts boiling, add coconut and elaichi powder. Mix well. Stir till jaggery and coconut bind well with each other like halwa. (This is for pooran, used for stuffing) Switch off the flame.

Boil water which is in between 3/4th cup to 1 cup, add salt and ghee/gingelly oil. Slowly add the flour and mix well simulatenously. Make sure no lumps are formed. Switch off the flame when all the water is absorbed. Close it with a lid or wet muslin cloth. After 15-20 minutes, grease your hands with oil/ghee and knead it well into a dough.

Grease your fingers with some oil, take some rice dough (amla size), roll it between your palms and form a ball. Mould it into cup like shape, use the coconut-jaggery mixture for center stuffing and thus form dumplings.

Steam these dumplings for 8-10 min in idli cooker or normal cooker (don't put weight onto the cooker).

Uppu Kozhukattai

Ingredients:

Rice flour : 1 cup
Chana dal (kadala paruppu) : 1/2 cup
Tuwar dal : 1/4 cup

Urad dal : 1/4 cup

Salt : 3/4 to 1 tsp

Green chillies :1

Red chllies : 3

Asafoetida : pinch

Ghee/Gingeley oil : 1/2 tsp
Mustard : 1/2 tsp
Refined/groundnut oil : 1 tbsp
Curry leaves : few
Fresh coriander leaves : few

Note: Buy the rice flour which is specially packaged for preparing kozhukattai. e.g. 'Anil'

brand Kozhukattai Rice flour.

Method:

Soak tuwar dal, chana dal and Urad dal in water for 1 hour.

Drain the excess water, transfer the dals into a mixi jar, add salt, green chillies, 2 red chillies and asafoetida and grind it coarsely without water. Heat 1 tbsp refined/groundnut oil in a pan, add 1/2 tsp mustard, 1 red chilly, curry leaves, saute for few seconds and add the ground dal mixture and saute 1-2 mins. Add chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame. Let it cool.

Boil water which is in between 3/4th cup to 1 cup, add ghee/gingelly oil and pinch of salt. Slowly add the flour and mix well simultaneously. Make sure no lumps are formed. Switch off the flame when all the water is absorbed. Close it with a lid or wet muslin cloth. After 15-20 minutes, grease your hands with oil/ghee and knead it well into a dough.

Grease your fingers with some oil, take some rice dough(amla size), roll it between your palms and form a ball. Mould it into cup like shape, use the dal mixture for centre stuffing and thus form dumplings. (the dumplings should not be fully closed. Let it be 3/4th closed for the dal to get cooked properly.)

Steam these dumplings for 8-10 min in idli cooker or normal cooker (don't put weight onto the cooker).

Mani Kozhukattai

Rice flour : 1 cup
Urad dal : 1/2 cup
Chana dal (kadala paruppu) : 1.5 tbsp
Tuwar dal : 1 tbsp

Salt : 3/4 to 1 tsp

Green chillies :1

Red chllies : 2

Asafoetida : pinch

Ghee/Gingeley oil : 1/2 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves : few
Fresh grated coconut : 1 tbsp

For tempering:
Mustard : 1/2 tsp
Urad dal : 1/2 tsp
Refined/groundnut oil : 1 tbsp
Curry leaves : few
Red chilly : 1

Note: Buy the rice flour which is specially packaged for preparing kozhukattai. e.g. 'Anil'

brand Kozhukattai Rice flour.

Method:

Soak tuwar dal, chana dal and Urad dal in water for 1 hours.

Drain the excess water, transfer the dals into a mixi jar, add salt, green chillies, 2 red chillies and asafoetida and grind it coarsely without water.

Divide them into small patties and steam them in a cooker (don't put weight) for 8-10 min.

Boil 1 cup water, add 0.5 tsp oil/ghee and pinch of salt. Slowly add the flour and mix well simulatenously. Make sure no lumps are formed. Switch off the flame when all the water is absorbed. Close it with a lid or wet muslin cloth. After 5-7 minutes, grease your hands with ghee/oil and knead it well into a dough.

Grease your fingers with some oil, take rice dough (black grapes size), roll it between your palms and form ball like shapes. Repeat and use all the dough to make such balls.

Place these balls into a idli plate and steam it in the cooker for 8-10 min.

Heat 1 tbsp  oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let it crackle, add urad dal, 1 red chilly halved, curry leaves, saute for a min.

Add the steamed dal mixture (crumble them), mix well and saute for 8-10 min apprx.

Add the steamed rice balls, mix well and saute for 1-2 min.  Add 1 tbsp coconut (optional), mix well, add chopped fresh coriander leaves and switch off the flame.