Coconut Kozhukattai (Indian Sweet Dumpling)

Kozhukattai is a popular dish of south India. It is a steamed food prepared during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Varalakshmi Viradham. This can be cooked in normal occasions also as it is healthy and suits everyone including children.  Many sweet and savory varieties can be prepared as kozhukattais.

Rice flour is partially cooked initially and formed as a dough. Then it is shaped like a small cup and stuffed with sweet/ savory fillings. Thereafter it is steam cooked.

Here I have prepared kozhukattai with sweetened coconut fillings (Thengai poorana kozhukattai or modhagam). The stuffing used is a traditional one and is very simple to prepare.

Coconut is known as Thengai in Tamil and as Nariyal in Hindi.

Cooking time: 30 minutes approximately

Ingredients

For stuffing

• Coconut grated – 1 cup
• Chopped jaggery – ½ cup
• Cardamom – 4 no
• Ghee – ½ tea spoon

Method

• Stuffing: Put coconut, jaggery, ghee and cardamom powder in a hot pan; keep stirring till jaggery melts and mixes with other items.

• Stop stirring and remove from heat when you find the mix leaving the sides of the pan without sticking; if you feel the mix is very sticky, you can add 1 tea spoon of rice flour or 1 tea spoon of fried channa powder and cook for few more seconds; this happens due to variations in jaggery; now the stuffing for kozhukattai is ready.

• Further shape it into small balls to use it as stuffing.

• Dough:The dough for kozhukattai is prepared in many ways; you may follow any one of these two methods:
  • Method 1: Boil two cups of water and add one cup of rice flour with pinch of salt; stir continuously to form a dough; cool and knead it to a soft, firm dough.
  • Method 2: Soak one cup of rice for 1 hour; grind it with pinch of salt, ½ cup milk and water to thin batter; pour in a hot pan, stir constantly to form dough; cool and knead it to a soft, firm dough.
  • for more details refer my Rice Idiyappam (String Hoppers) or Coconut and Masala Ammini Kozhakattai.

• Kozhukattai: Now lightly apply oil in your hand and take lemon size dough; shape it like a mini cup; though nowadays moulds are available, making with hands gives a traditional touch; fill it with stuffing.

• Seal it and steam cook for 5 to 7 minutes; after cooking you can see the change in colour.

• Now Coconut Kozhukattai (Indian Sweet Dumplings) is ready.

• Here is the cutaway section of a Coconut Kozhukattai.

Here is a mix of Ellu, Kara, Coconut, Ammini (Mania) Kozhukattai.

Tips

• Use fresh coconut and pure jaggery.