Karadayan Nonbu Sweet Adai or Kozhukkattai (Steamed Sweet Cake)

During Karadayan Nonbu or Savithri Viradam festival, some special snacks like steamed sweet and savory cakes are prepared and are served with butter. The festival comes in Tamil months of Maasi/Panguni (February/March).

Here is Karadayan Nonbu Sweet Adai or Kozhukkattai prepared with rice, cowpeas, jaggery and coconut. I used red variety of cowpeas for this. The rice flour used in this dish is prepared by powdering washed, soaked and then dried rice. (Rice flour is also available in the grocery shops).

This is a healthy snack as it is steamed. I prepare this as evening snack occasionally. Cowpeas are called as Thattai Payaru or Karamani in Tamil and as Lobia in Hindi.

Cooking time: 30 minutes approximately

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Cowpeas – ⅓ cup
• Jaggery chopped – ¾ cup (can be increased to one cup if you want it to be more sweet)
• Cardamom – 4 no
• Ghee – ½ tea spoon
• Coconut cut into small pieces – 3 table spoon
• Water – 2 cup
• Salt – pinch

Method

• Dry roast cowpeas, boil it and then drain water.

• Roast rice flour in a dry pan to a golden colour;  powder cardamom.

• Dissolve jaggery in 2 cups of water, filter it to remove impurities and then boil.

• When boiling, add cowpeas, coconut pieces, salt, cardamom powder and ghee; now slowly add rice flour, continuously stir it to get a thick dough.

• Switch of fire, cover and keep; when it cools down, knead well.

• With wet hand or oiled hand take little dough, shape it like a ball and spread it as adai (disc) with a hole in the centre (I shaped it more like a vadai); steam cook it for 6 to 8 minutes; repeat for remaining dough also.

• Serve with fresh unsalted butter.

• This Karadayan Nonbu Sweet Adai or Kozhukkattai is prepared along with Karadayan Nonbu Savoury Adai or Kozhukkattai during the festival.

Tips

• Do not boil cowpeas too soft in the initial stage as it is going to be boiled again and steam cooked in next stages.