Tidippu Kozukattai and Ulutham Kozukattai for Lord Ganesha

Kozukattai – Rice Flour Dumpling

Today is Ganesh Chaturthi. Lord Ganesha is the remover of obstacles and the Lord of New Beginnings! Wish you all a very happy and successful year ahead with Lord Ganesha’s blessings!

Lord Ganesha is said to love sweet kozukattai or modak, which is a steamed dumpling made of a thin rice flour shell, filled with a delicious mixture of coconut and jaggery. Somasi is a similar sweet, which is however, deep fried rather than steamed. The outer covering is made of maida (white flour) and rava (semolina). The mixture inside is made of cobri (dried cocunut) and sugar.

Ulutham Kozukattai is a salty steamed dumpling, that is also usually prepared during festivals and is offered to the deity worshipped. Like the sweet version, this also has an outer shell prepared with rice flour and a stuffing prepared with lentil. As Ulutham Kozukattais are very nutritious, my mother used to prepare them as an evening tiffin. She even enriched the nutritional value, by adding some minced vegetables. We would pop them into our mouths as we went up and down and finished them off, even before they were served at the table. A spicy gojju or a chutney will make a delicious combination with Ulutham Kozukzttai. Given below are recipes for the sweet as well as salty Kozukattais.

Ingredients for Kozukattai
Rice flour - 1 cup
Salt – 1 pinch
Gingili (Sesame) oil – 2 tbsps
Water – 2 cups
Method for preparing the Kozukattai
1. Boil water with salt and oil in a thick bottomed pan.
2. When the water is boiling add the rice flour gently stirring continuously to avoid lumping.
3. When the flour is cooked and becomes a mass, turn off the heat and cover it with a lid leaving it for 5 minutes to cook in its own steam.
4. Knead the cooked flour into a soft dough adding a little oil if necessary.
5. Take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a lemon sized ball.
6. Dip your fingers in oil and then make a depression in the middle of the ball with your thumb.
7. With both thumbs in the depression, press the edges extending them with the other fingers to make a cup like shape as uniform, and thin as possible.

8. Place a spoonful of the filling into the cup and fold the cup in half so that the edges are sealed.

9. Press he sealed edges making sure that no stuffing comes out, and you have plump semi -circular shaped dumplings.

Alternately, you can gather the edges to the top and squeeze them together with your finger tips, to resemble the shape of a top or garlic pod!
Note: If you make both sweet and salty types for the same meal, then I would recommend different shapes (semi circular for the ulutham kozukattai, and top-shaped for the jaggery-coconut kozukattai) for easy identification! 10. Shape all the kozukkatais in the same manner.
11. Steam the whole batch in a pressure cooker without weight for 15 minutes.

Tidippu Kozukattai Stuffing - Sweet Jaggery & Coconut filling
Ingredients

Freshly grated coconut - 1 cup
jaggery - 3/4 cup
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp (Optional)
Method
1. Mix coconut gratings and jaggery and cook in a heavy bottomed pan, over a low fire, stirring occasionally.
2. When the mixture is ready, it will leave the sides of the pan.
3. Switch off the flame, and add cardamom powder if desired.

Ulutham Kozukattai Stuffing - Vegetable and Black Gram Lentil Stuffing Ingredients:
Urad Dal (Black gram dal) – ½ cup
Red chillies – 3
Asafoetida- 1 pinch
Finely Chopped vegetables - 1/4 tea cup (beans, carrots, potato, capsicum, peas etc)
Chopped fresh coriander – little
Salt – ½ tsp
Oil – 2 tsps
Mustard seeds
Method
1. Soak dal and red chillies for half an hour.
2. Grind the soaked dal and red chillies coarsely with salt and asafoetida
3. Steam the ground dal for 15 minutes, and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
5. When it splutters add finely chopped vegetables and a pinch of salt and sauté.
6. Next add the steamed dal and crumble and mix with the vegetable and seasoning.
7. Add corriander leaves.
8. Stuffing for Ulutham Kozukattai is ready.

Ulutham Kozukattai can be enjoyed with any chutney or gojju.

Idly fry - Left over magic

Usually, I count and make idlies to avoid left overs. In case of left overs, it will take the avatar of upma, as is the case in many homes. When we had many of our relatives at home, it was idly for breakfast, on most of the days. And my usual counting and making doesn't work. So invariably we used to have left overs. And my hubby's aunt (Lalitha Mami) changed the white tablets to gorgeous looking idly fry. It was an instant hit. Everyone was happy to have some left overs everyday. Thank God, nobody demanded that idly fry should be served for breakfast.

Idlis- 4 nos, quartered

For masala
Garam masala - 1 tspn

Molagapodi - 1 tspn

Cumin powder - 1 tspn

salt

Oil - 1 tblspn

Mix all the masala ingredients together. Coat the idly pieces with the masala. Heat a kadai with 2 tblspoon of oil. Drop the masala coated idly pieces. Shallow fry on medium flame till the pieces are roasted. Enjoy with a cup of hot tea.

Making Sevai or Rice Noodles at Home

Making Sevai or Rice Noodles at Home

Fresh rice noodles are called Sevai. It is an easily digestible and healthy food. Once the basic dish is ready it can be seasoned into a number of varieties including the sweet ones. It is supposed to be a delicacy and is one of the many breakfast dishes prepared at grand weddings.
Since the cooking process is a bit elaborate many of us tend to buy the ready made rice sticks available in the market. However the authentic flavour of the dish comes out only in freshly prepared sevai. You will need a sevai press to make this at home. With practice and patience once you get a hang of it, sevai can be prepared with ease in less time. Usually men and the children of the house love to give a helping hand when it comes to the ‘pressing’ part as it is a very interesting operation.

When sevai is prepared at home, at least three varieties are made, in order to get the most out of the labour intensive process! Listed below are recipes for Lemon sevai, Sweet sevai, and Curd sevai.

INGREDIENTS:
Rice flour – 3 cups
Salt – 1 pinch
Gingili (Sesame) oil – 3 tbsp
Water – 6 ½ cups
METHOD:

1. Boil water in a heavy bottomed pan with salt and oil.
2. Add the rice flour slowly to the boiling water stirring continuously.
3. Stir until it becomes a cooked mass and cover with lid after switching off the flame.
4. After the steam subsides knead the cooked flour into a smooth dough.
5. Shape handful of dough into cylindrical rolls.
6. Make as many rolls until all the dough is utilized.
7. Steam all the rolls in a pressure cooker without weight for 15 minutes. 8. Prepare the Sevai Press by rubbing oil to the 'perforated tumbler' where the roll will be placed. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the tumbler.
9. Place a large plate under the press to receive the Sevai strands as they come out of the press.
10. Place a roll into the ‘perforated tumbler’ and press the lever, till the thin strands of sevai come out.

11. Press all the rolls and collect the sevai in the plate.

LEMON SEVAI
SEASONING INGREDIENTS:
Oil – 2 tbsps
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Urad Dal (Black gram dal) - 1 tsp
Bengal gram dal – 1 tsp
Red chillies – 4
Salt – 2 tsps
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Juice of 1 ½ lemon
Curry leaves – a few
METHOD:
1. Spread a portion (one thirds) of the sevai in another plate.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
3. When it splutters add the dals and roast till they are golden in colour.
4. Add the broken red chillies and curry leaves.
5. When the chillies are crisp, add the juice of lime mixed with salt and turmeric powder into the seasoning.
6. Switch off the flame and mix the seasoning well, before pouring it on the sevai in a circular motion.
7. Gently blend the seasoning with the sevai using a spatula without breaking the sevai strands.
Decorate with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy with coconut chutney.

CURD SEVAI
INGREDIENTS:
Curd – 2 cups
Salt – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Urad Dal (Black gram dal)- 1 tsp
Bengal gram dal – 1 tsp
Red or green chillies – 2
Fresh ginger (grated) – 1 tbsp
Oil – 2 tsps
METHOD:
1. Spread out the second portion of the sevai on a plate.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
3. When it splutters add the dals and roast until they become golden in colour.
4. Add the chilly pieces and grated ginger and sauté.
5. Add curry leaves if preferred.
6. Pour the seasoning into the curd, add salt and blend.
7. Pour the seasoned curd on the sevai in a circular motion and gently blend, without mashing or breaking the strands.
Chill and enjoy with pickle.

SWEET SEVAI
INGREDIENTS:
Milk – 3 cups
Crushed jaggery powder - ½ cup
Powdered cardamom – 1 pinch
Raisins - a few
Coconut milk – 1/2 cup
METHOD:
1. Boil milk, stirring continuously till it becomes reduced 2 cups.
2. Dissolve jaggery powder in milk on low flame.
3. Add ½ a cup of coconut milk.
4. Remove from flame and add cardamom powder.
Serve plain sevai in bowls, and pour the prepared milk on top. Decorate with raisins.