BALLS & DUMPLINGS - KOZHUKATTAI
Pillaiyar Kozhukattai
Rice Flour - 1/2 cup
Powdered Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 2 tsp
Cardamom - 2
Coconut Oil - 3 tbs
For the covering: Heat up 1 cup water. As it starts to boil, add the rice flour and 2 tbsp of coconut oil. Reduce the flame to low and stir well. The rice flour will thicken and absorb all the water. If the flour is still dry, sprinkle some more water and mix well. Cover and set aside for a few minutes.
For the filling: Heat up 1 tsp water in a heavy bottomed vessel and add the jaggery to it. Let it dissolve completely and as it starts to thicken, add the coconut and cardamom and stir continuously for a couple of minutes. Add the ghee and reduce the heat to low. Stir to mix uniformly and remove from the fire. (If left for too long, the filling will become hard).
To proceed: While the filling is still warm, make small balls out of it. Likewise knead the covering dough ("Mel Maavu") and divide it into small balls too, the same number as the number of filling ("Pooranam") balls. Form a small cup using a covering ball and place a filling ball inside the cup and cover it up completely. Makes about 12 kozhukattais. Finally steam cook all the completed kozhukattais using idli plates for about 10 - 12 minutes (or until the covering becomes transparent and the filling is visible thro the covering). Make sure that you do not overcook the kozhukattais while steaming them, which causes them to break apart.
Tamal Milk Kozhukattai
Rice flour - 1-1/2 cups
Powdered Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Cardamom - 4
Grated Coconut - 4 tsp
Milk - 1/2 liter
Ghee - 1 tbsp
In a heavy bottomed vessel heat up 1/2 cup water. As it starts to boil, add 1/2 of the jaggery. When it dissolves completely and starts to boil, add the coconut, cardamom and ghee and mix well. Add the rice flour to this and stir continuously for about 5 minutes to mix all the ingredients evenly. Remove from fire and set aside for a few minutes for this mixture to cool down. Make small balls (lemon sized) out of the sweet mixture. Steam it in Idli pans for about 15 minutes. Boil the milk and dissolve the remaining jaggery completely in the hot milk. When the milk starts to boil once again, add the sweet balls and continue to boil over a medium flame for 5 more minutes and then remove from the heat and offer.
