Showing posts with label Mothagam. Show all posts

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Ulunthu Kozhukattai | Urad dal Modak | Salt Kozhukattai

Ulunthu Kozhukattai, a healthy savory steamed dumpling with urad dal & coconut mixture as stuffing inside. For vinayagar chathurthi, in our home, we usually make sweet mothagam/ kozhukattai along with chickpeas sundal as offerings to Lord Vinayagar and do the pooja.

So this ulunthu kozhukattai was totally new to me until I tried on my own a year back. I got to know about this kozhukattai from the cooking show that was aired during the time of vinayagar chaturthi in one of tamil tv channel.Within few fews i tried this kozhukattai for first time as a evening snacks and we both really like it. Since then occasionally I make them as a snack or as breakfast along with some coconut chutney/kara chutney.

As Vinayagar Chathurthi is nearing, this savory kozhukattai would make a nice addition to your regular kozhukattai list and also it's ideal for elders in the family who are on sweet diet.Now let's see how to make this healthy and delicious ulunthu kozhukattai.

For more kozhukattai and sundal recipe, check out the full ganesh chathurthi collection here .

Ulunthu Kozhukattai | Urad dal Modak

Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Makes : 10
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
For dough
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Boiling water - little less of 1/2 cup
For Filling
Urad dal - 1/4 cup
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Green chili - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste

Procedure

Soak the urad for 2 hrs, drain the water and add into the mixie jar along with green chili and salt.

Grind them into coarse mixture. Heat the pan with oil, add mustard & curry leaves, let the mustard crackle, then add the coarse urad dal mixture.

Next add the turmeric powder and saute in the low flame for 3-4 mins, then add the grated coconut, mix it well. Switch off the flame and let it cool a bit.

In the mean time, take the rice flour in a bowl, add salt and oil, mix it well, then pour the boiling water and make a soft dough. Let it rest for 5 mins.

Then make equal sized balls and take a ball, grease your fingers with oil well and gently press it with your fingers around the edges and move towards the center, it will make a small bowl like the below image.

Take a spoonful of fillings and add into the center. Seal the edges and pinch it along the edges for some nice design.

Do the same for all the dough and filling,place it in the greased steamer basket.

Steam it for 8-10 mins in the medium flame.

Tasty and healthy Ulunthu Kozhukattai is ready to serve.

Related : Kara Pidi Kozhukattai

Notes:

Depends on the quality of rice flour, you may need more or less of water, so keep a little extra boiling water in hand.
Use fine variety of rice flour or idiyappam flour.
Grind the urad dal into coarse for better texture.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Peanut Kozhukattai | Verkadalai Mothagam | Kozhukattai recipe

Verkadalai Mothagam, a delicious steamed sweet dumpling made from rice flour dough as outer layer with sweet peanut coconut filling inside.

As Vinayagar Chathurthi is nearby, i want to share some new mothagam recipes and this verkadalai mothagam pops up in my mind first, i have a vague memory of eating this delicious kozhukattai for first time when i was 9 or 10 years old.

During that time we were in Villupuram and our neighbour aunty shared this verkadalai kozhukattai with us on one vinayagar chathurthi, i guess i liked it very much then and have the memory of asking Amma about the stuffing because in our family Amma makes only chana dal pornam for kozhukattai on chaturthi days, so that was different from what i used to it, so asked her about it. Some memories are astonishing!!!! Right??

Now coming to the recipe, it's one of the easiest mothagam that you can prepare in very less time. If you have roasted peanuts, then the stuffing would be ready in a few mins. Even you can make the stuffing ahead or day before chathurthi and refrigerate it, unlike the traditional chana dal poornam, it has a longer shelf life.

In this recipe, I have used grated coconut but you can skip that and make it with only peanuts also, i have tried the stuffing with / without coconut, both taste equally good. Last year itself, i had made this & clicked the pictures to post here, but somehow it didn't happen, so i was determined to post at least this year and made this yesterday just for blog sake and here i'm with the recipe.

For more kozhukattai and sundal recipes, check out the full ganesh chathurthi collection.

Some FAQs about making kozhukattai dough !!

What type of rice flour is good for making kozhukattai?

Pacharisi / Raw rice flour is the most commonly used flour for making kozhukattai. You can make your own rice flour at home or use the store bought flour.

If you're buying from the store, make sure that the rice flour is very fine. Usually it's available in the market in the name of kozhukattai maavu or idiyappam flour.

In our home, while we grew up, Amma always made dough from idli rice batter for both kozhukattai and idiyappam. The flavor and the texture are so unique compared to rice flour dough.

Why can't I shape the modak / mothagam ?

Dough consistency is the key to making modak shapes easily. There are a couple of things to be taken care of for making the dough. Those are

Rice flour should be fine enough such that adding hot water into the flour makes it almost cooked.
Almost cooked rice flour is pliable and easy to make shapes. Otherwise you can't make shapes and the dough would be easily breakable.
Water should be boiled for making the dough.
Grease your hands well to avoid the dough sticking to your hands while shaping.
If you're a beginner, buy a modak/mothagam mold, it will do your job a lot easier.

Why do my modak/mothagam get cracked after steaming?

Steaming for a longer time would make the modak crack on the outer layer. Since the dough is almost cooked already, there is no need to cook for a longer time. Just 5-7 mins of steaming is enough.

Peanut Kozhukattai | Verkadalai Mothagam

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 6
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
For dough
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Boiling water - little less of 1/2 cup
For Filling
Peanut - 1/4 cup
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Cardamom -1
Jaggery - 1/4 cup(heaped)

Procedure

First dry roast the peanut until it's aromatic and slightly turn into brown color( if you have roasted peanuts, skip this step) and let it cool for a while.

Heat a pan with 1/2 cup of water and add the jaggery, let the jaggery melt completely. If it has any impurities, filter it once and bring into boil again.

In the mean time, add the roasted peanuts into the mixie jar along with a cardamom and grind into coarse mixture. Add the powdered peanuts and grated coconut into the jaggery syrup.

Mix it well and stir it continuously until it becomes thick. Switch off the flame and let it cool a bit.

Now for the dough, take the rice flour in a bowl, add salt and oil, mix it well, then pour the boiling water and make a soft dough. Let it rest for 5 mins.

Seal the edges and make a smooth ball. Do the same for all the dough and fillings, place it on the greased steamer plate and cook it for 5- 8 mins on medium flame.

Tasty Verkadalai Kozhukattai is ready.

Related : How to make Ellu Kozhukattai / Sesame seed Mothagam

It's time to dig in

Notes:

Grind the peanut into fine or coarse powder as per your liking.
If you have skinned peanuts, once roasted remove the skin and then use it.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Kozhukattai | Porna Kozhukattai | Mothagam | Vinayagar Chaturthi Special

Mothagam/Poorna Kozhukattai, a delicious steamed sweet dumpling made from rice flour dough as outer covering and chana dal & coconut stuffing inside. This kozhukattai is my all time favorite, i love chana dal puranam (stuffing) more than any other stuffing in kozhukattai.

In our home, Amma never used rice flour for kozhukattai, always prepared fresh rice batter, saute till it's thick and use them for the outer layer for kozhukattai.It gives a very soft outer layer and stays soft even when it's cooled down. Though the process looks lengthy,if you plan ahead, you can make this traditional kozhukattai at your home easily for this year vinayagar/ganesh chathurthi.

But here in the recipe I have shared both the rice batter and rice flour method for making the outer dough, pick the one which is convenient for you and make this delicious poorna kozhukattai for this vinayagar chathurthi. If you're a beginner in cooking, I would recommend using the rice flour method because it's easy to make and less time consuming than the other method.

Now a days, though there are so many varieties/stuffing used for making mothagam, this chana stuffing for the mothagam is the classic and traditional one, still i used to make this one on chaturthi day without fail in addition to other modak and sundal recipes.

For more kozhukattai and sundal recipe, check out the full ganesh chathurthi collections .

PS: Final pictures are updated lately

Mothagam/Porna Kozhukattai

Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves:10
Recipe Category: Snack/Kozhukattai | Recipe Cuisine: India

Ingredients

For Stuffing

Channa Dal - 1/2 cup

Jaggery - 1/2 cup

Cardamom - 2 nos

Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp

For Outer Layer
Idli rice method

Idly Rice - 3/4 cup

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - to grind
Rice flour method
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - 1/2 cup(approx)

Procedure

Soak the channa dal for 1/2 hr.

In a sauce pan, bring 3 cup of water to boil, add the channa dal and allow to cook.

The channa dal should not be mushy, if you press the channa dal in between your fingers, it should be pressed.That's correct stage, switch off the flame, drain the dal and dry it on neat kitchen cloth until the extra water is absorbed.

Put the chann dal in the blender and pulse it for few seconds, it will become powdered easily and keep it aside.

Heat the wide pan, add the jaggery with litltle water & crushed cardamom, allow the jaggery to melt and bring it to boil.

Add the powdered chann dal, mix it well, then add coconut and stir it well.

Once the dal leaves the side , remove it from flame & allow to cool. Then make equal size balls from the stuffing and keep aside.

For outer layer using idli rice

Soak the rice for 2 hrs and grind into smooth batter.Heat a wide non stick pan, add the oil and the batter. Stir it continuously,until it leaves the side.

Remove it from flame , allow to cool & make equal size balls from the dough.

For rice flour method

If you're using rice flour method, take the rice flour in a bowl, add salt and oil, mix it well, then pour the boiling water and make a soft dough. Let it rest for 5 mins.

Now grease the hand and take one outer layer ball, make bowl shape from that, place the stuffing inside and seal it as shown in below pics

Do the same for the remaining dough.

Steam it in steamer for 5-7 mins. I used my idly pot to cook the Kozhukattai.

Tasty Mothagam/ Purna Kozhukattai is ready.

For more vinayagar chathurthi recipe, check my collection

Notes:

This stuffing will stay good for a day at room temperature itself
You can make the stuffing a day before evening and make equal size balls and keep it at room temperature/refrigerator. It doesn't get spoiled and stay good for next day.
Don't cook the Kozhukkatai for long time, it will make crack in the outer layer.
Grease the hand with oil while making the outer shape for smooth finishing.
Use sesame oil for greasing your hands and steamer plate for great flavor.

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Saturday, September 8, 2018