Aval Pidi Kozhukattai

Kozhukattai is a traditional recipe prepared with broken rice.  Previously i have posted a Kozhukattai recipe  with cracked wheat and oats.  Couple of days ago tried with flattened rice and liked the taste. It tasted similar to the traditional Kozhukattai prepared with Rice

Aval Pidi kozhukattai:

Preparation Time : 5  mins | Standing time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 4

Recipe Category: Breakfast

Ingredients:

Flattened Rice/Aval  – 2 cup

Scraped Coconut – ¼ cup

Salt – as needed

Curd – 1 tbsp (Optional)

Water – 2 cups + 3 tbsp

For tempering

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp

Red Chilli – 3

Green Chilli – 1 (Adjust according to your taste)

Urad Dal – 1/2 tsp

Channa Dal – 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Asafoetida – a generous pinch

Method

• Pulse the Aval coarsely in a blender and Transfer to a plate
• Add oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, red chilli, green chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida. After it splutters, add 2 cups of water, coconut and salt. Bring to boil. Once the water starts boiling add curd and  pulsed Aval

 

• Stir till all the moisture evaporates and Aval is half cooked. Sprinkle some water if required. Switch off the heat

• Form kozhukattai with it when they are not too hot to handle

• Steam them in a steamer or idly stand for 8 to 10 minutes.

My Notes:

• I have used Thin Flattened Rice and pulsed them fine grain, instead Thick flattened rice can also be used and pulsed to coarse texture

Sweet Kozhukattai

Sweet  Kozhukattai is a traditional dish prepared durung many festivals like varalakshmi pooja and vinayaka chaturthi. Soft Purana Kozhukattai is a great teatime snack too. When my Mother in law came to visit us, she used to prepare this frequently, and having a sweet tooth, I remember skipping dinner after having so much Kozhukattai! There are many ways to cook Sweet kozhukattai, I am sharing one version along with few other techniques told by both Mom and Mother in law

Can I call it Indian Sweet Momos 😉

Sweet Kozhukattai

Preparation Time : 10 min |  Cooking Time : 45  mins – 1 hour | Serves : 3

Recipe Category : Dessert/Sweet and Snack

Ingredients

Rice flour – 1 cup, sieved

Water – 1 cup + 1/4 cups

Salt – 1/8 tsp

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Pooranam

Shredded Coconut – 1 cup

Water – 1 tbsp

Jaggery – 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Method

• In a pan, add jaggery one tbsp of water. Once the jaggery melts, add coconut and cook till the mixture gets thickened. Add cardamom at the end. Mix well and switch off

• While still warm and when you can handle the jaggery with hands, grease your palm with ghee/oil, take small portions and make small jaggery balls

• In a sauce pan add coconut oil and 1 cup of water and bring to boil. When it is boiling and you see bubbles, add the sieved flour (Have 1/4 cup of water boiled in separate pan/kettle)
• For the flour that I used, the extra 1/4 cup water was not needed. If you feel dough is dry, add 1 tbsp of water else no need to add. Water added should be boiling hot water, so its better to keep 1/4 cup hot water separately

• Cook till it comes to non sticky dough consistency. Cover the dough with a damp cloth, as it tends to dry soon
• When the dough is cool enough to handle, make small spheres. Since rice flour is gluten free they tend to be sticky, so greasing hand with coconut oil helps to make Kozhukattai

• Slowly press with your hand and make a big circle sufficient enough to keep the filling

• Place the pooranam into the small portion

• Bring the outer layer to the top for modakkam shape. Alternatively, mould can also be used

• Repeat with rest of the dough
• Grease the idli plate and place the kozhukattai and steam them for about 8- 12 minutes. Remove from the plate when it comes to room temperature

My Notes:

• If pooranam becomes so hard and not able make balls, Microwave them for 40 sec or use double boiling method and heat the pooranam
• Traditionally raw rice is washed well and drained, spread in a towel till the moisture drains completely, and ground into a fine powder. Since it will take time, I have used store-bought Rice Flour
• Idiyappam flour can also be used to prepare Kozhukattai
• Can combine Rice flour and water to dosa batter consistency and add coconut oil and cook till you get a dough to the consistency similar to the one shown in above picture
• If you think jaggery has impurities strain them after it melts and comes to room temperature. Then add coconut and cook pooranam
• To get the outer layer soft,  boil water well for making the dough. Dough should be almost cooked with the hot water so that you get non sticky pliable dough
• When the kozhukattais are done, they will be shiny. Do not over cook, it may give you rubbery and broken kozhukattais
• Cook pooranam in medium flame
• It is always better to prepare pooranam first and then the dough, to avoid dough becoming thick
• Pooranam can also be prepared the previous day and refrigerate