Kozhukatta / Modak/ Modakam

Have you heard of Kozhukatta perunnal ? I am sure most of you have not. Because it is a catholic tradition followed only in certain parts of Kerala. My mom had never heard about it untill she got married. At my father's home this is a great tradition, where every one joins in to make it the day before Palm sunday and its called Kozhukatta sheniyazhcha. So we too used to follow the same tradition.

Its celebrated in memory of Jesus Christ being stoned. Its in memory of that, that we make these round stone shaped sweet dish. It has always seemed a strange thing to me to eat something sweet in memory of someone who was hurt that day. That is just one version of the history behind it. There are so many other versions. Hmm...anyways, I love having it and it gets all nostalgic when I start making it. It reminds me of those days as kids when we would sit down to give a hand in making these and my father would pour out so many memories from his childhood. 

Anyways, now that I have talked too much about it, let me move over to the recipe.

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cup of finely ground rice flour - lightly roasted/heated 
2. 1/2 tbsp of ghee or butter
3. 1/4 tsp of cardamom powder
4. 1 cup of shaved jaggery
5. 3/4 cup of shredded coconut
6. 1 cup of hot boiling water
7. Salt to taste

Method

• In a pan, melt the jaggery with little water. Once it is melted, strain it to remove impurities, if any. When its still hot, add the shredded coconut to it. Mix it well.
• In another pan, pour the ghee. Once hot, add the jaggery and coconut mixture to it and mix it thoroughly. Let any extra water content melt off. Add the cardamom powder and give it a mix. Remove it from the heat and let it cool.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl take the rice flour and add salt to it. Mix it for the salt to spread evenly. Now add the boiling water little by little to the flour while you mix it with a spoon to form a dough. Cover and keep it aside to cool down just a little (about 5 minutes) and is ready to knead with your hands. Knead it to form a smooth and non sticky dough.
• Divide the dough into equal portions of 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls. Wet your hands. Take each ball and give it a light press between your palm and then start working with fingers of both your hands to form a cup shape out of it. Now fill it with a tbsp of the coconut jaggery mixture and roll it into a ball.
• Prepare the steamer/pressure cooker to steam these rice balls. Steam the rice balls for about 10-12 minutes and then let it cool a little. Serve it warm.

Tips

1. Do not pour the boiling water to the flour at one go. It would get difficult to work with and may result in a sticky dough.
2. Wetting your hands, just a little, would help working with the rice balls. It wouldn't stick on to your hands and would help make smooth rice balls. 
3. Make sure you do not have cracks on the rice balls, else they break open when steamed.
4. Use a dark coloured jaggery for it and they would look and taste better. I used a light coloured jaggery because that is what I got from our Indian store :). 
5. Using fresh coconut would be even more better than the store bought frozen ones. It would make the stuffing more juicier and would taste good. Feel free to add in more coconut as per your desire. More the coconut, more heavenly its gonna taste.