Saturday, April 12, 2014

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.







23 comments:

  1. Looks very yummy.. Loved the filling... So well presented...

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  2. This looks delicious.......tempting filling !!

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  3. umma used to make this eons ago, not anymore... one of the stuff she stopped making... :( this looks so delicious... so well made dear... love the clicks...

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  4. Looks so delicious and perfect.. Lovely clicks too!!

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  5. This looks delicious! I can have them any day.. I love them :-)

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  6. Am hearing for the first time about kozhukatta perunal.. Kozhukatta looks prefect and tasty.

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  7. A sweet treat that is always welcome, healthy too as it is steamed. They look simply welcoming...

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  8. Nice clicks, looks very delicious...

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  9. I didn't know about that tradition Anupa!!! Nice to know. I make kozhukatta on weekends for bf, my kids love those. They call it the 'ball thingy with brown coconut inside' :). I also add the mollasses with the jaggery to get the same 'Sharkara' taste. I use the Rabbit brand of mollasses we get here in the grocery stores. It tastes exactly like the melted 'Sharkara' that we get in stores in kerala. I have heard that some other brands of mollasses tastes like caramel, so I always keep a stock of rabbit brand in my pantry. You have to mix it with jaggery to get the right sweetness, besides the mollasses is little loose compared to the 'Sharkara' so its good to mix those together to get a good filling.

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    Replies
    1. Thats a great tip Shibi ..... Thanks for sharing it.. I will try it next time I make it

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  10. i too never heard about this kozhukatta perunall...Looks soo tempting ...kothiyayitu vayya..i might make it tomorrow ..I have some jaggerry and nice rice flour...let me see what this madichi can do. Happy easter Anupa :)

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  11. Perfectly made kozhukattas for kozhukkatta sat........very very tempting and mouthwatering.............sry dat I'm late here.....ividae vazhayila kittumo.....love the way u presented in vazhayila...... :)

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  12. Oru plate kozhukattayum or glass vella kaappiyum vennam.. tharuvoo???

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  13. Good.post Anupa. Tempting kozukatta

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  14. The kozhukattas look perfect, Anupa. I haven't made these in a while. Your picture was so inviting and I have 1 new pack of chakkara- so I guess that means this is what Ill be doing tmrw😊

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