Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Savory Kozhakatta (Steamed Rice Dumplings)


These dumplings are eaten in Kerala for a snack, in other parts it's also served as a prasadam, during Navratri, Ganesh Puja, VijayDashmi etc. There are different kinds of kozhakattas, they could be sweet filled with coconut and jaggery or made with different ingredients like coconut or carrot.
I made these for Navrathri, as I was feeling a little homesick missing all the fun that was going on in India, in the US all the holidays just go by, I have to keep asking my mom 'when's Diwali', no clue when any holiday is going on. Anyways for once I knew Navrathri was ending tomorrow, and hence the dish.

Dough:
2 cups Rice Flour
2 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup coconut grated

Grind:
4 Green chillies
1/4 tsp hing
1/4 cup water

Seasoning;
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 red chilles
a few curry leaves

Method:
1.Roast the rice flour on low heat for about 5 minutes, this gives a nice flavor to the rice.
2.Heat water, add salt and oil.
3.Grind the green chillies and hing with water.
4.Add the boiling water to the rice flour, add the ground up green chillies, and coconut.
5. Stir well, don't worry about the clumps.
6.Once the dough can be handled, knead it well and make a smooth dough.
7.Heat a steamer with water, spray the plate or steamer stand with oil.
8. Make about one inch balls, they don't have to be perfect rounds, just press themm together to make dumplings.
9.Place on the steamer tray, and steam for about 6 minutes.
10. For seasoning, heat oil, add mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.
11. Add the steamed kozhukatta, and stir well for a few minutes till dry.
12. Serve with chutney podi or chutney.