All across the country, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated by offering the foods he’s said to love to the Elephant-headed god. Modaks top the list, satiny white rice flour dumplings filled with sweetened coconut and spices. In the South, it’s also traditional to make savoury dumplings known as kara kozhukkattai. Here are two easy recipes for you to try:
Sweet modak
Ingredients for the covering
1 cup rice flour
1 cup water
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp oil
Method
Bring the water to the boil and add the salt and oil. Remove from the heat and shoot in the flour, stirring briskly. When cool enough to handle, knead to a smooth dough. It should be neither too dry nor sticky. Cover with a damp cloth, set aside and proceed to make the filling.
Image courtesy: businessinsider.com
Ingredients for the filling
2 cups freshly grated coconut
1 cup jaggery, grated
A pinch of cardamom powder
Method
Heat the jaggery over a low flame and add the coconut. Keep stirring till the mixture comes together. Add the cardamom powder.
To make the modaks
Take small balls of the dough and shape into thin discs, about 3 inches across. Place a teaspoon of filling inside and bring the edges together and pinch them together at the top. Make all the modaks this way. Place them on an oiled plate or banana leaf and steam for about 10 minutes.
Note: You can also add chopped nuts or poppy seeds to the filling mixture, if you like.
Kara kozhukkattai
Ingredients
1 cup rice flour
2 cups water
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsps urad dal
1 sprig curry leaves
1 red chilli, broken into small bits.
Pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
4 tbsp grated coconut
Image courtesy: pepperbowl.com
Method
Heat the oil in a karhai and put in the mustard seeds and urad dal. Then add the chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida and coconut. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. When it’s boiling briskly, add the rice flour and stir cook till it comes together. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Grease your hands and shape into small fistfuls. Place these on an oiled tray or banana leaf and steam for 10 minutes. Serve drizzled with a little ghee.
