Ganesh Chathurthi, the day of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God in the Hindu mythology is celebrated with great fervour in some parts of India. It’s a huge communal celebration where clay idols of Lord Ganesha are installed in homes and communal centers for 11 days and then the idols are immersed in the rivers or the sea. Kozhukattai or modak is Lord Ganesha’s favorite dish. It is the main prasad that is offered to him particularly on Ganesh Chathurthi. No wonder that it is the Lord’s favorite too: it is really delicious! The three ingredients are rice, jaggery and coconut, and it’s a steamed preparation so that makes it healthy too.
Modakam or Kozhakatai: Lord Ganesha’s Favorite!!
Time taken: 45 min
Taste-o-meter: sweet
Ingredients:
• Grated coconut: 1 cup
• Jaggery: 1.5 cup
• Cardamom pods: 2-3
• Rice flour: 1 cup
• Water: 2 cups
• Pinch of salt
• Oil ( preferably sesame /gingelli oil): 1 tbsp
Method:
• In a pan, put the coconut and jaggery and stir till the mixture thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan.
• Add the cardamom powder and stir for another half a minute and let it cool.
• In a pan, bring two cups of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and add 3-4 drops of oil to the water.
• Once the water starts boiling, gradually add the rice flour.
• Stir continuously for 5 min on a low flame and then turn off the heat.
• After the dough cools, knead it well to remove lumps.
• Take some oil in a cup and grease your hands to make the Kozhakattai.
• Take a lemon-sized ball of the rice dough and shape it into a cup with your fingers.
• Slightly flatten the ball on your palm like a disk, place your thumbs at the center of the disk, and the fingers on the outside and shape like a cup by moving the dough between your fingers.
• Put a spoon of the sweet filling into the cups and seal it with the dough into the shape a shown in the picture.
• Steam-cook the dumplings and serve.