Modhakam - Kozhakattai - Sweet

Kozukkattai,/Modhakam/Modhak are delicious Indian dumplings that are made in different forms.  The basic principle is a bland or slightly salty envelope, enclosing a sweet or salty filling. There are some forms of kozukkattais that do not conform to the general rule - paal kozukkattai and upma kozukkattai.  These are exceptions to the rule and kozukkattais or modhaks are generally understood as the former variety, unless specified otherwise .

Other Indian names for modhak are Gujhia, Fara (Hindi), Karanji (Marati), Kajjiiayi (Telugu), pitha (Oriya), Kadabu (Kannada), Ada (Malayalam). Fara and Karanji are made with wheat flour while the rest are made of rice flower.

Hindus make them on Ganesh Chaturthi, as the dish represents the Lord - pure and soft on the outside and sweet inside. Kerala Christians make modhak the Sunday before Easter Sunday. Buddhists dumplings ("Momo", "wonton")  are now a delicacy, served in many Chinese and Tibetian restaurants. 

This post describes the traditional South Indian sweet kozukkattai,modhakam.  Please feel free to ask any doubts in this recipe.

Tips for making Modhakams,

1. Use only raw rice. Make sure the rice is clean without stones/ dirt.

2.Stuffing can be made the day before the festival and refrigerated.

3. If you feel that you can't make a cup shape for the outer layer, don't worry. Just flatten the dough with your palm, stuff it with the Puranam, make a ball and remove the extra dough.

4.Don't leave the dough open as it will become dry. Always cover it with a wet cloth.

5. Try to use a fresh grated coconut instead of dessicated coconut.

Ingredients
For outside layer
Raw Rice- 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Sesame oil - a little

Procedure
1. Soak the raw rice for 8 hours(or overnight)

2. Wash the rice. Now measure water with the same cup you measured your rice.  We need exactly 2 cups of water.

3. Drain the water completely. Take two measures of water. Grind to a smooth paste by adding water little by little.  This should be a very smooth paste. So grind patiently and if you the touch the batter it should be really smooth. Don't add all the water in the beginning itself. You may require only half a cup of water while grinding.

4. Now add the rest of the water. Mix well.

5. In a thick bottom vessel, pour this batter. Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sesame oil.

6. Stir continuously until the batter thickens and doesn't stick to the vessel. Then cover it with a wet cloth and then cover the vessel. Keep it aside until the batter cools down. Make sure there are no lumps. In this method there won't be any lumps at all.

Now comes the Stuffing part
For the Sweet Puranam
Coconut - fresh grated - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 2-3(remove the skin and crush it)

Procedure

1. Now we have to measure the jaggery after crushing it. You needn't struggle so much. Take the jaggery in a microwave bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds. It will soften a bit. Then easily crumble with your hand.

2. After measuring, in the same bowl add 2-3 tablespoons of water. Again microwave it for 1 minute. You can see that jaggery has melted.(If it's not melting in a minute, cook for 30 more seconds. Make sure not to overcook this in the microwave.)

3. In a thick bottomed kadai, add the coconut and jaggery. Strain the jaggery to remove the dirt.

4. Stir and cook until the coconut/jaggery mixture doesn't stick to the vessel. For a cup of coconut and jaggery it should not take you more than 5-7 minutes. Don't cook for too long as the jaggery has a tendency to become hard if overcooked.

5. Transfer this to a bowl and allow it to cool.

6. After it cools down, make small small balls. First make a small cone as the first one is considered as a "Pillayar". This is always a practice before making Modhakam

With dough and stuffing ready, we can start making the modhakam. Take a small gooseberry sized dough, Roll it smoothly in the palm of your hands. Keep water and sesame oil in two small cups which will help you in making the cups for the modhakams. The following video is a demonstration of how to make the modhakams.

First apply oil on the center of your palm. Use your thumb and index finger alone. Slowly start to flatten it. In between you can apply oil or water to flatten it. It should come like a small cup. Place your puranam inside. Close it and remove the excess dough.

Then steam in Idli cooker. I always use the mini idli plate as it's easy to cook. Steam for 7-8 minutes until the outer layer looks glossy.
Before steam cooking

 You can see that the outer colour has changed and it looks glossy.

Let it cool for 3-4 minutes. Then use a small spoon to take it out. Don't try to take it out when it's hot as there is every possibility of dough sticking to the vessel.