Inippu Kozhakattais (sweet rice dumplings)
Ingredients:
1 cup raw rice, washed, drained and dried for at least 8 hours
2 tablespoons ghee
3 cups boiling water (rice to water ratio is 1 : 3 cups)
A pinch of salt
Optional:
4-5 cashewnuts, broken in half and fried in a tablespoon of ghee until golden brown
1 tablespoon of raisins, fried in a tablespoon of ghee until plump
For the syrup:
1 ½ cups powdered jaggery
¼ cup water
4 pods cardamom, crushed
Method:
1. Use a blender or a food processor to coarsely grind the washed and dried rice (make sure the rice is completely dry). The texture should be that of a coarse rava (semolina).
1 cup raw rice, washed, drained and dried for at least 8 hours
Optional: Sieve the ground rice to remove the fine flour – the texture of the kozhakattai will be grainier, which is what the traditional recipe calls for. I don’t do this because its additional effort, but if you do, and are wondering what to do with the fine sieved rice flour, it can be used later to thicken gravies.
2. Make the syrup. Mix the jaggery, water and powdered cardamom in a pan. Bring to a boil. When the syrup is bubbling and all the lumps have dissolved, turn off the flame and sieve the syrup through a fine strainer to get rid of any impurities / sand that may have been in the jaggery. Set aside.
1 ½ cups powdered jaggery
¼ cup water
4 pods cardamom, crushed
3. Heat up the ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Add the broken rice to the pan, roast till the raw aroma is gone and the rice starts clumping together, about a minute or so.
2 tablespoons ghee
4. Measure the boiling water, add the salt to the water and pour into the rice. This will splatter and bubble up so stand back while doing this step. Stir quickly so the bottom does not catch. Cover the pan and cook. Keep an eye on it and stir occasionally to ensure it doesn’t get burnt. Cook for about 8 minutes. The rice will be about 3/4th cooked.
3 cups boiling water (rice to water ratio is 1 : 3 cups)
A pinch of salt
5. Add the 3/4th of the jaggery syrup to the cooked rice and mix in – mix vigorously to ensure the lumps get broken up. Add the rest of the syrup a few tablespoons at a time, depending on how sweet you’d like the kozhakattais to be.
6. Once the syrup is mixed in and there are no white spots, take the pan off the flame. If using cashewnuts and raisins, add them at this stage and mix in. Let the mixture cool slightly, but do not cool too much else it will be hard to roll the balls.
Optional:
4-5 cashewnuts, broken in half and fried in a tablespoon of ghee until golden brown
1 tablespoon of raisins, fried in a tablespoon of ghee until plump
8. Rolling the kozhakattais:
i) Set up your rolling station. First take some water in a bowl, next the pan with the kozhakattai mixture and finally a parchment lined metal plate to arrange the kozhakattais.
ii) Dip your hand in the water (this will help in picking up the hot mixture).
iii) Then with the wet, but clean hands, pick up a lemon sized portion of the kozhakattai mixture and roll into a ball or an oval shape.
Apprentice Note: Do use the water to wet your hands before rolling to protect your hands from being scalded!
iv) Arrange on the plate without the sides touching. If you’re going to be using a regular steamer (like the bamboo / Chinese steamers), then line the metal plate with parchment paper before arranging the balls on it.
9. Steam the kozhakattais in batches for 8 minutes a batch. If using an idli steamer to do this, then arrange the balls on the idli plate, cover and steam. If using a regular steamer to do this, use a clean cloth towel to tie up the cover of the steamer – this is to stop the condensation dripping onto the balls and making them soggy. Once steamed, remove and serve hot.
Note:
These can be stored in the refrigerator for a 2-3 days. To reheat, steam them again for a few minutes.
If you’d like to try out the savoury version of these kozhakattais, click here.
Makes: about 25-30 kozhakattais
Apprentice Rating: Easy
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