Ammini Kozhukattai | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

It has been festival after festival here and now it is time for my yet another favorite festival – Ganesh Chaturthi. After Krishna, my most favorite God is Ganesha 🙂 Tell me whats not to love about him?! His long trunk and his large ears. His big pot belly. His versatility. His love for food. And even his Mooshika Vahanaa 🙂

As long as I can remember, Vinayaka Chavithi has been celebrated with excitement in our family. I precisely remember walking along the different streets along with my grandma, picking up leaves and flowers of all types for the pooja. Ganesha asks for nothing but good food. From Kozhukattais to Undraalu, from Sojjappams to Sundal, we make everything and devour in the name of God. This year Ganesha is gracing upon us with a holiday on Monday. Whattay yay! 😀 I am planning for a very simple celebration with lots of good food.

Ganesh Chaturthi and Kozhukattai go hand in hand. Ammini Kozhukkattai is a type of Kaara Kozhukattai. Kozhukkattai is essentially a steamed dumpling quite famous in South India. This especially happens to be the favorite for our Elephant God too. Kozhukattai can either be sweet or savory. Ammini Kozhukkatai, also called as mini kozhukattai or mani kozhukkattai is a savory dumpling made from rice flour.

With just a few ingredients, this kozhukkattai is extremely delicious. Imagine melt in mouth, soft balls tempered with coconut and curry leaves. This dish is all about simplicity being the highest order of awesomeness. Very few ingredients going in, but a burst of flavors in the end result. It is slightly time consuming – that is to roll these small balls of dough and needs a lot of patience too. But.. but, the end result is super satisfying – I promise you that 🙂

To make Ammini Kozhukattai | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

Servings: 2
Time: Prep Time – 30 mins + Cook Time - 15 mins
Difficulty: Easy
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What I used –

Rice Flour, ½ cup
Water, 1 cup
Moong Dal, 2 tbsp
Grated Coconut, 3 tbsp
Green Chillies, 1 or 2
Sesame Oil/Gingelly Oil, 2 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon + extra (to rolling & greasing)
Mustard Seeds, 1 tsp
Urad Dal, 1 tsp
Asafoetida/Hing, ¼ tsp
Curry Leaves, a few
Salt, as needed

Ammini Kozhukattai

How I made –

1. In a pot, add 1 cup of water, salt and 1 teaspoon of sesame/gingelly oil. Bring this to a rolling boil. Switch off the flame. Add ½ cup of rice flour and quickly stir so that no lumps are formed. Keep stirring until the mixture comes together. Add 1 teaspoon of sesame/gingelly oil and make sure the ball of dough is soft and non-sticky.

2. Meanwhile, in a pot boil the moong dal with enough water on low flame for 10-15 mins. The dal should retain its shape and not be cooked to a mash. Set this aside.

3. Apply oil to your hands and start making small sized balls out of the rice dough while it is warm enough to handle. The dough should be soft and easy to roll. There should be no cracks in the rolled out balls. Make sure all the balls are of same size. Repeat this until all the dough is exhausted.

4. Grease the steamer plate (I used my idli plate) with some sesame/gingelly oil. Place these small dough balls gently on the steamer plate and steam cook for 7-8 mins. A cooked rice ball would change color and should bounce back when pressed. Remove from heat and let it cool down for 5 mins.

5. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of sesame/gingelly oil. Add mustard seeds and urad dal. As mustard seeds pop off and urad dal turns golden brown, add fresh curry leaves, sliced green chillies and asafoetida/hing. Fry for a couple of minutes, add cooked moong dal. Add salt required for the dal. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add the steamed rice balls and mix well. Finally add grated coconut and mix well. Remove from heat.

6. Serve hot!

Note –

The rice flour has to be very fine. Usually raw rice is washed and dried in the shade. Ground into a fine powder in a flour mill. It is impossible to attain this texture in a mixie/grinder.
Store bought rice flour can be used but make sure it is fresh and idea for making kozhukattais.
The ratio of water for this kozhukattai is ½ :1 to rice flour: water. This would yield very soft, smooth dough ideal for this recipe.
As the rice flour is added into the boiled water, stir quickly to avoid lumps. The mixture might look loose but keep stirring and soon it forms a round ball.
Don’t let the dough sit for too long, it can get dried out. Don’t work sitting under the ceiling fan – can dry out the dough.
Work on the dough as soon as you are able to handle the heat. If it cools down completely, making balls can be a pain.
Instead of moong dal, chana dal can be used too. Soak chana dal for 30 mins and pressure cook for two whistles.

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Taking this to Fiesta Friday #135 co-hosted by Jhuls and Suzanne 🙂