Pidi Kozhukattai - Vinayagar Chathurthi Recipe

My mom used to make this pidi kozhukattai often. It is very easy to prepare and is very healthy too. She used to prepare using both jaggery-coconut and sugar-coconut combination. Have given the recipe for both.

For Jaggery-Coconut kozhukattai
 
Ingredients

Kozhukattai flour/rice flour -1/2 cup
Jaggery-1/4 cup or little more than that (adjust as per your sweet preference)
Grated coconut -1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Salt - a pinch (to enhance the sweetness)
Ghee/clarified butter -1 tsp

Method

Sift the flour twice and transfer to a wide bowl. Add the grated coconut, cardamom powder, salt and ghee and give a nice mix. Set aside.

In a pan, dissolve jaggery in 1/4 cup  of water over low heat. (The quantity of water will differ according to the quality of rice flour. It will vary from 1:1.5 ratio). Filter it to remove impurities.

Add this jaggery syrup to the rice flour mixture mixing well with a spoon or spatula constantly.  Allow to cool down a bit if it is too hot. When it is still warm, knead to a smooth dough. Divide into equal balls of small size and then make oval shapes out of the mixture. Keep it on your palm and press it to get the desired shape. Grease your fingers with ghee if you want a very smooth appearance. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Steam cook for 10-15 minutes or until done.

Sugar-Coconut Kozhukattai version

Ingredients

Kozhukattai flour/rice flour -1/2 cup
Sugar -1/4 cup (adjust as per your sweet preference)
Grated coconut -1/4 cup
Water - 1/2 cup or a little more than that
Salt - a pinch (to enhance the sweetness)

Method

Sift the flour twice and transfer it to a bowl. Add sugar, grated coconut and salt and mix well. Set aside.

In a vessel boil the water, turn off the flame and pour this boiling water to the rice flour mixture. Simultaneously mix with a spoon or spatula. Allow to cool down a bit if it is too hot. 

When it is still warm, knead to a smooth dough. Divide into equal balls of small size and then make oval shapes out of the mixture. Keep it on your palm and press it to get the desired shape. Grease your fingers with ghee if you want a very smooth appearance. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Steam cook for 10-15 minutes or until done.

 Note
* After the dough is ready keep covered to avoid drying. Also cover the shaped kozhukattais too.
* After steaming, if you feel the kozhukattai is not cooked fully inside. Steam for few more minutes. It may need a minimum of 10 minutes for the kozhukattais to be fully cooked.