Kara Ammini Kozhukattai| Spiced Mini Kozhukattai

Today, I present to you another traditional recipe for Ganesh Chaturthi – Kara Ammini Kozhukattai or Spiced Mini Kozhukattai. For the uninitiated, these are little dumplings made out of cooked rice flour, steamed and then tempered. Very little oil is used in the preparation of ammini kozhukattai, making it quite a healthy snacking option. The tempering can be made in different ways, which gives the dish an absolutely different taste every time you make it. At home, this is quite a big favourite, and we make this often, festival times or not. Kara Ammini Kozhukattai makes for a great lunch box filler as well.

This is a popular offering to Ganesha in Tamilnadu, for the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Different families have different styles of tempering the ammini kozhukattai, but typically, they are made from the leftover cooked rice flour remaining after making the traditional stuffed modaks. Even if you don’t have any cooked rice flour left over, these little ones are an absolute breeze to make.

The Kara Ammini Kozhukattai recipe I am sharing with you today is my mother’s. This is the way Amma makes them, the way she taught me to. Now. let’s check out the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

For making the ammini kozhukattai:

1. 1 cup rice flour
2. 2 cups water
3. 1 teaspoon oil + more for greasing hands and steaming vessel
4. Salt, to taste
5. Red chilli powder, to taste
6. 2 pinches asafoetida powder
7. 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

For the tempering:

1. 1 teaspoon oil
2. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3. 2 pinches asafoetida powder
4. 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
5. 2-3 dry red chillies
6. 2 green chillies, slit length-wise
7. 1/4 cup fresh grated coconut

Method:

We will begin with making the dough for the ammini kozhukattai.

1. Take 2 cups of water in a pan, and add 1 teaspoon oil to it. Place on high flame and bring to a rolling boil.
2. Now, lower flame to medium. Add the rice flour to the boiling water little by little, stirring constantly to ensure that no lumps are formed.
3. In about a minute, all the water will get absorbed into the rice flour. Now, keeping the flame on medium, stir the dough for a minute more, trying to break any lumps that might have formed.
4. Now, turn the flame to the lowest possible. Cover the pan with a lid. Let the rice flour cook for a minute, covered. Switch off gas. Allow the cooked rice flour to cool down completely.

We will now prepare the ammini kozhukattai for steaming.

1. Ensure that the cooked rice flour we prepared earlier has entirely cooled down. Now, add salt to taste, red chilli powder and 2 pinches of asafoetida powder to it.
2. Use your hands to mix well. Knead into a soft dough, ensuring the the salt, red chilli powder and asafoetida are evenly distributed throughout. Knead for a couple of minutes.
3. If the dough is too sticky, you can mix in a teaspoon of oil at this stage. If not, skip this step and proceed to the next one.
4. Grease your palms with a little oil. Shape small balls out of the rice flour dough. Keep aside, covered.
5. Grease a wide vessel with a little oil. Keep it ready for steaming.

Now, we will steam the ammini kozhukattai.

1. Take about 1/2 cup water in a pressure cooker base.
2. Place a stand over it.
3. Arrange the little balls we prepared earlier into the greased vessel you prepped for steaming. Place this over the stand.
4. Close the pressure cooker. Steam on high flame, without placing the weight on, for 10 minutes. Switch off gas, and allow the cooker to cool down a bit.
5. Now, remove the steamed ammini kozhukattai from the cooker and allow to cool down completely.

Lastly, we will temper the kara ammini kozhukattai.

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan.
2. Add in the mustard. Allow it to pop.
3. Add in the asafoetida, curry leaves, dry red chillies and slit green chillies. Let them stay in for a couple of seconds.
4. Now, add the steamed and cooled ammini kozhukattai to the pan.
5. Turn flame to medium. Stir gently, mixing the tempering with the ammini kozhukattai. Take care to ensure that the ammini kozhukattai do not break.
6. Add in the fresh grated coconut. Mix well, but gently.
7. Cook for a minute, stirring gently. Switch off gas. The ammini kozhukattai is ready – serve hot or at room temperature!

A pictorial representation of the various steps involved in the making of Kara Ammini Kozhukattai

Notes:

1. Coconut oil or gingelly oil works best in the making of Kara Ammini Kozhukattai. If you don’t have these, however, any other variety of odourless oil would do.
2. You can skip adding the red chilli powder in the Kara Ammini Kozhukattai, if you plan to make these for kids, or add it a very minimal amount.
3. I use store-bought fine rice flour to make these Kara Ammini Kozhukattai.
4. While steaming the ammini kozhukattai, make sure you place a stand in the pressure cooker base. This will ensure that no water enters the steaming vessel.
5. It is important to let the steamed ammini kozhukattai cool down completely, before you proceed to do the tempering. Otherwise, there are chances that the kozhukattai will become mushy and tasteless.
6. It is important to ensure that there are no lumps in the rice flour dough that you prepare, for the best-tasting ammini kozhukattai.
7. Ensure that you steam the ammini kozhukattai for just 10 minutes, without the weight on. Over-steaming will make them dry out and get hard.
8. Traditionally, when these ammini kozhukattai are prepared for the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, they are cooked without tasting. They are first offered to Lord Ganesha, and then partaken of.

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This post is for the Foodie Monday Blog Hop. The theme for the week is ‘Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes’.

I’m sharing this recipe with Fiesta Friday #240. The co-hosts this week are Deb @ The Pantry Portfolio and Laurena @ Life Diet Health.