Godhumai Rava Upma Kozhukattai| Wheat Dalia Pidi Kozhukattai

Pidi Kozhukattai or Upma Kozhukattai is an all-time favourite breakfast or snack option at our place, with everyone in the family loving it. It is the dish I often resort to making when I have members from the extended family over. This Tamil Nadu special is quite simple to make, after all, and a steamed snack that needs very minimal oil. Traditionally made using rice and a lentil (either chana daal, moong daal or toor daal), Pidi Kozhukattai makes for a healthy, wholesome and hearty snack. Today, I present to you the recipe for Wheat Dalia Pidi Kozhukattai, a healthier version of the traditional dish made using broken wheat.

For years, I made Pidi Kozhukattai the traditional way, using rice. It is only in recent times that I started making them with alternative grains like corn dalia and broken wheat. I am pretty pleased with the outcome, I must say. The use of alternative grains has rendered the dish all the more healthier, yet delicious and wholesome as always. This Wheat Dalia Pidi Kozhukattai is now a much-loved dish in my household – in fact, this version is made quite often at my place, and we hardly miss the one with rice!

Wheat dalia – also called broken wheat, Godhumai Rava in Tamil – has long been recommended by nutritionists and dieticians as a healthier alternative to rice, especially for diabetics. These Wheat Dalia Pidi Kozhukattai are, therefore, great for those afflicted with diabetes and, in general, for those who want to eat healthier. They are entirely plant-based, suitable for vegans. If you simply omit the asafoetida used in this recipe, it becomes a gluten-free dish as well.

Do try these lovelies out and let me know how you liked them!

Here’s how I make the Wheat Dalia Pidi Kozhukattai or Godhumai Rava Upma Kozhukattai.

Ingredients (makes about 12 pieces):

1. 1 cup broken wheat
2. 1/4 cup chana daal
3. 2 dry red chillies
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
6. 2 pinches of asafoetida
7. 1 sprig curry leaves
8. A 1-inch piece of ginger
9. 2 green chillies
10. 2-1/2 cups water
11. Salt to taste
12. 1/4 cup fresh grated coconut

Method:

1. Grind the broken wheat, dry red chillies and chana daal together, coarsely. Keep aside.

2. Peel the ginger and chop finely. Chop the green chillies into large pieces. Keep aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to sputter. Now add the chopped ginger and green chillies to the pan, along with the asafoetida. Roughly tear the curry leaves with your hands and add them to the pan. Mix all the ingredients and let them stay in for 3-4 seconds. Make sure the ingredients do not burn.

4. Add the 2-1/2 cups of water to the pan, along with salt to taste. Mix well.

5. Keep the flame high, and let the water come to a boil. Now, reduce the heat to medium and add in the fresh grated coconut and the broken wheat mix we ground earlier. Stir constantly to ensure that no lumps are formed.

6. Stirring constantly, cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or till all the ingredients begin to come together, the water starts to dry out and the mixture begins to resemble upma. Switch off gas.

7. Allow the mixture to cool down a bit, covered so it doesn’t dry out too much.

8. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, grease a colander with a little oil, for steaming. Form about 12 oblong dumplings out of the mixture, using your greased hands. Place the dumplings in the greased colander.

9. Take about 1 cup of water in a pressure cooker bottom. Place a high stand over it, then place the colander with the dumplings on top of this. Make sure water will not touch the dumplings.

10. Close the pressure cooker. Do not put the whistle on. Cook the dumplings on high heat for 10-12 minutes.

11. Let the dumplings cool down slightly before handling them. Serve them hot or at room temperature, with chutney of your choice.

Notes:

1. The broken wheat I used was quite big in size, so I ground it up coarsely along with the chana daal and dry red chillies. I just barely crushed it, and did not make a fine powder. If you are using fine broken wheat, there is no need to grind it.

2. I have not washed the broken wheat or chana daal. I just coarsely ground them, dry. Alternatively, you could soak the chana daal and dry red chillies for 15-20 minutes in a little water, then grind them and then use the paste.

3. Do not overcook the broken wheat mixture, otherwise the kozhukattai might turn out hard. Cook it just until the water begins to dry up and it attains a consistency similar to upma. It hardens a bit more on cooling.

4. Adjust the quantity of coconut, green chillies and dry red chillies as per personal taste preferences.

5. Steam the kozhukattai for not more than 10-12 minutes, otherwise they might turn hard.

6. Wait for the steamed kozhukattai to cool down a little before you handle them, or they might break.

7. Simple coconut chutney is the best accompaniment to these broken wheat kozhukattai.

8. Traditionally, pidi kozhukattai are given an oblong shape, like I have here, or a round, ball-like shape. You can go with any shape you prefer.

9. You can even dry roast the broken wheat till fragrant, before you start making the upma kozhukattai. I haven’t.

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This recipe is for the Foodie Monday Blog Hop. Every Monday, a group of us food bloggers share recipes based on a pre-determined theme.

The theme this week is #GetInShape, suggested by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds. For this hugely interesting theme, all of us are sharing how to make foods that have a geometric shape. After quite a bit of deliberation, I decided to go ahead with this Broken Wheat Upma Kozhukattai recipe.

I’m also sharing this recipe with Fiesta Friday #277. The co-hosts this week are Diann @ Of Goats and Greens and Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.