Kozhukattai recipe with kadalai paruppu pooranam, a traditional dish made for Vinayagar chaturthi festival.
Check out my easy mothagam recipe with just coconut, jaggery and do not forget to read my complete guide to celebrate vinayaga chaturthi.
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Secret for softness
Yes, the readymade idiyappam flour available at grocery stores is the handy and best for the kozhukattai outer layer and the result is a very soft kozhukatais.
You do not need kozhukattai flour commercially available these days. Better than that, just buy a good quality idiyappam flour. As it is a processed flour, it gives softest results.
If you want to prepare rice flour from scratch, you can also do it, check out my post on how to make rice flour. You can use it in this kozhukattai recipe.
You can even prepare this 2 days before and use it for the festival.
Stuffing
The stuffing we make is always chana dal pooranam (kadalai paruppu pooranam). It has coconut too. We make a large amount and enjoy as such too.
Kadalai paruppu pooranam
Kozhukattai dough tips
Why my kozhukattai skin breaks?
Keep the dough covered all the times. Do not let it dry. If the dough is moist, it will never break.
Do not keep in fridge or keep for long time after shaping/ stuffing the kozhukattai / mothagam.
Always boil water before placing the kozhukattai inside steamer.
Why is my kozhukattai skin rubbery?
Use good quality, process rice flour. Idiyappam flour, kozhukattai flour works best. You can also use homemade rice flour. The key is to use processed rice flour, good quality rice flour for making this kozhukattai recipe.
How to get softest kozhukattai?
Use boiling hot water, enough to get soft dough. The dough should get cooked as you prepare. This ensures best soft kozhukattai.
The dough should neither be tight nor be sticky. Adjust water or add one or 2 tablespoon flour to balance.
Use generous sesame oil while preparing dough.
Why my kozhukattai turns dry after steaming?
Once cooked, keep it covered in a container to avoid drying.
Related posts
Recipe card
Kozhukattai recipe
Ingredients
For kozhukattai dough
- 1 cup Idiyappam flour or good quality rice flour/ Homemade rice flour
- 1 & ⅓ cup cup Water as needed
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- Salt as needed
For poornam
- ½ cup Chana dal kadalai paruppu
- 1 cup Jaggery powdered
- ½ cup coconut grated
- 2 cardamom
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Boil water with salt, oil firstly (mine had salt in it so I dint add any salt).
- Take the flour in a broad vessel. Add the boiling hot water little by little and mix with the help of a ladle.
- Let it cool for about 5 min, or until warm enough to handle.
- Knead to make a smooth dough. The consistency should be like our chapatti dough, non sticky.
- Keep covered until you use to prevent drying. Make small lemon sized balls with the prepared dough.
- For each step or whenever needed, grease your hands with sesame oil.
- Roll the stuffing also same sized balls. I am showing with sweet pooranam(stuffing).
- Take a dough ball and start flattening the ball with your fingers around he sides as shown in the picture.
- Then continue towards the centre of the ball so that you make a bowl shape as shown in the picture. Now keep the stuffing inside.
- Gather all the sides and pinch together in the middle and make a kozhukattai (mothagam) shape. Refer the second video to see how to shape.
- Now follow the procedure to make some 8 and arrange it in a idly plate as shown or in a steamer and steam cook for 10 – 12 minutes.
- Now carefully take it out from the idly plate and your kozhukattais are ready!
Sweet stuffing
- Soak chana dal for an hour. Pressure cook dal with water just to immerse it (Little less is also fine) up to 5 whistles.
- Drain water if any, cool down and grind in blender or mash it with masher just to make it a paste and keep aside.
- Then again start heating the jaggery syrup (wash the vessel as it will have impurities). When it starts boiling, at one stage, the syrup will get frothy.
- At this stage add the ground dal paste, salt and coconut. Stir continuously without forming any lumps.
- Add cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.
- Keep Stirring well till the mixture gets thick starts leaving the sides of the vessel.
- Note that water we are adding should be very less. The lesser we add water to jaggery, sooner the stuffing will get ready.
- It can be little loose like kesari, later it will become thick as it cools down.
- Once cooled, make equal sized balls so that it will be easy to make kozhukattai later.
Video
Notes
- Keep the dough always closed and try to finish making the kozhukattais as soon as possible as keeping for long time may lead to cracking/dry kozhukattais.
- To check if the kozhukattais are done : The outer layer would have changed shiny.
- Boil water well for making dough. The rice flour dough should get cooked ¾th, then only the dough will be not sticky and also soft after cooking.
- Adding oil in the water/while making dough gives softer kozhukattais.
- Grease your hands generously each time you make kozhukattai, work on each (knead) just before shaping to get it smooth.
Pooranam preparation
1. Soak chana dal for minimum an hour to begin with.
2. After that, pressure cook dal with water just to immerse it (Little less is also fine) up to 5 whistles.
3. Drain water if any and cool down to grind in blender. You can also mash it with masher just to make it a paste.
4. Take jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel. Then pour water just enough to immerse jaggery.
5. Heat it and when jaggery dissolves completely, filter it in a metal strainer to remove impurities if any.
5. Then again start heating the jaggery syrup (wash the vessel as it will have impurities).
6. When it starts boiling, at one stage, the syrup will get frothy. At this stage add the ground dal paste and coconut.
7. Stir continuously without forming any lumps. Add cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.
8. Note that water we are adding should be very less. The lesser we add water to jaggery, sooner the stuffing will get ready.
9. Keep Stirring well till the mixture gets thick starts leaving the sides of the vessel.
Kozhukattai method
1. Boil water with oil (add salt if the flour doesn’t have salt in it. Mine had salt in it so I didn’t add any salt).
2. Take the flour in a broad vessel. Add the boiling water little by little and mix with the help of a ladle.
3. Let it cool for about 5 min.
4. After that, once warm enough to handle, knead with your hands to make a smooth dough.
5. The consistency should be like our chapati dough, non sticky.
6. Keep covered till you use to prevent drying.
7. Make small lemon sized balls with the prepared dough.
Shaping
1. For each step or whenever needed grease your hands with sesame oil.
2. Make the stuffing also same sized balls. I am showing with sweet pooranam (stuffing).
3. Take a dough ball and start flattening the ball with your fingers around he sides as shown in the picture.
4. Then continue towards the center of the ball so that you make a bowl shape as shown in the picture.
5. Keep the stuffing inside.
6. Gather all the sides and seal together in the middle and make a mothagam shape. Refer the video to see how to shape.
Now repeat the procedure to make more kozhukattais. Each time, work with each dough ball. Knead it and smooth it again to ensure it remains smooth.
7. Arrange it in a idly plate as shown or in a steamer and steam cook for 10 – 12 minutes.
8. Now carefully take it out from the idly plate and your kozhukattais are ready!
There are various methods of making stuffing for a kozhukattai.
You can prepare the same kozhukattai recipe, sweet with coconut jaggery, chana dal or with sesame seeds instead of chana dal. Salt version is with urad dal.
Raji..Those kozhukattais are looking awesome..nice shapes!..good to see you back!
WOW!..bookmarked!!..a real keeper!..I always fail with the outer layer..ending up in lumps..
Yours look perfect..!!
I have posted kozhukkattais last year and I use the poori presser.do visit my post abt the same when you have time!..
I will certain;y try your method, raji and let you know..
Happy that you are back and hope your little one has steeled with his new atmosphere 🙂
Me too a very lazy blogger these days..you see 🙂
Wow!!!
yummy kollukattai….
So nice to see you again Raks… and those kozhukattais are like works of art – perfect!
Lovely step by step procedure……Kozhukattais look awesome…..
Beautiful kozhukattais! I always have trouble with the outer covering cracking and the pooranam leaking. Any idea of what might be wrong? Thanks!
I ran into your kozhukattais when I was blog hopping…nice step by step pictures and instructions for the recipe…decorative edges on the kozhukattais too!
Good to see you back!
Wow, awesome recipe! Nice pics.
Hi Rak’s Kitchen! Nice to see you back…The kozhukattais look awesome
…
oh wow! they have come out nice and pretty! my bro loves these modakas and so do i 🙂 yummy!
Kalai,
There are some reasons for cracking:
1.The dough should be really smooth and moist,non sticky.For that,if you are using rice flour,boil water nicely with a teaspooon of gingelly oil.water should be hot enough to make the flour get cooked.
2.Enough wter should be added.
3.Keep the dough alwas covered to avoid drying,if itdries up also sprinkle hot water and little oil in between to make it again smooth.
The main key is the flour should get cooked while we ar making t dough itself and should be always moist(dont let it dry)
Hope this helps you:)
I love those kozhakattais prepared you….Looks perfect
Hi Rajeshwari,
First time in your blog when I was searching for kozhukattai recipe.Tried your recipe and it came wonderful.I always mess up on the outer layer( lumps are unavoidable) but ur recipe is a keeper.BTW,I made the outer layer with ready made rice flour that we get in the Indian stores(US).Still it works… 🙂
Thanks for sharing
Vidya
VidyaThanks so much for the feedback and the nice words 🙂 Appreciate that you spent time to write here 🙂 its really motivating me 🙂 I will also try with the plain rice flour next time 🙂
Very nice clippings. Thanks for all the effort into making the video's.
YOu are truly a pro! I saw several blogs with kozhukkattai recipes. None of them ever match the beauties here! Such perfection in shape and texture!
Wow..it makes me drool ..lovely step by step pics…bookmarked!
Wow..Raji..Awesome post on kozhukattais….I luv it as much as the lord ganesha do…Happy vinayakar chathurthi
IWOnderful demo! I have just made both the thithipu and uluthampoornams and kalaried the arusi mavu to make tomorrow – Sad part is no one will be back home until 6 pm — I have to gorge the kozhakattais by myself 😉
Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi to you and family
cheers, priya
awesome recipes dear…love your clicks too…
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Hai i simply adore ur blog they r looking so nice and yummy. Since from my childhood i enjoy this kozhukattai i really miss them a lot when i saw in ur blog i just gave a try to them the result was awsome better than what i used to have in my childhood. Thank u soooo much for all ur delicious recipies i also tried ur cheesy cauliflower kofta gravy it is really a big hit with my fuzzy 5 yr old daughter.
Oh My God. You are awesome. Very good chef and beautiful photographer. Your family must be so proud.
Hi, i came across your blog while seraching for step by step recipes and love it! I have bookmarked this kozhukattai recipe For later, but had a doubt…do you not pressure cook the modakams in the final step? The way i have learnt is to do that as a final step, without the cooker "weight" just for few mins to cook the outer layer. I of course use rice flour. Is that the difference?
HI, Yes in final step we have to cook(steam) the kozhukattais. You can use a steamer or idli pot/cooker or even pressure cooker for this as u have said.
The filling is so different from how we make them… want to try this version… We too use idiyappam flour to make the outer covering…I've never added oil to the flour but I guess that might flavour it and also help with the texture…
I specially want to try the savoury ones…
Hai,
I was searching for modak recipe as ganesh chathurthi is approaching… And urs is totally different. Just hv doubts which i need to clear b4 trying. In all the recipes i saw that rice flour is used and it was added directly to boiling water on fire by slowly adding the flour and stirring it. Which is easy and better? Rice flour or idyappam flour? To add water to the flour or flour to the water while the water is boiling?
HI Kavitha, Its depends, for me adding boiling water to the flour and kneading is easy, for some people, adding flour to boiling water is easy. Sometimes I mess up when I add flour to boiling water as it forms lumps … So I follow this method of adding water to the flour and then knead. And idiyappam flour is shortcut method to get soft and perfect outer layer, as it is too fine it comes out really soft 🙂
Your bread uppuma receipe is very best. My kids like a lot.for vinayakar chathurthi, y don't you introduce ellu kozhakattai which is sweet and nice ,it's healthy too.
Hi Rajeswari,
Pooranam and kolukattai came out very well, thanks for your receipe and keep your good work, as its really very helpful.
Have a nice day!
Hi Raks…Thanks for the kozhukattai recipe..I tried it for the 1st time and it really came out well & tasty..your recipes are well explained with pictures and easy to follow :):)
Hey Raks, I tried the Kozhukattais too and for the first time ever got them right! Previous two times were disaster 😉 Your pictures all over this blog are just awesome. Keep up the awesome job and your quite an inspiration. Wishing you the best
Akshata 🙂
Hey Raks, I tried the Kozhukattais too and for the first time ever got them right! Previous two times were disaster 😉 Your pictures all over this blog are just awesome. Keep up the awesome job and your quite an inspiration. Wishing you the best
Akshata 🙂
Hey,Akshata good to hear from you 🙂 Thank you for your prompt feedback 🙂
HI
VERY NICE & EXPLAINED WELL
Hi raks ur recipees r amazing n inspiring to try! Hv tried ur ulundu wadai n want to try the ulundu kozhkottai now. Truly amazing pics n work! Thnx so much for all the perfect recipees shown to be made so easily! God bless mini
I tried this today and it came out perfect. Thanks raks, i look in for your posts for whatever new i want to try. Great going!
Hi Raks,I have been a silent follower of your blog for a long time now.After seeing so many modaks on many food blogs I wanted to try them for Ganesh Chathurthi this time.But I decided to go ahead with your recipe as whatever I have tried from your page has always been a hit.As this was my first attempt at making them I was a little apprehensive.With your step by step instructions and pictures it was a super hit.My family really enjoyed it.Thank you very much.All the best:)
Hi, can the stuffing in the modugam or kozhukkattai be made without coconut as my daughter is allergic to it.
Yes sure you can. Reduce jaggery accordingly as it may be too sweet otherwise.