IndiaCookery: Steamed sweet rice balls/Kozhukattai

Ingredients

To prepare the dough
Rice flour    -    3cups
Salt    -    to taste
water    -    2cups

To prepare the rice flour, first soak the rice for 4 hours.Then drain all the water from the rice and spread it on a muslin cloth to dry the rice for half an hour.Then grind the rice to powder and this makes the rice flour for kozhukattai.

Boil water in a vessel with required amount of salt added to it.When the water is boiling switch it off and then add the rice flour and mix it thoroughly(note:lumps may be formed.So stir it continuously,such that lumps are not formed)

Though this dough preparation is little tedious,once you get through it,it will be easy to prepare many dishes from this kozhukattai base.After stirring it well to a nice round dough,close it with a lid(so that the heat inside the dough removes the raw smell of the rice)and keep it aside for 10-15minute.

To prepare the stuffing
Jaggery pounded    -    1cup
Coconut grated    -    1cup
Dry ginger Powder    -    1tsp

Mix all the ingredients together and this makes the stuffing(simple isn't it.)

Actually we can make different stuffings depending upon our taste and creativity.Instead of jaggery sugar can also be used.

Kozhukattai Preparation

Apply some oil onto your hands so the dough doesn't stick .Then take a small portion of the dough and tap it slowly on a oil applied cellophane paper.With your fingers widen it around from the center and make a nice round patty .

Fill it with 1 tsp of the mixture that is to be stuffed.(Adding too much of mixture may break the kozhukattai while cooking and the jaggery inside oozes out.)

Then fold the kozhukattai with the help of cellophane paper.It becomes a half shape.Taper the ends or just press the ends with fingers so they get sealed well.