Ellu pooranam kozhukattai / ellu koulakkati (Sesame seeds modak in English) can be prepared in two ways. One is a no cook stuffing by just dry roasting the sesame seeds and grinding with coconut, jaggery and cardamom. Other one is by cooking the roasted sesame seeds in jaggery syrup to make the stuffing. I have already shared the no cook ellu pooranam last year. But we usually make the second version for Ganesh chaturthi neivedyam.
We also reserve some stuffing balls and offer ellu urundai to God. So today I thought of making a detailed post on our method of making ellu poorana kozhukattai. I always use black sesame seeds as I make it for festival. Also I tried making this ellu kozhukattai in different shapes like round, square, rectangle shapes without using modak mould. Ok, Lets see how to make ellu kolukattai/ sesame seeds modak with step by step pictures.
Powdered jaggery – 3/4 cup (Use 1/2 cup for less sweetness)
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt - a pinch
For kozhukattai dough
Idiyappam flour / Kozhukattai flour - 1 cup
Water - as needed
Cooking oil - a drop
Salt - a pinch
HOW TO MAKE ELLU KOZHUKATTAI
In a kadai, dry roast sesame seeds till it starts to splutter. Remove in a plate.
Melt jaggery adding water. Strain it. Again boil the syrup till frothy.
Add roasted sesame seeds, grated coconut and cardamom powder.
Mix well till the mixture starts to leave the sides of pan.
Remove in a plate. Make balls when warm. Set aside.
To make kozhukattai dough, boil water in a pan adding oil and salt.
Add to the flour and make a smooth dough.
Make shapes using mould or by hand. Stuff in sesame seed ball and shape it.
Boil water in an idli pot. Arrange the kozhukattai in idli pot.
Steam it for 8 to 10 minutes. Switch off and rest the modak for few minutes.
Then remove in a plate. Offer to God and enjoy !
ELLU POORANAM KOLUKATTAI - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
To make ellu pooranam, wash and dry the sesame seeds in a cloth for 30 minutes. But this step is completely optional. I don’t do it.
Heat a kadai and dry roast the sesame seeds till it starts to splutter. Remove in a plate.
In the same kadai, add jaggery and water. Heat and melt the jaggery. Strain the hot syrup using an iron mesh. Wash the kadai and add the strained syrup.
Boil till frothy. Add the roasted sesame seeds, grated coconut, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
Cook in medium flame till the mixture becomes thick and starts to leave the sides of pan. Remove in a plate and spread it to becomes warm. Use a spoon and divide the mixture into small portions to make balls. This helps to roll balls easily once it becomes warm. So divide the mixture with a spoon when its hot.
Grease your hands with sesame oil and press it to make balls when warm. Reserve 3 balls to offer ellu urundai.
Now lets make the kozhukattai dough. Boil water in a pan adding few drops of oil and a pinch of salt. When the water roll boils, switch off the flame.
Add the hot water to 1 cup of kozhukattai flour gradually. Make a smooth, non-sticky dough. Cover with a wet cloth.
Make golf sized balls and set aside. Cover the remaining dough with wet cloth. Take a ball and make soppu / cup shape. Keep a ball and close the modak. Make all the kozhukattai and arrange in an idli plate.
Boil water in a idli pot. After the water comes to a roll boil, keep the idli plate. Cover and steam it for 10 minutes.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of jaggery as per taste.
Cardamom powder is optional
You can use white sesame seeds instead of black.
Dry roasting sesame seeds in mandatory.
Try this yummy ellu kozhukattai for this Ganesh chaturthi and enjoy !
Maharashtrian Modak recipe popularly known as Ukadiche modak in Marathi was in my try list for long time. Last year during Ganesh chaturthi I tried this modak along with fried modak recipe. But the modak shape was not satisfactory. I posted fried modak with wheat flour but skipped posting this steamed modak recipe. So this year I was determined to make ukdiche modak recipe and prepared it successfully after 2 attempts.
I watched a Maharashtrian modak video in YouTube which helped me lot to solve all my doubts and to make a good modak recipe after my flop shows. To make soft modak, dough should be kneaded smooth without cracks. I have used little milk as per the video recipe. So milk helped to keep this modak soft.
Unlike South Indian kozhukattai recipe, this modak dough is prepared in a slightly different procedure. Water quantity used is very less here. But the coconut stuffing part is almost the same like thengai pooranam we prepare in Tamil nadu.
Apart from shaping the modak, I din’t feel anything difficult in this recipe. Modak pleats are not perfect but I am happy that I could make a decent ones. Due to lack of time, I couldn’t capture a video. Next year I will surely make a video for better understanding. Ok, lets see how to make Modak recipe in step by step with picture.
To make modak, firstly prepare the coconut stuffing part.
Heat coconut and jaggery. Mix till it leaves the sides of pan.
Add cardamom powder, chopped nuts. Mix and set to cool.
For modak dough, heat water adding ghee and milk in a wide kadai.
When it roll boils, add rice flour. Switch off the flame and mix well.
Cover the kadai with a lid and rest for 10 minutes. Knead it well by dipping hands in water.
Make smooth dough and cover with wet cloth.
Shape the modak and fill the coconut stuffing. Seal it.
Arrange all the modak in greased idli plate and steam it for 10 minutes.
Switch off the flame. Remove the modak when warm. Enjoy !
MODAK RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
For modak recipe, firstly make the coconut jaggery stuffing part. In a kadai, take the grated coconut and powdered jaggery. Mix well in medium flame till jaggery melts and mixes with coconut.
Keep mixing in medium flame till the stuffing starts to leave the sides of pan. Check if you are able to roll a non-sticky, soft ball. Switch off the flame and let it cool. It will become crumbly once it cools down completely.
In a kadai, heat 1 cup of water adding 1 tsp ghee and 2 tbsp milk. Let it come to a roll boil. Simmer the flame completely. Add rice flour, mix well to coat the rice flour with water. Do it quickly.
Switch off the flame and cover the kadai with a lid. Rest for 10 minutes. Transfer the modak mixture to a plate. Keep a bowl with water for dipping the water.
Dip your hands in water and gather the dough in the plate. Make a smooth, non-sticky dough. Knead well for 5 minutes. Dip your hands in water whenever needed while kneading the dough.
Now cover the dough with a wet cloth. In a small bowl, take little water with few drops of oil. Use this water to dip your fingers while shaping the modak. Now start to make shapes. For this, take a lemon sized ball. Press it using your fingers to make a cup shape. Dip your fingers in water whenever its sticky or difficult to press. Make sure the corners of the cup is thin.
Press it with your finger and make pleats in equal intervals. Place 1 tbsp of stuffing inside the cup. Hold the top of modak with your fingers and keep rotating it gently to bring all the pleats together. Once the stuffing is completely covered, seal the top of modak and make a coconut shape. Dip the bottom of modak slightly in water+oil and arrange the modak in a plate or box. It helps to prevent sticking to the plate. Cover it to prevent drying. Make all the modak and arrange it.
You can also make a half moon shape as shown in the above pictures.
Heat water in a idli pot and let it come to a roll boil. Grease idli plate with oil and arrange the modak. After the water starts to roll boil, keep the idli plate with modak.
Cook in high flame for 6 to 8 minutes. Switch off the flame and let the modak becomes warm. Then remove in a plate. Offer to Lord. Enjoy !
Note
Do not overcook the coconut, jaggery mixture. It will become hard and chewy.
Do not add more water.Ratio of rice flour and water should be 1:1. Milk is added to bring softness and to make white colored modak.
Always make the coconut stuffing first. Then make the dough.
After making the dough, start to shape the modak immediately.Do not rest the dough for long time.
Always cover the dough with a wet cloth while shaping the kozhukattai/ modak.
Similarly keep the shaped modak covered till you steam it.
Do not steam for long time. Modak may crack. Steam cook only for 6 to 8 minutes after the water in the idli pot roll boils.
Try this yummy North Indian style Ukadiche modak and enjoy !
Every year on Ganesh Chaturthi festival, we make chana dal sweet poornam kozhukattai / kadalai paruppu poorana kozhukattai for neivedyam. Basically sweet kozhukattai can be prepared by stuffing kozhukattai with chana dal pooranam, moong dal poornam or with coconut/ thengai pooranam. But we all love Kadalai paruppu purana kozhukattai more than other stuffing.
As this pooranam can be refrigerated and used up to 2 weeks, I make it in large quantity and use the same for making sweet poli/ obbattu, suzhiyan and sweet paratha.
To make soft poorna kozhukattai, there are certain points to remember. I have shared all the points as tips in the end of this post. Do read them before you start making this kozhukattai. Also check out the detailed video on how to make chana dal sweet pooranam, making kozhukattai maavu using idiyappam flour and shaping modagam with and without kolukattai mould. Lets see how to make chana dal sweet pooranam kozhukattai with step by step pictures and video.
Chana dal pooranam kozhukattai / Kadalai paruppu poorana kozhukattai recipe
Chana dal pooranam kozhukattai / Kadalai paruppu poorana kozhukattai recipe - Sweet kozhukattai for Ganesh chaturthi
Take the chana dal / Kadalai paruppu in a pressure cooker.
Add water, few drops of cooking oil. Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles.
Drain the excess water. Mash or grind the dal.
Melt jaggery in water. Strain the syrup. Boil and add the dal paste, grated coconut, cardamom.
Mix till thick. Transfer the pooranam to a box. Cool down and then make balls.
To make kozhukattai dough, boil water adding salt and cooking oil. Add to idiyappam flour.
Make soft, smooth dough without cracks. Cover with a wet cloth till use.
Make modagam shape by stuffing the chana dal pooranam. Steam it for 8 minutes.
Remove when warm. Offer to Lord Ganesh and Enjoy !
KADALAI PARUPPU POORANAM – STEP BY STEP PICTURES.
Pressure cook chana dal by adding the required water and a drop of oil. Drain the water. Grind without water or mash it well to make a paste without adding water and set aside.
In a bowl, take the powdered jaggery and add little water to cover it.When its melted , strain to remove impurities OR if the jaggery is pure, add it directly to the mashed dal along with grated coconut.
If using syrup, strain it. Wash the kadai and add the syrup, grated coconut and cooked dal, cardamom powder( please do not add water, the coconut itself leaves water which will be enough.)
Mix well until the mixture leaves the sides and becomes a thick whole mass. ( Do not add water while adding the dal paste because the lesser you add the water , sooner the pooranam will start to leave the sides and becomes thick.. Stuffing will be ready)
Make small balls out of the stuffing and keep ready.
The unused stuffing can be refrigerated and used for 10 to 15 days.
TO MAKE SWEET POORANAM KOZHUKATTAI
I used a ready made kozhukattai mould to make a good shape.
U can also try the shape which is shown in the video to make mothagam/ coconut shape.
in the pictures below, I’ve explained using kozhukattai mould. Take the mould, open it and grease it with gingely oil. Take a small ball from the Kozhukattai dough and keep it inside the mould. Just spread it all the sides till 3/4 of the mould by keeping the center empty. Now close the mould and press it with ur left hand fingers.
Now place the dal pooranam in the center.Take a small berry sized ball and place it on the top of the dal pooranam and seal it well.
Now open the mould , u’ll get a nicely shaped kozhukattai.
Follow the same for the remaining. Grease an idli plate with oil. Arrange the kozhukattai.
Boil water in an idli pot.. Keep the idli plate and steam it for 8 to 10 minutes. Cooked kozhukattai looks shiny. Switch off the flame and eemove the kozhukattai from idli plate after it becomes warm. If you try to remove it hot, kozhukattai may break.
TIPS TO MAKE SOFT KOZHUKATTAI
The same pooranam can be done using coconut alone. For that channa dal is not needed. Just make the jaggery syrup , add the grated coconut , cardamom powder & mix till it leaves the sides.
Remove & stuff it using the above said procedure.
For thengai pooranam , jaggery can be less.ie 1:1 would be enough.
To make soft kozhukattai, always use good quality idiyappam flour. Homemade processed rice flour gives the best result.
Add the right quantity of hot water to make the kozhukattai dough. If the water is less, kozhukattai may break while shaping and tastes hard and chewy.
If the water is more, dough becomes too sticky. Shaping would be difficult and kozhukattai will break after cooking.
Always make the stuffing part / Pooranam first. Do not make kozhukattai dough in advance. Make it just before making kozhukattai else dough will dry and gives hard kozhukattai.
Make the kozhukattai maavu smooth without cracks. Do not add more water and make it sticky. If the dough is sticky, grease with oil and knead for 5 minutes.
Before steaming the kozhukattai, make sure water in the idli pot is roll boiling. It helps to cook the kozhukattai soon and keeps it soft.
Do not remove the kozhukattai from the idli plate when it is hot. Remove after kozhukattai becomes warm. It will come out easily without cracks else kozhukattai may break.
In Tamilnadu, people make Sakkarai pongal and kondakadalai sundal for Varalakshmi pooja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Tamil new year and Navarathri festival. We make this sundal with white chana or brown chana. My MIL usually says it is auspicious to make black chana sundal( i.e Kala chana in Hindi, Black chickpeas sundal in English, Karuppu Konda kadalai sundal in Tamil) during festival days. Yesterday I prepared Sakkarai pongal and brown chana sundal for Varalakshmi vratham prasadam. Usually I make sundal in a simple way by grinding coconut, chilli and cumin seeds. I don’t ad any masala powder or fennel seeds if making for God. Some people also make this sundal by adding sundal podi. I will try post that version later during Navratri. Today lets see an easy method of making brown kondakadalai sundal recipe with step by step pictures.
Wash and soak black chana / kondakadalai overnight or for 6 hours.
In a pressure cooker, cook the channa till soft adding required water and a pinch of soda.
Drain the excess water and set aside.
Grind coconut, chilli and cumin seeds without water. Set aside.
In a kadai, heat oil. Temper mustard seeds, red chilli, curry leaves and hing.
Add the cooked brown chana and salt. Mix well.
Add the ground coconut and saute for few minutes.
Switch off the flame. You can add some lemon juice if you like.
Serve hot and enjoy !
KONDAKADALAI SUNDAL - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and soak black chana / kondakadalai in enough water for 6 hours to overnight. You can a pinch of cooking soda while soaking for when pressure cooking the chickpeas.
After soaking drain the water, take the chickpeas in pressure cooker. Add required water and pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles. Remove the chickpeas and drain the cooked water.
Grind coconut, green chilli and cumin seeds to a coarse paste without adding water. Set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai. Temper mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilli and hing. Add cooked chana, ground coconut mixture and required salt. Mix well and cook for few minutes in medium flame.
Switch off the flame. Add few drops of lemon juice if you like. Serve hot or warm.
Enjoy !
Note
You can add baking soda to cook the chickpeas really soft. You can skip if you don’t want to use it.
For variations, you can saute 2 red chilli or green chilli and add the grated coconut at the end. This is a No grind version.
If you want masala flavor, you can grind fennel seeds instead of cumin seeds.
You can also add a pinch of garam masala powder for more masala flavor.
You can also add onion if you are not offering to God.
Try this easy, healthy black chana sundal and enjoy !
When I posted North Indian Navratri recipes for 9 days, I found Rice kheer recipe (Chawal ki kheer in Hindi) is one of the most important prasad recipes offered on Navratri 3rd day for Mata Chandraghanta & 8th day for Maa MahaGauri & Kanya puja. So I wanted to try rice kheer and post in my food book. Usually I make South Indian rice kheer (Paal payasam in Tamil) by roasting and pressure cooking rice in milk. But North Indian kheer is prepared in a different method. Authentically, basmati rice or long grain rice (Chawal) is soaked in water, cooked in full fat milk in an open kadai simmering in low flame for long time. As the rice gets cooked, quantity of milk is reduced. It becomes thick and creamy. Kheer gets a natural color & sweetness from rice & milk. Then cooked rice is sweetened with sugar, boiled till thick and then flavored with cardamom & garnished with nuts. It can be served warm or chilled as you like. It tastes finger licking delicious. I saw few recipes with condensed milk (Milk maid) instead of sugar but I went with the traditional procedure & used sugar. Some people also made it with left over rice.
As I had already posted Bengali Chaler Payesh, making this North Indian rice kheer was not so difficult for me as the procedure is similar. After watching many video recipes and websites, I could do it confidently. It came out really well and tasty. Even though the quantity of rice is less, the yield of this kheer is more. Sendhil & myself enjoyed it taking 2 to 3 servings. Do try this simple and easy rice kheer during this navratri, offer God and get her blessings. Soon I till try to post an easier version of this kheer by using pressure cooker & condensed milk. Now Lets see how to make rice kheer recipe with step by step pictures and video !
Wash and soak rice in water for 30 mins to 1 hour.
Roll boil milk in a pan.
Add soaked rice, boil in medium flame.
Stir at regular intervals and boil till rice is cooked soft.
Add sugar, cardamom powder and boil till slightly thick.
Garnish with chopped nuts and serve warm or chilled.
Rice Kheer Recipe / Chawal Ki Kheer - Step by step photos
Wash and soak rice in water for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Boil milk in a wide pan. When it roll boils, simmer the flame. Add the soaked rice.
Cook rice in medium flame by stirring at regular intervals to avoid burnt bottom. It takes nearly 20 to 25 minutes for rice to cook. You can also cover cook for last 5 minutes to make the rice soft. But keep the flame very low.
After rice is cooked, add sugar, cardamom powder.Sugar melts and kheer becomes watery.
Boil till kheer becomes slightly thick.i.e when you pour, rice & milk should not separate. They should be well blended but pourable. This is the right consistency. Remember this kheer thickens when cool down. So add more boiled milk, adjust sugar if needed. Garnish with chopped nuts, saffron threads and serve warm or chilled by refrigerating it.
Notes
Soaking helps the rice to cook quick & soft. If you don't have time, you can wash and cook the rice without soaking too.
Add more sugar if you have sweet teeth, but not more than 1/3 cup.
I have not used ghee. If you wish, you can roast the nuts in ghee and add to kheer.
To make a quick version, you can cook rice & milk in a pressure cooker.
You can also use condensed milk instead of sugar.Add 3 tbsp. Guess it will be enough.
If you like kesar flavor, add saffron soaked milk.But color of kheer becomes yellow.
Easy to cook, delicious, festival special rice kheer is ready to enjoy !
