Tamil Nadu: Kara Pidi Kozhukattai
Chef Priya Veera says, “These delicious steamed buns are made with raw rice and spices. Kara kozhukattai are savory versions of kozhukattai, made by steaming rice flour and a mixture of spices. Fragrant kozhukattais. Delicious, easy to digest with spicy chili sauce of your choice can be served for breakfast, dinner and of course, also made during Ganesha Chaturthi.”
Element
Raw rice: 1 cup
Peanut or coconut oil: 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
Urad dhal: 1/2tsp
Channa dal: 1/2tsp
Hinge: 1/2tsp
Dried green or red peppers: 2 no
curry leaves
Grated coconut: 1/2 cup
Water: 2 cups
Salt to taste
Asafoetida: a pinch
Method
Wash the raw rice and let it dry for 10 minutes and then grind it into a coarse powder. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the ground rice flour and dry roast, until hot, by simmering then setting aside on a plate. Put the oil, mustard, urad dhal, channa dal, and asafoetida in the same pan, add the oil, mustard, urad dhal, channa dal, and asafoetida over low heat. Then add finely chopped green chili or dried red chili, curry leaves and stir-fry thoroughly. Then add water, grated coconut, and salt to boil. Above, add a little bit of roasted rice flour, mix well without lumps, simmer, cook for 5 minutes. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then apply the oil on your hands and shape it into a dumpling. Then, grease the plate and steam for 10 minutes and serve hot with coconut chutney, red chili sauce or khara chutney.
Karnataka: Mushti kadubu
Chef Sombir Choudhary says, “In southern India, rice paper means holding hands. Kadubus or dumplings are rolled by hand and thus have the impression of fists on them. It is specially made for the Ganesha festival. While kadubus is usually made as a savory dish, here is a sweet variation.”
Element:
Khoya (Mawa): 250 gm
Palm sugar: 65 gm
Grated coconut: 80 gm
Cardamom powder: 1 gm
Ghee: 20gm
A little salt
Method:
Take a saucepan and add the buffalo milk butter over medium heat. Add grated coconut and khoya, followed by cardamom powder and jaggery. Now, throw in some salt. Mix everything and turn off the stove. While the mixture is still warm, grease your fingers with buttermilk and form a dumpling. Garnish with pistachios or almonds.
Coastal Karnataka: Haalbai
Chef Indira Shetty says, “A recipe unique to coastal Karnataka, particularly South Kanara, Haalbai is a sweet dish that had humble beginnings in the traditional homes of this region. As coconuts are readily available, abundant in the region (coconut milk is the base of the dish) it’s the recipe for a quick sweet treat.”
Element
Whole wheat: 1/2 kg (soaked overnight)
Grated coconut: two tablespoons
Cardamom: Eight
Palm sugar: 3/4 kg of jaggery
A little salt.
Method:
Puree soaked wheat, grated coconut and cardamom. Strain the liquid with a felt cloth. Add a little water to the remaining mixture and take the second extract. Now, take a large saucepan and add the mixture along with jaggery and a pinch of salt. Continue stirring constantly over medium heat and make sure that there are no lumps. When the mixture turns thick, turn off the heat. Pour the mixture onto a greased plate and let it sit for four hours. Cut to desired shape and garnish with cashews.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Boorlu
Chef Sumitra says: “Boorlu is a sweet filled with lentils, grated coconut, sugar and cardamom. It is a very important part of a festive meal or any celebration. The procedure is lengthy but the result is always good. It is done in traditional Telugu Brahmin houses during festivals.”
Element
Urad dal: 1 cup
Raw rice: 2 cups
Moong dal: 1 cup
Grated coconut: 1 cup
elaichi powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar: 1 cup
Oil
Method
The outer coating is dosa powder. Urad dal and rice must be freshly ground and not fermented. For the stuffing, soak moong dal for two hours and coarsely grind. Then it needs to be steamed in a pot for 1 whistle. Remove after cooling and coarsely grind in a mixing jar into small batches. Keep it in a jar. Add 1 cup of grated coconut, 1/2 teaspoon of elaichi powder and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix it together and form balls the size of a lemon. Add very little salt to the dosa dough, adjust the thickness. Heat new oil in kadai. Drop these dough balls dipped in the dough and fry until golden brown. They become very crispy and delicious. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
– Compiled by Sunayana Suresh, Sharanya CR and Madhu Daithota
