Kozhukattai (Steamed Rice Modak with Coconut-Jaggery Pooranam)

Cook along · 16 steps

Method

1. 1

   Prep the coconut and jaggery: Grate 1 cup fresh coconut and keep it loose, not packed. Grate or finely chop 3/4 cup jaggery so it melts evenly. Set your steamer water to heat now so it is ready later.

2. 2

   Melt and strain the jaggery: In a heavy kadai on low heat, add the jaggery with 2 tbsp water and let it melt into a thin syrup, 3-4 minutes. Strain it through a fine sieve back into the kadai to catch grit and sand. Do not take it to any thread consistency, you only want it liquid so it can coat the coconut.

3. 3

   Cook the pooranam: Add the grated coconut to the melted jaggery and stir on low-medium heat for 6-8 minutes. The mixture will first loosen and look wet, then thicken as moisture cooks off. Stop when it holds together in a mass and pulls away from the sides of the kadai, it should still be moist, not dry or caramel-hard.

   

4. 4

   Finish and cool the filling: Stir in 1/4 tsp elaichi powder and 1 tsp ghee, switch off, and spread the pooranam on a plate to cool. If it looks too wet to hold a ball, work in 1 tbsp roasted rice flour. Cool fully before filling, hot pooranam tears the shell.

5. 5

   Boil the water for the dough: Bring 1 cup water to a rolling boil with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp ghee. A bare simmer is not enough; the rice flour needs boiling water to gelatinise.

6. 6

   Scald the flour: Switch off the heat, tip in 1 cup rice flour all at once, and stir hard with a wooden spatula until no dry flour is visible and the mass gathers into a shaggy lump, about 1 minute. Cover and rest off the heat for 5 minutes so the steam finishes softening the flour.

7. 7

   Knead the dough: Turn the hot dough onto a plate or thali and knead with a greased or wet palm, using a damp cloth to protect your hand, for 3-4 minutes. Work it until it is completely smooth and satiny with no grainy specks. If it cracks when pressed, sprinkle a teaspoon of hot water and knead again; if it sticks, dust with a little dry rice flour.

   

8. 8

   Keep it covered: Cover the kneaded dough with a damp cloth at all times. Exposed dough dries within minutes and dried dough will split while shaping.

9. 9

   Portion the dough: Pinch off lime-sized pieces and roll them into smooth balls between greased palms, keeping the rest under the cloth. You should get 12-14 balls from 1 cup flour.

10. 10

    Shape the cup: Grease your palm lightly, flatten a ball and press outward with your fingertips into a thin 3-inch disc with a slightly thicker centre. Thin edges pleat better; a thick edge makes a doughy modak.

11. 11

    Fill and pleat: Place a heaped teaspoon of cooled pooranam in the centre. Pinch small pleats around the rim with your thumb and forefinger, gather them upward and press the tips together into a single point. Roll the tip gently to seal it.

    

12. 12

    Or use a mould: Grease the inside of a brass modak mould with ghee, press dough up the walls to line it, spoon in the pooranam, seal the base with a small dough disc, and open the mould to release a clean modak. Smooth any seam with a greased finger.

13. 13

    Line the steamer: Lay a piece of banana leaf on the steamer plate and grease it lightly. Arrange the kozhukattai tip-up with a finger gap between them, they swell slightly and will fuse if crowded.

14. 14

    Steam: Steam on medium heat for 10-12 minutes with the lid on. They are done when the chalky white surface turns glossy and slightly translucent and a modak lifts off the leaf cleanly. Over-steaming makes the shells collapse and weep jaggery.

15. 15

    Rest before lifting: Switch off and let them stand 3-4 minutes in the open steamer. Hot kozhukattai are fragile; a short rest firms the shell enough to move them without tearing.

16. 16

    Serve: Lift onto a banana leaf, brush with a little ghee if you like the shine, and offer warm as naivedyam. They stay soft for a day at room temperature; refrigerating makes the rice shell hard, so re-steam for 3 minutes to revive.