Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! feast for the eyes...

Hello Blogging world (Sweet modakam/vella kozhukattai)

Good to be back on my toes again- with so much going on, I had to take a temporary leave from blogging. I missed it terribly :( Now I am  back.... There is a religious tradition that I love observing called "Sankata hara chaturthi". This is a fasting ritual for Lord Ganesha who will drive away your worries. A good way to please my ganesha is to prepare his all time favorite delicacy- Modak! More than lord Ganesha, I am fond of this sweet and have the tendency to gorge on it shamelessly :P (all in god's name..). It is a simple preparation made out of Jaggery, rice flour and coconut. If you haven't tried it so far, you have no idea what you are missing!!!

Small little sweet modaks (vella kozhukattai/vella kolukattai) 


Steamed sweet dumplings-:

Ingredients-

Rice flour - 2 cups
Jaggery - 1 cup
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Cardamom powder (dash of it for flavoring)

Preparation-

Dough preparation-

• Boil two cups of water in a wok. As it begins to boil, add one spoon vegetable oil and switch off your gas.
• Remove the boiling water from your stove and stir in the rice flour slowly.
• Keep mixing the flour with water till it becomes a smooth dough.
• If your dough is too watery and sticky, add a bit of flour to achieve consistency. Alternatively, if your dough is too dry, add a bit of water to achieve good consistency.

Filling preparation-

• Usually we get jaggery in blocks or chunks from store. Crush them with a rolling pin to a powder consistency.
• On a low flame, melt the jaggery in a pan.
• As it starts to melt, add grated coconut and cardamom. Mix thoroughly till the coconut gets incorporated into jaggery.

Final preparation- 

• Take a small ball of rice flour and flatten it with your hand.
• With your fingers press the middle portion of the flattened dough so that it resembles a small cup.
• Fill about half a spoon of the filling in middle.
• Close the dough with the filling in middle and shape the top to a small pointed dome.
• Prepare the rest of the dough the same way (with filling in middle).
• Steam them for about 8-10 minutes- Enjoy!