A Modak / Kozhukattai is a dumpling, which is more popular in India. Modak / Kozhukattai have a special importance in the worship of Hindu God Ganesha's Birthday. Coming to the recipe, I have already posted the savory version of aval kozhukattai and this is a sweet version. Here I have used aval, jaggery, dates, grated coconut, cardamom and nuts. If you don't know how to make stuffed modak then you can try this easy kozhukattai with Red aval and can made in a jiffy. You can also use white aval to make this dumplings. Try this aval modak for vinayagar chaturthi and enjoy..
Ingredients
1 Cup of Red Aval / Sivappu Aval / Red Rice Flakes
2 Tbsp of Fresh / Dry Dessicated Coconut
3/4 Cup of Jaggery / Palm Jaggery
1/4 Cup of Dates
2 Cardamom
10 Cashews and Almonds
1.5 Cups of Water for soaking the aval
3/4 Cup of Water to dissolve the jaggery
2 Tsp of Ghee
Method
- Soak the dates in hot water for 15 mins. Remove the seeds. In a blender, add dates and little water, grind it to a smooth puree.
- Chop the nuts to afine pieces.
- Soak the aval in 1.5 cups of water for 5 mins. Drain the water, mash the aval with a spoon and keep this aside.
- Dissolve the powdered jaggery in hot water and strain for impurities.
- In a medium flame, heat this jaggery water in a pan, add the dates puree, coconut and cardamom, allow it to boil.
- When it starts boiling, add the soaked aval,mix well and turn off the flame and then add ghee and nuts, stir well. Allow it to cool down for 10 mins.
- Apply little oil in your hands, take a small portion and roll it into a desired shape like cylindrical or triangular shape or circular shape and garnish with almonds and cashews.
- Steam it in a steamer or idly vessel for 5 minutes. Sweet aval kozhukkattai is ready to enjoy :-) :-)
Tips
- For a sweet taste, you can use palm jaggery or yellow jaggery.
- Addition of dates and ghee gives a nice taste to kozhukattai.
- If you don't want dates, add 1 cup of jaggery instead.
- You can garnish with any nuts of choice.
- You can also use this as poornam.
- Red rice flakes are very good for the people with heart disease, diabetes and weight loss.
- Low in cholesterol, high in fiber, vitamins and minerals.
- Jaggery acts as a digestive agent, used to cleanse the body and provide a good amounts of minerals.
- Dates - Relief from intestinal disorders,good for heart, cures anemia and prevents stomach cancers.
- Cardamom improves digestion and prevents cancer.