Reason for 2 weeks of "non-existent" state -- 9 days of vacationing in scorching Florida, 2 days of recovering/relaxing, 2 days of suffering from bellyache and bathroom breaks because of these little dumplings. No, no they weren't a bad batch. They were so good that they promptly made me forget "All things in moderation" and turned me into a glutton.Ate a dozen of them and my belly simply couldn't deal with it.LoL. Kozhukattai as we call them in our tongue, is a dumpling that is made with rice flour dough and plenty of choices for fillings. This time though filling was made with sesame seeds and jaggery. Oh, this was made on Vinayaka Chathurthi(The "Elephant-Headed" God's Birthday, God of Goodwill and Prosperity) and relished by my folks.But mostly by me.
Story of how Lord Ganesha got his Elephant-Face -
Once upon a time Goddess Parvati wished to take a bath. She created a boy from the dirt of her body and asked him to stand guard outside while she cleansed herself. Meanwhile, Lord Shiva, who frequently goes away for long periods of time to meditate and such returned home. When he tried to enter the house, the boy prevented him from doing so. In anger, Shiva(Who BTW is The Destroyer) cut off the boy's head. When Parvati saw this, she burst into tears. In order to console her, Shiva sent out his troops to fetch the head of anyone found sleeping with his head pointing to the north. They found an elephant sleeping thus and brought back its head. Shiva then attached the elephant's head to the body of the boy and revived him. He named the boy Ganapati, which means commander of his troops. He granted him a boon that everyone would worship him (Ganesha) before beginning any work. Hence, all Hindus worship Lord Ganesha prior to beginning anything auspicious.
Significance of Lord Ganesha's Form - Ganesha's head symbolizes the
Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies
Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.
The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata(Epic). The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The
laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the
Atman(Soul). His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.
Now lets move on to the recipe-
Recipe Yields 25-30 Kozhukattai/Modaks
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 Cups Rice Flour
- 1 tsp Olive Oil or Ghee (Ghee is better)
- 2 Cups Water
- 1/8 tsp Salt
For the Filling:
- 3/4 Cup White Sesame Seeds
- 1 Cup Jaggery Shavings(Un-refined Brown Sugar, available at Indian Stores)
- 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
Tool:
- Modak Mould (optional)
- Wooden Spatula with a smooth cylindrical handle
Procedure:
- Dry roast the sesame seeds on medium flame until they turn light brown in color.
- Grind the Sesame Seeds along with Jaggery Shavings and Cardamom powder to a coarse powder.Set aside.
- Bring the water to a roiling boil along with salt and oil.
- Add the rice flour to a thick bottomed pan.
- Pour the boiling water little by little while continuously stirring the flour with the "wooden handle" of the spatula until a nice, firm,lump-free dough is formed. DO NOT make it runny. Close the pan with a lid.
- Cool the dough until it can be handled with hand and knead it to make it a smooth dough.
- Take a small amount of dough and make a smooth ball, about the size of a marble. There are a couple of ways to make these dumplings - Garlic Bulb shaped or Empanada Shaped. For Garlic Bulb Shaped Dumplings: Using both hands make a cup with marble-sized dough and fill it with a tsp of the sesame-jaggery filling. Bring the edges together and seal it shut. If using Modak Mould, press the bulb shaped dumpling to give it some nice ridges. For Empanada Shaped Dumplings: Pat the dough to form(Oil may be used to help it stretch out) a nice flat circle and add 1 1/2 tsp filling in the center. Fold and press the edges to seal it tightly. Using the forefinger to make indents at the edges.
- Steam the dumplings for 10 minutes in a bamboo/ghee-greased stainless steel steamer and serve when warm or cold.
Makes 25-30 Sweet Dumplings.
Ingredients:
