Modhakam - Spicy

#Modhakam Spicy : Generally  I used to prepare sweet modhakam only on Vinayakar chathurthi day. After a long time tried spicy modhakam with black gram pooranam as stuffing.
We need to plan well in advance to prepare modhakam as black gram lentil has to be soaked in water at least for an hour. After one hour drain the water completely and then grind into a coarse paste along with green chilly, ginger and salt. The lentil paste is steam cooked for ten minutes. The steam cooked black gram lentil paste is crumbled and stir fried with condiments to prepare the stuffing.
In the mean time the dough for outer covering has to be prepared from rice flour.
The stuffing has to be kept inside the rice flour dough and then steam cooked for 3 to 5 minutes.

Approximately 10 to 12 modakams can be prepared

Ingredients :
For stuffing :
1/2 cup	Black gram lentil
1	Green chilly [ adjust ]
1/2 inch long	Ginger
1/2 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
2 Tsp	Gingelly oil
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seed
1/4 Tsp	Asafoetida
10 - 12	Curry leaves
For outer layer :
1/2 cup	Rice flour
1/2 cup	Water
1 Tsp	Gingelly oil
1/4 Tsp	Salt

Oil to grease hands for making modhakam shapes.

Method : 

Wash black gram lentil and soak in water for one hour.

After one hour drain the water completely and put into a blender.

Add green chilly, ginger piece and salt.

Grind coarsely and transfer into a bowl.

Heat idli maker or pressure cooker with two cups of water on a stove over high flame.

Grease the pits of the idli plates with oil and place lentil paste in the pits.

Close and steam cook for 10 minutes or until the lentil paste gets cooked.

If the lentil paste is steam cooked in a pressure cooker do not put weight over nozzle of the lid.

Transfer the steam cooked lentil into a bowl and crumble with hand.

Heat a kadai with 2 Tsp of oil on a stove over medium flame.

Crackle mustard seeds and then add asafoetida powder & torn curry leaves.

Now transfer crumbled lentil into the kadai.

Adjust salt and stir well.

Keep stirring for five minutes and turn off the stove.

Transfer into a bowl and allow to cool down.

Heat water on a medium flame.

Take rice flour in a wide mouthed vessel and add salt & oil.

Mix well.

When small small bubbles appear on the bottom of the vessel add little by little hot water to the flour and mix well with a spatula.

Wait till the dough can be handled with hand. Knead into a tight dough.

Grease the idli plate and set aside.

Make cups out of the rice flour dough or flatten the dough.

Keep stuffing inside and close & make shapes creatively.

Make modhakam like this and arrange over the greased idli plate.

Heat idli maker with water over high flame.

Keep the idli plate with modhakams once the water starts boiling.

Steam cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer into a serving plate or serving bowl.

Tasty spicy modhakam is ready!! enjoy with Lord Vinayakas' blessings.






You might also like to try

Modhakam sweet

sweet pidi kozhukattai

soy chunks pooranam

coconut sweet stuffing

rice dumpling

Ideas for Dishes and side dishes

Recipe Index

Ideas for breakfast / dinner

Tiffin Recipes

For tasty Accompaniments

Chutney recipes

Rice Dumpling - Arisi Kozhukattai

#RiceDumpling from leftover dough of Modhakam.
Some quantity of the dough of modhakam was leftover. I made a spicy dumpling after adding coconut scrap, peanuts, red chilly powder and other condiments.
Here is the recipe.

Ingredients :
1/2 cup                                  Modhakam dough
[OR
1/2 cup                                 Rice flour ]
2 Tbsp                                  Soft Oats
2 Tbsp                                  Coconut scrap
2 Tbsp                                  Peanut, break into pieces
1 Tbsp                                  Gram dal
1/4 Tsp                                Asafoetida
1/2 Tsp                                Mustard seeds
7 - 10                                  Curry leaves, chop nicely    
1 or 2                                  Red chilly, break into pieces
1/4 Tsp                                Red chilly powder [ optional ]
1/4 Tsp                                Salt [ optional ]
1 Tsp                                  Oil

Method :
Heat a kadai on a stove with oil over medium flame.
Splutter mustard seeds and then add red chilly pieces, gram dal and peanut.
Roast until dal turns golden color.
Now add curry leaves, asafoetida and red chilly powder [ if taken ].
Turn off the stove and transfer all roasted ingredients on to the leftover modhakam dough.

Then add oats and salt.
Knead well with hands. If needed sprinkle some water and prepare a tight dough.

Now dough is ready and it has to be steamed.
Heat an idly maker with 3 cups of water on a stove over HIGH flame.
Grease the idli plate/steamer plate, 
Press dough with hands and make kozhukattai [ dumpling ].
and arrange over idli/steamer plate.

Place the idly plate/steamer plate with dumpling inside the idli maker.
Steam the dumpling for 8 - 10 minutes.

Check whether it has been cooked well by taking out a dumpling.
Transfer into a serving bowl.

Spicy nutty tasty rice dumplings are ready!!

Serve hot with tomato chutney or tomato sauce.



Note :
[ If rice flour is taken transfer all roasted ingredients to the flour.
Add oats and salt.
Then add warm water little by little and prepare a tight dough. Then make dumpling by pressing small small balls by hand. Then proceed as above. ]





You may also like to try

Kezhvaragu Pidi Kozhukattai

Thinai Sweet Paniyaram

Modhakam  spicy

Modhakam sweet

sweet pidi kozhukattai

Ideas for Dishes and side dishes

Recipe Index

Ideas for breakfast / dinner

Tiffin Recipes

For tasty Accompaniments

Chutney recipes

Amaranth Neer Kozhukattai

#AmaranthDumpling : #Dumpling is known as #Kozhukattai in Tamil. Dumplings are either steam cooked or cooked in boiling water.
This one is done in boiling water. I have already done Amaranth Neer Kozhukattai in combination with broken maize [ corn ]. This time tried with amaranth flour, amaranth seeds and rice flour.

Amaranth  is a leafy vegetable ( greens ) and its seed is also known as amaranth. Amaranth is nothing but widely used leafy vegetable called Thandu keerai or Mulai keerai in Tamil. The seeds of these plants are called amarnath seeds or simply amaranth in Tamil. It is called Rajkir Kara in Chhattisgarh.

Amaranth Seeds

There are many varieties of amaranth. Some are cultivated for food and some are grown as ornamental plants and some grow in wild. The leaves of some amaranth are in green in color, some are green and red in the middle and fully red in color. The whole plant is edible. The leaves are used as leafy vegetable, the stem is also cooked and the seeds are also used to make dishes. Even the white roots are cleaned, peeled and used in the preparation of sambar. Some amaranth flowers are strikingly beautiful and red in color and which produce lots of seeds. All the seeds are edible whether its cultivated or garden or wild varieties .

To know more about the plant
Amaranth Plant

Several studies have shown that like oats, amaranth seed or oil may be of benefit for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease; regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while improving antioxidant status and some immune parameters.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth

Now coming back to the preparation.

Ingredients :
1/3 cup                                       Rice flour
1/3 cup                                       Amaranth flour
1 Tbsp                                       Amaranth seeds
1/3 cup                                       Coconut scrap
1/2 Tsp                                       Salt

To Saute :
1/4 cup                                        Palak nicely chopped
2 Tsp                                           Coconut scrap

To Temper :
1/2 Tsp                                       Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp                                       Cumin
1 or 2                                          Red chilly
2 pinches                                     Asafoetida powder
1 Tsp                                          Gingelly oil [ til / sesame oil ]



Method :
Soak Amaranth seeds for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes drain the water and keep aside.
Now mix the flours, soaked amaranth seeds, coconut scrap, salt adding little water.
Make a tight dough.
Using both the hands roll the dough into small balls.

Boil a cup of water in a vessel on high flame.
When water starts boiling reduce the flame to SIM.
Then add balls into boiling water slowly. The balls settle at the bottom.

Do not disturb the balls for 2 - 3 minutes.
After that balls slowly come to the upper surface of the boiling water.
Stir with a ladle and take care not to break the balls.

Let it simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
Check whether the balls are cooked well.
Transfer the cooked amaranth balls into a bowl.

The water used for cooking the dumplings would have turned into porridge. 
Do not throw away this porridge. It can be consumed either with salt or jaggery.

Now heat a kadai on a stove with 1/2 Tsp of oil.
Splutter mustard and cumin seeds.
Then add broken pieces of red chilly.
Now add chopped palak and saute for 2 minutes.
Then add enough salt and saute for a few seconds.
Add dumplings and mix well.
Finally add 2 Tsp of coconut scrap and saute for a minute.

Transfer into a serving bowl.

You may also like to try

Amaranth Khasa Khasaa Payasam

Amaranth Payasam

Amaranth Neer Kozhukattai 1

Amaranth pancake

Amaranth ragi chikki

Ideas for Breakfast and Dinner

Tiffin Recipes

Tasty accompaniments for Tiffin and Rice

Chutney Recipes

For lots of ideas for variety of dishes

Recipe Index

Ragi Dumpling

#RagiDumpling  #KezhvaraguPidiKozhukattai is a sweet made using Ragi flour and jaggery. #Ragi is known as #Kevuru or #Kezhvaragu in Tamil. It is also called #Fingermillet in English.
Ragi is the richest source of Calcium compared to all other #millet and other grains. It is also a good source of protein, Iron and other minerals. Its fat content is very less compared to rice or wheat. So those who would like to shed some weight should include ragi in their regular diet.
It grows well even under severe drought condition and also one of the widely grown millet in India especially in Karnataka, South India.
Here let me present the method of preparing sweet dumpling.

Ingredients :

Jaggery

1/2 cup                                  Ragi flour [ Kevuru maavu ]
1/4 cup                                  Jaggery
1/4 cup                                  Coconut scrap
2 Tsp                                     Amaranth seeds
2 or 3                                    Cardamom
A small piece                         Nutmeg
A small piece                         Maze
2 Tsp                                    Sugar
1 Tsp                                    Gingelly oil [ Till / Sesame oil ]
1 pinch                                  Salt

Method :
Take sugar, cardamom, maze, and nutmeg in a hand pounding vessel.
Make into a fine powder and keep aside.

Dissolve jaggery in 1/8 cup of hot water.
Keep on stove over slow flame for a minute.
Stir well using a ladle to completely dissolve jaggery.
Strain through a tea filter to remove sand stones and other impurities.
Allow to cool down a little bit.


Take all the other ingredients except coconut in a wide mouthed vessel.
Now add lukewarm jaggery water and make a tight dough.

Then add coconut scrap, gingelly oil and knead again well.
Heat Idly maker with 2 cups of water on a stove over medium flame.
Grease the pits of idly plate.
Take small balls of the prepared dough in your hand and press to make dumpling.
Arrange neatly over the greased plate.
Keep inside the idly maker.
Steam cook the dumplings for 5 to 7 minutes.

After 5 minutes check whether the dumpling has been cooked well.
Transfer into a serving bowl.

Enjoy as an evening snack along with your favourite savoury.



You may also like to try

For other Recipes

Recipe Index