Uppu Kozhukattai, Ulundu Kozhukattai Recipe for Ganesh Chaturthi, Step by Step

Kozhukattai (Modak, Modakam) and Lord Ganesh go hand in hand quite literally, we know that. When Ganesh Chaturthi rolls around every year, I try to make some modak the week before and get it as perfect as possible because, and I won't lie you guys, making the perfect kozhukattai is not easy. Or maybe it's me just needing more practice because my mom and grandmom seem to need no effort, measurements, or recipes on the internet to churn out gorgeous vella kozhukattai by the dozens, Ganesh Chaturthi or not.

Uppu or Ulundu Kozhukattai is the salty, savoury counterpart to the sticky sweet modaks which are probably more popular. But life is all about balance and so it's a good idea to make some of these salty kozhukattai to serve along with the sweet ones, I'd say.

Going back to making kozhukattai and practise - if you've ever attempted them before you'd know that the fillings are usually very easy and it's a good idea to make them first and keep them cooled and ready. The covering, now that's the tricky part and I'd be the first to admit that mine bombed so badly the first 3 times I made them for this post. They had nice fluted edges and stuff but they tasted terrible. So what you see in the pictures here are my fourth attempt at making ulundu kozhukattai and while the edges are impatiently stuck together with my fingers, they tasted near-perfect. Goes to prove it can be done because as I generally like to say, if I can cook something, anyone can.

Here's a list of Ganesh Chaturthi recipes I compiled last year. You can bookmark and refer back during the festival to get going with your offerings to the Lord.

Now, on to the step by step uppu kozhukattai recipe.

UPPU (ULUNDU) KOZHUKATTAI RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Makes ~ 8 kozhukattai

INGREDIENTS:

For the filling:
1/4 cup of whole white urad dal
1 of green chilli
2 tsp of oil
1/4 tsp of black mustard seeds
A pinch of hing / asafoetida / perungayam
A few curry leaves
2 tbsp of grated coconut (I used desiccated coconut)
For the covering:
1 cup of rice flour or idiyappam flour
1 and 1/4 cup of boiling water, more or less
2 tsp of ghee or oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

We'll make the filling or poornam first.

Soak the urad dal (ulutham paruppu) for one hour. Drain well and grind coarsely with the green chilli and some salt. Don't add water at this stage otherwise the urad dal will turn into paste.

Make lime-sized balls of this urad dal mixture and steam for about 5 mins on low flame.

When cool enough to handle, crumble the steamed balls with fingertips into a fine, breadcrumb-like mixture and set aside.

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and hing.

Add the urad dal crumbs and continue to cook on low flame until the oil has coated it well. Add the grated or desiccated coconut and mix well.

Test for salt and add more if required. Switch off and set aside to cool.

Now we'll make the rice flour coating. Mix the rice flour and some salt in a bowl. Boil water and add it a little at a time to the rice flour, mixing it immediately. You are partially cooking the rice flour at this stage with the heat of the water so a thorough mixing is very important.

When the mixture begins to look like below, stop adding water and combine well with the tail end of a ladle (it will be too hot to use your hands). When the mixture cools down a bit, use your fingetips to knead properly.

Make a lime-sized ball of the flour mixture with hands greased with ghee or oil. Pat it flat with the other palm and add a bit of the cooled ulundu filling.

Close it into a semi-circle and pinch the ends together. Proceed with the remaining rice flour covering and filling. There may some of either leftover, it's hard to get the quantities perfect.

Prepare your steamed by adding water to the base and bringing it to a boil. Place the kozhukattai gently on the steamer plate and steam for not more than 10 minutes. Mine were done in about 8 minutes. The outer covering will turn glossy when done.

Serve warm. Kozhukattai are best eaten fresh and on the same day of preparing them.

Have a wonderful Ganesh Chaturthi 2014, dear reader!

For uppu kozhukattai recipe in Tamil please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

If you found this post useful, do share, like, and pin it. Thanks for that motivation :)

Whole Wheat Brownie Recipe - Atta & Jaggery Brownies, Step by Step

Learn how to make healthier brownies with whole wheat flour (Indian wheat flour or atta) and jaggery (gur or unrefined cane sugar) through step by step photos.

To be honest, I don't go out of my way to make cake and brownies healthier. I bake them the way they are meant to be made traditionally (like using this simple brownie recipe) and eat them in moderation. It's exciting to experiment now and then though and I had been meaning to try baking brownies with atta for a long time now. The usual issue with using heavier flour in baking is the texture. We want our cakes and bakes healthy but don't want to compromise on fluffiness or taste and that's not always easy!

These healthy brownies with atta and jaggery were a delightful surprise though. I usually default to my simple brownie recipe or these eggless brownies but recently I used a basic brownie recipe from Hershey's and tinkered with the ingredients a bit to get this moist, crumbly brownies that use no refined ingredients. A first for me so I am thrilled to share the recipe with you. I also had a ton of fun photographing the brownies, as you can see.

Now, brownies can be fudge-y, chewy, heavy, cake-like, etc. This brownie recipe yields a crumbly, slightly chewy but cake-like brownie and I absolutely loved it. I baked 2 batches of 4 small loaves and gave some away as gifts too. Obviously, there are many different ways to customise this brownie recipe, I used my favourite method which is to throw in a fistful of chocolate chips. Always a winner! If you have some nuts lying around, you can chop them up and add that to the batter too.

You really can't taste the atta or jaggery in this but there's a nutty, slightly chewy taste and texture which is different from regular brownies.

If you'd like more brownie recipes, check out:
dulce de leche brownies
butterscotch blondies
biscuit brownies (eggless, no baking required)
brownies with twix candy bars

WHOLE WHEAT BROWNIES RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Makes ~15 slices or large squares

INGREDIENTS:
6 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup of boiling water
1/3 cup of melted butter
1 of egg
1 cup grated or powdered jaggery (see notes)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour (atta)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 cup chocolate chips (any kind)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C.

2. Boil water and add to the cocoa powder. Mix well without any lumps. You'll get a thick paste.

3. Add melted butter to this. I melt butter in the microwave using the 'defrost' option so that it doesn't get very hot. If the butter is hot, wait until it cools down before proceeding. Mix well after adding it to the cocoa paste.

4. Crack the egg in and whisk well to combine.

5. Next step is to add the jaggery. I bought this large bottle of Punjabi shakkar from the Indian store here that's been a lifesaver. It's powdered jaggery that has no impurities so I just use it directly to make any Indian sweets or payasam. I measured it out just like sugar and added it to the above.

In goes 1 cup of jaggery. See notes below for ways to use jaggery syrup or how to substitute sugar for jaggery. Mix well.

6. Now add the atta, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Gently fold to combine well and make sure no streaks of flour remain.

7. Add the chocolate chips (or dried fruits, nuts, anything else that you like) at this stage and fold in. I used a mix of white and milk chocolate chops and reserved some to add on top.

8. The batter will be fairly thick. Great your baking pans with non-stick baking spray or a generous coating of butter and transfer the batter in. (I used two 6" loaf pans, you can use one 8" pan too). Flatten the top gently with your spatula to make sure it's even. Add the reserved chocolate chips on and push into the batter gently.

9. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 mins. I needed the full 40 mins although I used smaller pans so make sure to check after 35 mins and if a toothpick comes out clean, it's done.

10. Cool in the baking pans for 15 mins and gently invert onto cooling racks to cool completely before slicing. Stays at room temperature for 2 days and refrigerated for 4 days.

Notes:
- if you want to remove impurities in your jaggery, heat 1 cup grated jaggery with the 1/4 cup water mentioned in and when it's just melted, remove from heat. Let cool, strain, and proceed from step 2 by adding cocoa, etc
- if using the salted, white jaggery from TamilNadu, proceed with caution since it's heavily salted and I am now sure how the brownies will end up tasting. Needless to say, omit the salt in the recipe in that case
- You can substitute jaggery in this recipe with same amount of brown sugar (1 cup packed) or white sugar
- You can use regular plain flour instead of whole wheat flour or atta. Try using gluten free flour for a gluten free brownie recipe

These whole wheat brownies with atta and jaggery make excellent gifts, especially to those with kids and those who stay away from refined foods. Enjoy!

If you liked this brownie recipe, do like, pin, or share to spread the love :) Thanks!

Tomato Capsicum Dal Recipe - Tomato Dal (no Onion no Garlic)

Tomato dal or tomato pappu is one of my favourite ways to cook dal. Although there are thousands of ways to make dal in India, the simple dal recipe with tomatoes has my heart, closely followed by any type of kootu recipe since it includes coconut. I recently tried this version with tomatoes and capsicum (with no onion or garlic) because I love it when Amma adds capsicum to her sambar recipe. Capsicum does add a lovely flavour to dishes.

You can use any variety of dal or lentil you want in this recipe. I mostly use moong dal or toor dal or a mix of them. Masoor dal is also a good addition or option to make this, especially since it cooks way quicker. Generally, a mixed dal dish gives a lovely consistency (like this panchratan dal recipe) and I even thrown in some chana dal when it strikes my fancy.

I have found that the freshness levels of lentils vary outside India and depends on the business an Indian store gets. In fact, the toor dal in Mustafa centre in Singapore used to drive me mad because it just wouldn't cook even after 4-5 whistles, sometimes more. A simple trick can solve this although it takes longer to get to your final dish. Soaking! Soak your dals in warm water for 1 hour or so before pressure cooking and that will give you a mushier, softer dal. Remember that soaked dal needs lesser water to cook so adjust accordingly.

More dal recipes on Edible Garden:
Cumin dal
Sweet and sour dal tadka
Kerala-style dal recipe
Methi dal
Dal fry

TOMATO CAPSICUM DAL RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of toor dal (tuvar dal)
2 tbsp of moong dal (split green gram)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 cup of chopped, ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup of cubed green capsicum (bell pepper)
1 tbsp of ghee or oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
A few curry leaves
A generous pinch of hing (asafoetida)
1/2 tsp of sugar or powdered jaggery (optional)
2-3 of green chilies, sliced (adjust to taste)
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak the moong dal and toor dal for about 30 minutes if you've had trouble cooking them to a mush in the past. Usually, older lentils take longer to cook.

2. Then, pressure cook the lentils with tomatoes, capsicum, green chillies, and turmeric for 12 mins or 4 whistles. Set aside to cool down.

3. Open carefully and mush the dal further with the back of a rounded spoon.

4. Heat the ghee or oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.

5. When they pop, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle and brown for 10 seconds.

6. Follow with the curry leaves and hing.

7. Quickly add the cooked dal to this and mix well. Add sugar, if using, and salt. If the dal is too thick at this stage, add some water and bring to boil. If the dal seems too watery, simmer it for a few minutes until it thickens.

Notes:

• The consistency of dal is really up to personal choice. I light mine a bit on the thicker side, especially when serving with rotis
• If you don't have a pressure cooker or want to cook this dal without one, use a quicker cooking lentil like masoor dal or moong dal alone and cook in a pan with lots of water until mushy. Make sure to keep the heat low and the pan partially covered
• You can add some fresh, chopped coriander leaves instead of curry leaves

That's it! Simple and delicious tomato capsicum dal is now ready. To get this recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, etc, use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

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Tomato Chutney Recipe (no coconut no onion no garlic) - Step by Step

Recipe to prepare South Indian tomato chutney (thakkali chutney) without onion, garlic, or coconut. This easy tomato chutney can be served with dosa, idli, pongal, chapati and most other breakfast dishes.

Recipes from grandmothers are always special. So when a friend of mine offered to send a coffee table cookbook based on a grandmom's recipes from Palakkad, I didn't have to think too much to accept it. I say we can never have old recipes to cherish and pass on, right?

This recipe is from this gorgeously simple cookbook called Pankajam's Cooking from the Heart, a compilation of her grandmother's recipes by Bharathi Ravi Prakash. The recipes are divided into various sections ranging from kuzhambu to podis to rice to chutneys to dessert. At first glance, I saw that most recipes were already ones I had received from my family members so this book may not be for you if you are particularly attached to your favourite paruppu urundai kuzhambu recipe or a Mysore rasam recipe in your repertoire. I also wish the chutney section had more recipes (it only has two). The bottom line is, this is a great book to add to your collection if you are new to South Indian cooking and want to learn, or you want to add some more traditional recipes to your collection. I for one am very happy with it and plan to try a lot more recipes in the coming months. Check out their Facebook page if you'd like more information or where to purchase the book.

As I was saying, this tomato chutney is super simple and when I read the recipe, I knew I should stick to it and try it out rather than adding a couple of cloves of garlic, however tempted I was to do so. I also found it very interesting that the only heat in this chutney comes from freshly ground black pepper and if you add enough, this creates a really nice flavour in the back of your mouth (weird, but true). But really the star addition in this tomato chutney recipe is the ghee. I don't know why I never tried this but cooking this in ghee or even adding some ghee to the chutney while it looks really elevates the taste.

Plain dosa with tomato chutney and coconut chutney

If you love chutney recipes, I'm sure you'd love this list of easy Indian chutneys that I compiled. My personal favourites are this onion tomato chutney, my mom's thick coconut chutney recipe, and this red coconut chutney we make for dosa and idli most mornings.

TOMATO CHUTNEY RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes ~ 1.5 cups

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups of chopped, ripe tomatoes (about 2 large tomatoes)
1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tbsp of ghee
A pinch of turmeric powder
4 tbsp of chopped, fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat the ghee in pan (I used non-stick and it worked well) and add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle and turn a shade darker.

2. Add the tomatoes and mix well to combine. I'd recommend chopping the tomatoes finer than you see in the picture below so that it cooks faster. Let the tomatoes cook until it starts to soften, stirring now and then.

3. Add 1/4 cup water to this and continue to cook on a low flame.

In about 4 mins or so, you'll find that the tomatoes start turning to a mush, the skin separating from the flesh. Most of the water would have evaporated by now too.

4. Add the turmeric powder and salt at this stage and mix well.

5. Then add the pepper powder and chopped coriander. Continue to cook for another 3-4 mins until the chutney becomes thicker and most of the water has evaporated.

You can cook it down further if you wish but I stopped at this stage since I was serving this tomato chutney with dosa.

All done! You can store thakkali chutney in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days. Gently re-heat before using or you can even set it out for a while to come to room temperature before serving.

This tomato chutney tastes best with rava idli, plain dosa, wheat dosa, and plain idlis.