Pooram Kozhakattai - Rice Dumpling with sweet coconut filling

I love kozhakattais, especially the poornams. Poornam is a very yummy chewy coconut toffee of sorts. After coming to Sydney I learnt how to make it myself its super easy to make once you get the hang of the consistency.

My grandmother, mother and aunts make three kinds of kozhakattais for Ganapathy Poojai: one with coconut and jaggery filling; one with sesame filling and one with spiced lentils filling. The dough or the covering for all the kozhakattais are the same.

TRADITIONAL KOZHAKATTAI DOUGH

INGREDIENTS

• Raw Rice - 1 cup – soaked for 1 hr
• Water - 1 cup
• Pinch of salt
• Oil – 1 tsp

METHOD

• After soaking the rice for an hour drain out the water and spread it out in a muslin cloth or kitchen paper so that the excess water gets absorbed.
• Grind this rice into a fine powder
• Pass this through a sieve so you get a fine rice powder.
• Take one cup of fine rice powder and mix it with half a cup of water and make it into a paste and set aside. This basically makes sure there are no lumps when you make the dough
• In a wok / kadhai add half a cup of water and heat it. Once it starts to bubble take out 3 tbsp of water and keep aside.
• Now add the pinch of salt, oil and the rice paste and mix well. I find it helpful to mix with a whisk initially. The rice paste will form into a big lump and you would see the colour of the dough change a little. If you think the dough is too dry and it needs more water then add the water you have set aside (1 tbsp at a time). 
• Keep stirring so it cooks evenly.
• Once it is cooked you will notice a slight change in the colour and the rice starts to leave the sides of the wok. At this point turn off the heat and keep the vessel closed for a about 5 minutes so the dough cooks in the residue heat.
• Put the dough in a plate and let it cool for a few minutes.
• Grease your hand with a little oil and knead well.
• Your covering for the filling is ready to go.
• If you are making this for the ganapathy pooja or as an offering for at religious ceremony the cooked grain items have to be made on the day of the pooja. So you can prepare the powder the previous day but you can cook it only on the day of the pooja. 

POORNAM / SWEET FILLING

INGREDIENTS

• fresh finely grated coconut - 1 cup
• Powdered Jaggery – ¾ cup 
• Water – 1/3 cup
• Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
• Ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil (vegan option) – 1 tsp

METHOD

• In a pot add water to the jaggery and boil. Once its dissolved then strain through a muslin cloth so you can remove any stones in the jaggery.
• After straining the jaggery put it back in the pot and get it to boil.
• Add the grated coconut to this let it cook a little don’t make it too hard. It should look like fudge. If you cook it too long it will get very hard when it cools. Add ghee/ coconut oil & cardamom powder at this point and mix well.
• You know it is done when you take it in your hand you should be able to roll it into balls.
• Spread this mix in a plate to cool it down. Once it cools down, roll it into small balls & keep it ready.
• You can make this a day in advance so you are making everything on the morning of the pooja. Do not put it in the fridge unless it is very hot day. 

ASSEMBLING THE KOZHAKATTAI

• Take a small piece from the rice dough and roll into a ball. It should be at least double the size of the coconut ball. Make a cup from the rice ball like how to do for making a paratha put the poornam in and close it from the top. It should look like a pyramid with a curved bottom.
• Once have enough to fill your steaming trays then put them in the cooker and steam for 10 minutes 
• Your yummy poornam kozhakattais are ready.

VARIATIONS / CORRECTIONS

• You could use store bought rice powder but the quantity of water to be use may vary from brand to brand. I have tried with the regular rice powder the proportion that worked for me was 1 cup of rice powder to 1.5 cups of water. Do not use the whole at once keep some water aside after boiling it so you can add it little by little if required.
• You could also use idiyappam flour instead of plain rice flour
• I prefer using fresh grated coconut instead of frozen as the moisture in the coconut helps in keeping the poornam from getting very hard. When you are using frozen coconut make sure you thaw it well before using and keep an eye on the mix. Don't over cook it.
• Just in case your poornam has become very hard, then sprinkle some water and microwave it for a minute. Mix well and see if that fixed the problem if not add water little by little and repeat the process till it comes to your desired consistency.