kozhukatta (Easter Eggs) Kerala Style

kozhukatta (Easter Eggs) Kerala Style

kozhukatta (steamed rice dumpling with coconut & jaggery filling) is the special snacks for the Palm Sunday. Christians in Kerala make kozhukatta usually on the eve or morning of Palm Sunday. Its like a custom.

Kerala christians have a great traditions and no wonder, Christian festivals are celebrated in a big way in the land. Palm Sunday, or Hosanna Njayar in local parlance, is observed with utmost reverence and special services are held on the day in churches across the State. Devotees attend the prayers holding tender coconut palm leaves (kuruthola in Malayalam) and hence the festival is called ‘Kuruthola Perunnal’. In several churches ceremonial processions are taken out. Here is the recipe...

Ingredients

Rice flour – 125 gm ( approx 1 cup)
Jaggery (Panela  .. in Spanish) – 100 gms
Coconut – 3/4 cup
Ghee – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Crushed cardamom – 1-2
Water – 1 cup (refer notes)
Salt

Preparation

For the filling

Melt the jaggery with 1/4 cup of water and strain it. Add the coconut to the filtered jaggery & mix well. Add ghee and cook till the liquid is dried up. Add crushed cardamom and remove from fire. Keep it aside.

For the dough

Boil one cup of water with salt. Add the boiled water to the rice flour little by little and mix it with a wooden spatula/spoon. Keep it aside for 5 minutes or till it is warm enough to handle. Knead the dough and make it into a soft ball. The consistency of the dough should be same as that of Idiyappam dough and also the dough should not be sticky.

Make medium size balls out of the dough. Take one ball at a time and place it in your palm. Press it with the other hand and make it thin. Start folding it inwards in such a way that you get a cup shape (please refer the pic given below). Place 1-2 tsp of the filling, cover it and roll it back into a ball. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough and filling.

Steam the kozhukattas in appachembu/steamer for 9-10 minutes on medium flame. Keep it covered for 1 more minute. Serve warm.

Notes: You can use the appam/idiyappam podi to make kozhukatta. . The qty of water required for kneading the dough depends on the appam podi. Hence it can vary between 1 – 1 1/2 cup. You’ve the right consistency when the dough is not sticking to your hand. You will get around 8 medium size kozhukattas with the above quantity. You can also add chopped nuts & raisins to the filling, if you wish.

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