Upma Kozhukattai – A traditional South Indian steamed dumpling made with broken raw rice, coconut and spices. Tastes so good with chutney or sambar.
What is upma kozhukattai?
Upma kozhukattai is a traditional South Indian savory dish, especially popular in Tamil Nadu. It is a healthy steamed snack made with broken raw rice, coconut, little oil and simple Indian spices.
These dumplings are so easy to make and can be served as a healthy snack, breakfast, or light dinner. They can also be made during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Ingredients & Substitutions:
Rice Rava – Rice Rava is broken raw rice. Homemade or store-bought rice rava can be used in this recipe. You can use Wheat Rava or Broken Wheat instead of rice rava.
Mustard Seeds – You can replace them with cumin seeds but it changes the flavor slightly.
Urad Dal – Swap it with chana dal or skip if unavailable.
Coconut – Try to use fresh or frozen coconut. If it is not available, replace it with desiccated coconut. Skip sautéing coconut if you are using desiccated coconut.
Curry Leaves – They add a wonderful flavor to the kozhukattai. Try not to skip them.
Hing – Omit if not available.
Dried Red Chili– You can use ground black pepper or green chillies if dry red chillies are not available.
Oil – You can use any oil such as coconut oil, sesame oil or groundnut oil.
Serving suggestions:
Serve kara pidi kozhukattai as a breakfast dish or evening snack with ginger chutney, tomato chutney, or simple coconut chutney, along with a hot cup of filter coffee. You can also serve with sambar.
Storage suggestions:
Consume within the same day they made. Refrigerate if you want to store them for one more day.
Tips & Notes:
Rice and water ratio is very important to make perfect kolukattai every time. The cooked mixture should be thick but not too dry.
The cooked mixture should not come to the room temperature. Make oblong shapes when the mixture is still warm.
To prevent rice balls from breaking, avoid steaming for long time and use the right amount of water to cook the rava. And tightly roll the cooked mixture into round balls before steaming.
Step by step instructions:
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker.
Add mustard seeds and urad dal. Let them fry until golden brown color.
Add broken red chili, curry leaves and a pinch of hing and mix everything.
Add grated coconut to the pan and sauté for a minute.
Add 1 & ½ cups of water and required salt. Mix everything well and bring it to a rolling boil.
Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the flame to low. Add broken rice to the boiling water and gently mix.
Cover the pan with lid and let it cook until rice mixture is soft and cooked.
Once it becomes soft and the water is fully absorbed, turn off the heat. Give it a mix and let it cool down a bit.
When the cooked mixture is warm enough to handle, grease your hands with oil and roll the mixture into round or oblong dumplings.
Arrange the rice dumplings on a idli plate or steamer basket and steam cook them on a high heat for 10 minutes.
Serve the upma pidi kozhukattai with choice chutney of your choice.
More Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes:
- Coconut Modak
- Sweet Rava Kozhukattai
- Pala Undrallu
- Sesame Modak
- Chana Dal Sundal
- Oats Modak
- Bellam Thalikalu
- Kumbilappam
Here is a collection of 80+ Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes
How to make upma kozhukattai video recipe below:
Upma Kozhukattai
Ingredients
- 1 Teaspoon Oil
- ½ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ Tablespoon Urad Dal
- 1 Dried Red Chili
- A Pinch of Hing
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Coconut
- 1.5 Cups Water
- ½ Cup Rice Rava
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a teaspoon of oil in a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker.
- Add mustard seeds and urad dal. Let them fry until golden brown color.
- Add broken red chili, curry leaves and a pinch of hing and mix everything.
- Add grated coconut to the pan and sauté for a minute.
- Add 1 & ½ cups of water and required salt. Mix everything well and bring it to a rolling boil.
- Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to low. Add broken rice to the boiling water and gently mix.
- Cover the pan with lid and let it cook until rice mixture is soft and cooked.
- Once it becomes soft and the water is fully absorbed, turn off the heat. Give it a mix and let it cool down a bit.
- When the cooked mixture is warm enough to handle, grease your hands with oil and roll the mixture into round or oval-shaped balls.
- Arrange the rice dumplings on a idli plate or steamer basket and steam cook them on a high heat for 10 minutes.
- Serve the upma pidi kozhukattai with choice chutney of your choice.
Video
Nutrition values are estimates only.
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