Mani Kozhukattai

Mani Kozhukattai – It takes time, but it’s worth every single bite!

Mani Kozhukattai is South Indian tiffin prepared with rice flour dumplings shaped in marble-sized balls and flavoured with spices.



Mani Kozkhukattai

Mani Kozhukattai is a small pearl-like rice dumplings snack made with rice flour that gets steam cooked and tempered with South Indian spices.

Mani Kozhakattai or also known as Ammini Kozhukattai, isn’t a popular enough dish to appear on menus of restaurants but only confined to the kitchens where most of us make fond memories.

This is a popular dish in many Tamil households and eaten as an evening snack along with chai or coffee. It’s a traditional snack made mostly in Tamil Nadu or Tamils living across India.

It is a slightly labourious process, but the effort is worth the result

Mani Kozhukattai

Mani Kozhakatai is known to be Lord Ganesha’s favourite snack. This dish is one of the many items that are cooked and offered to God on Ganesh Chaturthi.

I have always loved tiffin and choose it over the main meals at any time of the day. The smells of childhood are treasures that no one can take away from you. Mani Kozahkatai is one such dish that I have cherished since my childhood. My mother made them as an evening snack and gave them to me, steaming from the cooker. This memory I will never forget.

Ingredients for Mani Kozhukattai


The main ingredient to make Kozhukattai is rice flour. The previous generations, that is, our mother’s generation, always made rice flour at home. However, with jobs and days packed with activities, making ingredients at home has become a novelty. I will write a separate post about how one can produce rice flour at home. I haven’t attempted it, but I want to at some point.

In stores, look for Idiyappam flour. Packets marked with rice flour should also work, but in my experience, idiyappam flour works much better.

The other ingredients you will need are Chutney powder or Idli Podi for the flavouring.

You will also need cooking oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, dried red chillies and asafoetida powder for the tempering.

How to make Mani Kozhukattai


The first step in making Mani Kozhakatai is to make the rice paste. If you can master this step, the next few steps will be easy as pie.

The ratio of rice flour to hot water is 1:2. For every cup of rice flour that you measure out, you have to use 2 cups of boiling water.

Take a wide pan and add 2 cups of water. Bring this water to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of oil. Keep the flame on low and add the rice flour bit by bit while stirring continuously to prevent any lumps or flour pockets from forming.

When you see the flour has soaked up all the water, turn off the flame and continue mixing until the water and flour ultimately come together – this should take less than a minute.

Cover the pan with a lid and let the rice paste steam cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the lid and let the rice paste cool down.

When you feel that, you can touch the paste without burning your fingers, dip your fingers and palms in a bowl of cold water and knead the rice paste. This kneading process helps in making it into a smooth dough. You can use a little oil to help you with the process. Gingelly oil is the best and does add a lovely nutty taste to the dough.

Keep going until the rice paste is smooth and round dough ball.

Steaming the Mani Kozhukattai

Roll marble-sized balls with the rice paste and keep them aside. It would help if you did not roll the rice balls too tight as they might not get cooked in the centre. With one cup of rice flour, you should have twenty-five balls at the bare minimum.

Yes, this process is cumbersome, but these tiny balls are fun to eat. Gather the kids to make them, or even your friends – they will appreciate the labour that goes into it. You can even roll them into a different shape if you want. Mani in mani kozhakattai means “pearl”, but you are not obligated to stick to the shape.

I use an idli cooker for steaming the mani kozhakattai. Add an inch of water to the idli cooker and place it on the stove. Once the water is boiling, your idli cooker is ready for use. You can also use a vegetable steamer or any steaming device will do.

Place the rice balls on greased plates of an idli cooker stand.

You can now place the rice balls in the idli cooker. (The size of the balls determines the cooking time. The bigger the kozhakattai, the longer you will have to cook them.) Steam cook the Ammani Kozhakatais for 10-12 minutes.

You know they are ready when the surface of the kozhakattais looks glossy. Take the idli stand out of the cooker and let it cool down.

Tempering the Ammani Kozhukattai


This step of the preparation is the fun part. You can add any flavourings to your choice. Here are a few options that you can use as flavouring.

  1. Simple Ammini Kozhakattai with a Classic South Indian combination of mustard leaves, curry leaves, green chillies and asafoetida
  2. Kara Mani Kozhakattai with Lentil Powder – Urad dal, Channa dal, red chillies and coconut/copra
  3. Sweet Ammini Kozhakatai with jaggery, coconut and sesame seeds

To begin the tempering process, place a kadai/ pan on a medium flame. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. Once the oil is warm, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and dried red chillies. Toss the spices in the oil until the urad dal turns brown.

At this stage, add the steamed rice dumplings, sprinkle salt and mix well. I ate this version of mani kozhukattai a lot of the time. It is a simpler version.

If you want to make it more interesting, you can add 2 tablespoons of chutney powder or idli powder to the pan and toss them all together. This makes for a spicy and zesty evening snack. Turn off the heat and drizzle some lemon juice and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

If you are making a savoury version of the mani kozhakatai, any chutney can be served with it. You can try this Green Coconut Chutney that will go very well with it.

Storage and Shelf Life


This is a tiffin best eaten when hot out of the steamer or the pan. But I have eaten them cold, yet tastes great. I have refrigerated cold ammini kozhukattai and eaten it the next day and they are just ok since the chutney powder tends to clump in the fridge.

One way so store it would be to prepare the ammini kozhukattai and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can take a portion of it and toss them in South Indian spices and the chutney podi.

Mani Kozhukattai
Mani Kozhukattai

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Recipe


Mani Kozhukattai

Mani Kozhukattai

Mani Kozhukattai is a South Indian tiffin prepared with rice flour dumplings shaped in marble-sized balls and flavoured with spices.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Evening Snacks
Cuisine South Indian
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Cup Rice Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 2 Cups Hot Water

For the tempering

  • 1 tbsp Gingelly Oil
  • 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 1 tsp Split Urad Dal
  • 1 Green chilli
  • 2 sprig Curry Leaves
  • 2 tbsp Chutney Powder optional

Instructions
 

Making the dough for the Kozhukattai

  • In a wide pan, add two cups of water. Bring this water to a slow boil. Add a teaspoon of salt.
  • Once the water is in a slow boil, reduce the heat and add one cup of rice flour to the boiling water.
  • Stir slowly. It is alright to have a few lumps. Turn off the flame and mix until you see the contents of the pan are forming one large lump.
  • Close the pan with a lid and leave it aside for 5-10 minutes. During this time, the rice flour and water will combine and it will also cool down slightly.
  • On to a wide plate, apply a coat of oil and drop the rice flour mixture on the plate for kneading.
  • If you feel the mixture is too hot, wait for it to cool down further, but do not allow it to cool down completely.
  • Once you are able to touch the rice mixture, apply some oil on your palms and knead the dough until it’s a nice smooth ball.
  • The ball has to be without cracks so that when you steam cook; the mani kozhukattai gets cooked evenly.

Steam cooking the Mani Kozhukattais

  • Pinch out small balls to shape it into marble sized balls.
    Once the small kozhakuttais are ready, keep them covered until the steamer is set up. Covering keeps the kozhukattais from drying out before steam cooking.
  • Place the mani kozhukattais in the steamer and cook for 10-12 minutes. You know they are ready when they look glossy.
  • Just to be sure, take one out to test if they’ve been cooked well.

Tempering the Mani Kozhakattais

  • In a pan or kadai, add a tablespoon or two of oil and allow it to warm up.
    Add mustard seeds, split urad dal and allow it to crackle.
  • Add a sprig or two of curry leaves and a green chilli slit along the center.
  • Sauté for10-15 seconds and then add the steamed mani kozhakattais. Give it a mix and add salt if you feel its necessary.
  • If you have any sort of podi – chutney podi or dosa podi or idli podi, you can add them at this stage and mix them all well.
  • Squeeze a drizzle of lemon juice if you fancy it.
  • Serve it as it is or with a chutney of your choice.
    Enjoy!
Keyword Rice based Recipes, Tiffin

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