modakam or sweet kozhakkatai

Lord Ganesha's favorite is Modakam otherwise called Kozhakattai. This is a steamed rice wonton with a sweet coconut filling!

Ingredients:

Rice / pachari - 1 cup

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 pinch

Coconut - 1 1/2 cup

Jaggery (broken ) - 1 cup

Cardamom (powdered) - 1 tsp

Method:

Soak the rice in water for minimum 1 hour (or overnight for pooja) and grind into a smooth batter. 

Mix in the salt and coconut oil. The batter must be very runny. So add more water if necessary.

Pour this liquid into a thick bottomed vessel and start heating.

Keep stirring until the rice forms a thick ball and the whole mass sticks to the spatula. 

Transfer to a oiled plate and keep aside to cool.

Clean the same vessel and add the jaggery with 1 cup water.

Boil and dissolve the jaggery. Strain the syrup.

Put the syrup for boiling with the coconut and cardamom powder.

Once all the water gets evaporated, turn off flame and do not change this vessel. Let it cook further in the latent heat.

Wet your palms and take a small ball of the cooked rice batter.

Spread thinly on the hand.

Make a small ball of the coconut and place inside the thin rice round.

Bring the sides together and form a ball. Make a small triangle on top.

Continue to do this till either the rice mixture or coconut mixture gets over.

Now steam covered for 10 minutes. 

Cool and serve.

P.S- An old wives tale - If you are expecting and you make this modakam ; depending on whether the rice part or the sweet part getting over, the gender of the baby was predicted! 

If the coconut mixture is left and the rice part gets over, you will get a girl and if the rice mixture is left and sweet coconut mix gets over, you will get a boy.