Ammini Kozhakattai

Ammini / unduruli kozhakattais are cutest kozhakattais loved by all children. These are with the combination of millets and rice flour. For those who don’t know what is a unduruli kozhakattai, its steamed mini rice balls.

My daughter is very much interested in making as well as eating them. She is the one who makes these cute balls usually.

This is one of the varieties made during ganesh chathurthy.

Ingredients:

·         Processed Raw Rice flour – ¾ cup

·         Millet flour – ¾ cup (I used little millet / samai) – ¾ cup

·         Water – 2 cups.

·         Coconut oil – 1. 5 tbsp + 1 tsp

·         Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp

·         Curry leaves – few leaves

·         Asofitida – a pinch

·         Salt to taste

To grind

·         Grated coconut – 2 -3 tbsp

·         Red chili - 1 or 2 (based on ur taste)

Method:

Grind the millet in to fine powder using mixer. If you are buy millet flour directly, skip the step. 

Mix the rice flour and millet flour in a bowl.

Heat a thick kadai, pour water.

Add a tsp of coconut oil and required salt.

Let it boil well.

Once it starts rolling boiling, add the rice flour + millet flour and switch off the stove immediately.

Mix it well with help of a ladle without lumps.

 

Close it with a lid and let it rest and cool down for a while.

Once it is warm enough to handle, knead it well. It should be soft enough to make balls. Keep the kadai aside, we will use it for seasoning.

Now make them into small balls and steam it for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile grind grated coconut and a red chili and keep it aside.

In the same kadai, add a tbsp of coconut oil, and heat it.

Once the oil is heated add the mustard seeds, when it splutters, add curry leaves.

Add the ground coconut + red chili mixture and fry them well till they are crisp.

Now add the steamed kozhakattai and fry them for a while, till the outer later is nicely coated with the seasoning and crisp.

Add a pinch of asofitida and mix well.

Serve it hot with a cup of coffee or tea.

It may look like a long process, but it’s very simple to make.

Note:

·         I used little millet in this recipe; other millet flours can also be used.

·         I used readymade processed rice flour; you can also make it at home.

·         1 : 1 ¼ is the flour – water ratio.

More Kozhambu

This more kuzhambu (Yogurt Curry in English ?) is Sundari periamma special recipe. I always loved her cooking from childhood. After coming back from school, I never missed visiting her kitchen and nibble some of my favorites.  She is expert in vatha kuzhambu, more kuzhambu, more kali, sevai.. the list goes on..

Above all this, her kitchen is always spic and span.

Here is her recipe for more kuzhambu.

Ingredients:

·         Diced white pumpkin – 1 cup

·         Few curry leaves

·         Thick Butter Milk – 3 cups + few spoons for grinding

·         Grated coconut  – 1 cup

·         Green chilies – 6-8 (Depend on the vegetable and ur spice level)

·         Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp (can even add lesser to get a mild color)

·         Gram flour – 1.5 tsp

·         Salt to taste

For seasoning:

·         Coconut oil – 1 tsbp (Adding more tastes better)

·         Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

·         Fenugreek seeds – around 10

·         Red chili – 2 (tare roughly into pieces.)

Method:

Dice the white pumpkin, add little water and pressure cook in a small cooker for a whistle.

Meanwhile, grate the coconut.

Grind coconut + Green chilies into a smooth paste by adding little butter milk.

In a bowl, transfer the ground coconut paste and add 3 cups of butter milk. Add gram flour too and mix well without lumps.

When the pressure is released in the cooker, open the cooker and add turmeric powder and mix well. Switch on the stove.

Pour the coconut butter milk mixture into the cooker, add salt and curry leaves.

When the mixture starts to become frothy, then switch off the stove. It should not be boiled, as the texture will be lost.

In a small seasoning pan, add coconut oil, after it is heated, add mustard seeds, let it crackle. Add fenugreek seeds and red chilies. Roast them well and switch off.

Transfer the seasoning to the more kuzhambu.

Serve hot with Rice.

Notes:

·         The butter milk should be thick. If you are using curd, then dilute with water and blend in blender and then use. This only decides the texture of the more kuzhambu.

·         We have added the gram flour because we have used the white pumpkin which is a watery veggie. For other vegetables like ladies finger, this can be skipped.

·         For vegetables which get cooked easily, pressure cooker can be avoided; just sauté the vegetable in oil till it gets cooked and then add the coconut butter milk mixture and follow the rest of the steps as it is.

·         Do not add more than one vegetable, it won’t taste good.

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu

My mom’s home was more like arachu vitta sambar type. Weekly there will be atleast 4 sambar days, rest will be kootu and rasam.  We hardly made any paruppu kozhambu.  But my inlaws house more of paruppu kozhambu type.  I learnt making paruppu kozhambu after marriage.  That too my mom in-law makes paruppu urandai kozhamby very nicely.

Here is the recipe…

Ingredients:

For paruppu urundai

·         Toor Dal – 1 cup

·         Urad dal – 1 tbsp

·         Green chilies – 3

·         Ginger – 1 inch piece

·         Curry leaves – 2 strands

·         Oil – 1 tsp

·         Gingely Oil – 1 tsp
·         Mustard seeds - ½ tsp

·         Salt – as per taste

For kozhabu powder

·         Toor  dal– 1 tsp

·         Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

·         Red chilies – 5

·         Tomato – 2  (Medium size)

·         Gingely Oil – a little.

For Kozhambu :

·         Gingely oil – 1 tbsp

·         Small Onions – a fistful
·         Mustard seeds - ½ tsp

·         Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp

·         Tamarind – 1 lemon sized ball

·         Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

·         Jaggery – a small piece

·         Water as required

·         Salt to taste

·         Coriander leaves to garnish

Method for making paruppu urundai:

For non-tamil speakers, paruppu urundai is nothing but the small balls made from lentils. Similar to  pakoras in hindi.

Soak a cup of toor dal and a tbsp of urad dal in water for 15 mins. If you pinch the dal, you should be able to break it. Then it means its soaked.

Drain the excess water completely from the soaked dal and grind the dal along with green chilies, ginger, salt and curry leaves into a coarse paste.

Heat a kadai / pan, add a tsp of oil, and add mustard seeds. Wait for it to crack.

Add the coarsely ground dal, and stir well for a minute. Just heating is also enough.  If you skip this step, the paruppu urundai will dissolve in the kuzhambu.

Check if they are strong enough to make balls. Then the consistency is good and switch off the stove.

Make them into equally sized small balls and keep them aside. (The picture shows only few ones)

Notes:

·         We will add salt in gravy also, so add salt carefully.

·         Do not add water while grinding.

Method for making kozhambu podi:

We can use the usual kozhambu podi for this kozhambu also. But it will be very strong. We need something lite for this one.

Heat the same kadai, add little oil. Add a tsp of toor dal, coriander seeds, red chilies and fry them. Collect it in a bowl and let it cool down.

Add 2 whole tomatoes and just fry for a minute.

Grind the fried items along with tomatoes into a fine paste by adding little water. Keep it aside.

Kozhambu Method:

Soak the tamarind for half an hour and extract the juice and keep it aside. It should not be thick, we need a watery constancy.

Peel, wash the onions and slice them.

Heat oil in the kadai. Add mustard seeds. Let it crackle.

Add the fenugreek seeds, fry them golden brown.

Add the onions fry them for a minute.

Add the tamarind extract.

Add turmeric powder and salt.

Add the ground dal + tomato paste.

Add a small piece of jaggery.

Let the mixture boil well.

When it starts rolling boiling, add the paruppu urundai one by one carefully.

Now turn the heat to medium.

The paruppu urundai starts floating on the top when they are well cooked.

Switch off the stove and add chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice.

Note:

Instead of using the usual kozhambu vessel, you should use bigger kadai for making this kozhambu, because we need more room for the paruppu urundais to get cooked and rise up.