Pearl Millet Modak | Kambu Kozhukattai Recipe

Though Lord Ganesha takes elephant’s appearance and looks obese, he insists his disciples to be diet-conscious and so he demands steamed stuffs rather than the fried ones!! Posting you pearl millet steamed dumplings recipe in advance for Ganesh Chaturthi(05-Sep-2016).

Vinayaga is my favorite god and the idol used in the photos was gifted by my mom. I like him so much and take with me wherever I go. Yes, it was easy for me to take him to US as he needs no visa 😉

Pearl millet is a reservoir of minerals. This healthy dumpling will taste great too. Replace your usual raw rice dumplings with millet ones and add more nutrients in each bite…

This recipe of mine was published in Jan-2016 edition of “Chellamaey” magazine.

Preparation

1.Dry roast pearl millet flour(kambu maavu) in medium heat until nice aroma wafts around. Transfer the flour to a mixing bowl and add ghee to the same pan. Once melted, add grated coconut.2.Fry coconut till it slightly changes color and nice aroma is released. Add fried coconut to the flour in the mixing bowl.3.Add grated jaggery and 1/2 cup of water to the same coconut-fried pan.4.Add cardamom(aelam) powder and dry ginger(sukku) powder to it and let it boil well.5.Once the water is halved to form a thick honey-like consistency, switch off the stove. Filter the syrup for impurities and add it to the mix.6.Mix well with ladle. Grease modak-maker with lil ghee and fill  both sides with the mix. Join them, press gently to make the impressions. Wipe out the mix that comes out here and there. Open gently and take out the modak.7.In an idli pot, pour some water in the bottom and line the modaks in the plate where you make idli. Cook for 10 minutes in high flame. Open the lid and steamed modaks are ready to serve!

Make any shape you wish and enjoy the healthy dumplings…

Tips/Tricks

• While adding jaggery syrup to the mix, just add half, mix the flour and check the consistency. Add incrementally and stop if you reach kolukkattai flour consistency. If the mix is too greasy, it can’t hold a shape.
• If you don’t have modak maker, you can make this as pidi kozhukkattai too. (Just pinch a ball and press in the palm with your fingers).
• I have added both cardamom(aelam) powder and dry ginger(sukku) powder for good digestion. You shall skip any one if you don’t have it.