Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe – Steamed Rice Flour Balls | Mani Kozhukattai (Kara Kozhukattai) | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes – Ammini Kozhukattai aka Mani Kozhukattai are made with the outer covering used for the usual kozhukattai, basically steamed rice flour balls later tossed in a tempering to enhance the flavours.
With Independence day in 2 days and Ganesh Chaturthi coming soon, I decided to do my take on this Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe to give a tricolour twist depicting the three colours in our Indian flag to celebrate this Independence day. Adding colours is completely optional. I have used organic food colours! If you do not like to add colours, make them plain & enjoy for breakfast or as snack!
What is Ammini Kozhukattai
Ammini Kozhukattai is also referred to as Mani Kozhukattai. Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe is easy to make snack especially prepared during Ganesh Chaturthi or Varalakshmi Viratham. The key ingredient is left over the Kozhukattai mavu (Outer cover of modak), which you can prepare fresh or use up your leftover dough after making Modak/Kudumulu/Kozhukattai. First we need to make tiny balls out of the left over dough and we need to steam cook those tiny balls and then finally we need to prepare a tempering and toss the cooked Kozhukattai and it’s all ready!
Apart from being a festive snack, it also works as a healthy breakfast as well as a staple lunch box item. You can do all the prep for the balls the previous day and just steam them & toss it with the spices of your choice as and when you need them. We can bring in lots of variations in the tempering and take this kozhukattai to the next level. I have shared a few variations…..Hope you will like them! Let’s jump straight into the recipe!
Steps to follow for
Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe
Dough for Ammini Kozhukattai:
- To a bowl, add in the rice flour/idiyappam flour. To this add coconut and give it a nice mix.
- In a sauce pan, boil water with salt and Sesame oil/ghee. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat.
- Add this hot water little by little to the rice flour mixture and mix well with a spatula to make a smooth dough.
- Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Tricolour Ammini Kozhukattai:
Skip this step if you are making plain white Kozhukattai!
- After 10 minutes, divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Add Green colour to one part, Orange colour to another part and leave the last one as it is (white). I’m using organic food colours. If you are just making regular ones, just make it only white.
- Knead each part again to get a smooth dough. Grease the palm with Sesame Oil/ghee , pinch a tiny portion of the rice paste and roll into marble sized balls. Repeat this for rest of the dough and make balls.
Steaming Ammini Kozhukattai:
- Bring a pan or idli pot with an inch of water to a boil .
- Grease the idli plate with oil and arrange the rolled kozhukattai balls.
- Steam over medium high heat for 10 to 12 minutes covering the pan with a lid.
- Turn off the heat and rest for 10 minutes so that they cool down.
Tempering Ammini Kozhukattai:
- First Version: Heat a pan with a tablespoon of sesame oil. Add in chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds & a dry red chilli. Once the mustard seeds pop, add asafoetida & a few curry leaves. Add in the cooked dumpling balls and toss for a minute. This is best for kids as it’s not that spicy.
- Second Version: Prepare the same tempering as above, then add Gun Powder/Idli Podi or Curry Leaves Powder or any Lentil based Spice mix like here. Then add in some fresh coconut grate & mix well. Add in the cooked dumpling balls and toss for a minute to coat. Check for salt and add only if required.
- Ammini Kozhukattai or Mani Kozhukattai is ready!
NOTE:
If you do not have any of the above mentioned spice powders, just Follow This: Dry roast 3 dry red chillies, 1 tsp urad dal and 1 tsp chana dal on a low heat until the lentils turn golden. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool down. Then, grind to a coarse powder in a blender. Set aside & use this powder. You can also add 2 tsp of white sesame seeds to the above & roast along for another variation.
Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe - Steamed Rice Flour Balls | Mani Kozhukattai
Ingredients
For Dumplings Dough:
- 1/2 Cup Idiyappam flour or Rice Flour
- 1 tbsp Grated Coconut
- 1 1/4 Cup Water Add as needed
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil or Ghee
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- Orange & Green Food Colours For tricolour version
- Oil for greasing Palm & Idli Plate
For Tempering:
First Version:
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Chana Dal
- 1 tsp Urad Dal
- 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 to 2 Dry Red Chillies
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
- Few curry leaves
Spicy Version: To the above tempering add:
- 2 tbsp Gun Powder or Curry Leaves Powder
- 1/4 Cup Grated Fresh Coconut
Instructions
Dough For Dumplings:
- To a bowl, add in the rice flour/idiyappam flour. To this add coconut and give it a nice mix.
- In a sauce pan, boil water with salt and Sesame oil/ghee. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat.
- Add this hot water little by little to the rice flour mixture and mix well with a spatula to make a smooth dough.
- Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Tricolour Ammini Kozhukattai:
- After 10 minutes, divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Add Green colour to one part, Orange colour to another part and leave the last one as it is (white). I'm using organic food colours. If you are just making regular ones, just make it only white.
- Knead each part again to get a smooth dough. Grease the palm with Sesame Oil/ghee , pinch a tiny portion of the rice paste and roll into marble sized balls. Repeat this for rest of the dough and make balls.
Steaming Ammini Kozhukattai:
- Bring a pan or idli pot with an inch of water to a boil .
- Grease the idli plate with oil and arrange the rolled kozhukattai balls.
- Steam over medium high heat for 10 to 12 minutes covering the pan with a lid.
- Turn off the heat and rest for 10 minutes so that they cool down.
Tempering Ammini Kozhukattai:
- First Version: Heat a pan with a tablespoon of sesame oil. Add in chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds & a dry red chilli. Once the mustard seeds pop, add asafoetida & a few curry leaves. Add in the cooked dumpling balls and toss for a minute. This is best for kids as it's not that spicy.
- Second Version: Prepare the same tempering as above, then add Gun powder/idli podi or Curry Leaves Powder or any Lentil based Spice mix like here. Then add in some fresh coconut grate & mix well. Add in the cooked dumpling balls and toss for a minute to coat. Check for salt and add only if required.
- Ammini Kozhukattai or Mani Kozhukattai is ready!
Recipe Video
Notes
- Adding oil in the water helps to cook the dough non-sticky and soft.
- To get a crack free smooth kozhukattai balls, kneading to a soft dough is the important step.
- Never let the rice flour dough to completely cool down. Work the dough while it is slightly warm. It helps you shape better.
- Always add a little oil to your palms while kneading the dough and before making the rice flour dough balls.
- Use Sesame Oil for best taste.
Do check out other TRICOLOUR FOODS from the blog.
Do check out the sweet version, POORNAM KUDUMULU, other FESTIVAL RECIPES & SNACK RECIPES from blog!!
And many more to come!!…..Stay Tuned!!
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Happy Cooking
Cheers!!
Padma.
Nice & healthy . I may put any nice light filling inside say sautés sprouts / steamed Urad dal etc & steam the balls