Kara Kozhukattai, Recipe for easy Kara Kozhukattai – Kannamma Cooks (2024)

Kara Kozhukattai is made in the Kongunad region using par boiled rice and not the regularly used rice flour. This is a very light and super tasty kozhukattai. This is a childhood favorite for everyone. It is generally made with lots of onions. If making for festival like ganesh chaturthi, onions are omitted. This kozhukattai is mainly had for dinner with some chutney. If there are very young children or aged people at home, the chana dal (kadalai paruppu) used in the recipe is boiled and added instead of adding them during tempering. Boiling the chana dal removes the textural crunch while eating and also makes it a little easier to digest. I have added the chana dal during tempering today. Here is how to do Kara Kozhukattai.

Here is the video of how to make Kara Kozhukattai, Recipe for easy Kara Kozhukattai.

Par boiled rice is used for this recipe. Soak Idli rice (Idli rice is Par Boiled Rice) for 3 hours. If you have puzhungal arisi / parboiled rice used for meals, use that as it adds to the taste. If you are planning for breakfast, then soak the rice over nite. It works well. Drain the water from the soaked rice. Now, grind the rice with some water. The quantity of water used while grinding will determinethe final texture of the kozhukattai. For every cup of rice used, add exactly one cup of water while grinding. Too little water will give a really hard Kozhukattai and adding a lot of water will make the Kozhukattaigummy. So use the correct measurement of water while grinding. Grind to a really smooth fine paste. Set aside.

Heat sesame oil (gingely oil) in a pan and add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and the chana dal. Wait for the chana dal to brown.

Add in the curry leaves, ginger, onions and green chillies. Make sure all these ingredients are finely chopped, so its easy to prepare and shape the Kozhukattai. You do not want a big chilli or a curry leaf when you bite the dumpling. So take time and chop the ingredients as fine as possible. Add in the salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions are cooked and slightly starting to brown. Add little coconut at this stage for a rich taste.

Add in the ground rice mixture and stir with a spatula. The rice mixture will immediately thicken up into a mass of dough. Set aside to cool a bit.

Let the dough become warm. When the dough is still warm, dip your hands in cold water and take a small lemon size ball of dough. Press the dough a little to form oblong shaped dumplings. Set aside.

Place the dumplings on an idli plate or any flat plate and steam it for 15 minutes on a medium flame. The dumplings would become slightly glossy after steaming. Remove from heat.

Serve hot with coconut chutney, red chutney or kara chutney.

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