Recipe : Ellu Kozhukkattai (Ganesh Chaturthi)

Hope everyone celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with religious fervour. We also celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with the usual Pooja and neyvedyams and visited the local Ganesh Temple. We prepared Sweet Kozhukkattai, Ammini kozhukkattai, Kadalai Chundal, Kovil Payasam and Ellu Kozhukkattai.

I usually do not prepare Ellu Kozhukkattai. The usual fare in place of Ellu Kozhukkattai is Ulundu Kozhukkattai. So. for a change, this time I prepared Ellu Kozhukkattais. Ellu (sesame seeds) is considered a favourite neyvedyam for Lord Ganesha. Our Echiyamma used to offer Ellurundai (Sesame Laddu) on Chaturthi day. Some time back our younger son asked me for the recipe of Ellu Kozhukkattai, so I thought of trying it out before telling him the recipe.

Here, then, is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Ingredients for the outer shell same as sweet Kozhukkattai

For the Stuffing:

Black sesame seeds: ½ cup
Jaggery:  ¼ cup
Ghee: 1 tsp

Method:

Prepare the dough for the outer shell as explained here.

Stuffing:

Dry roast the sesame seeds until they crackle. Cool and grind coarsely. Melt the jaggery in 2 tbsps of water and strain to remove dirt. Boil the jaggery syrup for 2 mnts. Add the ground sesame seeds and stir until all the moisture evaporates. At this stage, the stuffing will leave the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and remove to another plate (Any more heating will make the stuffing very dry and the kozhukkattais will break).

Make small cups of the prepared rice flour dough and stuff 2 tsps of the stuffing inside. Close the cups and steam for 15-20 mnts. Yummy Ellu kozhukkattais are ready.

enjoy!