Kozhukattai Recipe

Updated: September 7, 2022, By Swasthi

Kozhukattai recipe made with jaggery sesame filling. Kozhukattai are traditional steamed dumplings from Tamil cuisine. These are similar to the Maharashtrian modak and are made with various fillings & dough covering. The traditional Kozhukkatai are made with a covering of rice flour and the filling is made with jaggery, fresh coconut and cardamom powder. These are offered to the Lord during Vinayagar Chaturthi puja, which is also known as Ganesh chaturthi in other parts of India.

kozhukattai made with sesame stuffing

Recipe Comments

Kozhukattai

Many households make different kinds of kozhukkatai. These can be made with numerous fillings like dry fruit mixture, peanut jaggery stuffing, chana dal poornam and also with sesame jaggery stuffing. In this post I share the kozhukattai recipe with sesame stuffing and these are known as Ellu kozhukattai.

If you want to make the traditional coconut filling, then you may refer to my modak recipe. To make the chana dal poornam , you may refer to this poornam kudumulu recipe. You can find more recipes for Gauri Ganesha Festival here.

As I mentioned in this post, I show how to make the sesame filling for the kozhukkatai. You may make the stuffing 1 to 2 days ahead and store it at room temperature too. Since the stuffing is not cooked and the ingredients used are dry, the stuffing has a good shelf life.

A lot of households have the tradition to make all festive foods on the day they offer to God. If so you can roast the sesame seeds the previous day and grate the jaggery and keep it ready. You can instantly blend it and use to make the kozhukkatai.

I have shown 3 ways to shape them. One is with the mould and the other 2 are handmade.

To make the poornam, you can use white or black sesame seeds. If using black seeds, it is a bit more of work since they have to be washed and rinsed thoroughly to remove the bitter taste.

Apart from kozhukattai or modak, even ladoos are prepared in many homes for Ganesh chaturthi.

Photo Guide

How to Make Kozhukattai (Stepwise Photos)

Prepare stuffing

1. Clean 1 cup sesame seeds. Next dry roast on a medium flame until you begin to smell them good. Do not discolor them they may lend a bitter taste. Cool completely.

dry roasting for ellu kozhukattai

2. Add them to a blender jar.

blender jar

3. Powder finely.

Powder finely

4. Add grated jaggery, cardamom powder and blend well. OR If your jaggery has dust particles, then you can also melt 1 cup jaggery with ยผ cup water. Filter and bring it to a boil. Add the powdered seeds and stir. Cook on a medium heat until the poornam becomes thick enough to make a ball. Cool this and make balls.

Add grated jaggery, cardamom powder and blend

5. I made balls out of the blended powder.

blended powder

6. Make 12 equal sized balls. Set these aside.

make balls

Make dough

7. Bring one cup water to a rolling boil with little ghee and salt.

Bring one cup water to a rolling boil

8. Switch off and add 1 cup rice flour to it.

add rice flour

9. Mix well. The mixture will be crumbly. Cover it and leave until it cools down a bit.

mix

10. When the mixture is still slightly hot. Knead it well. If required dip your fingers in water and knead. The dough must be non sticky and crack free.

kneading rice flour dough for ellu kozhukattai

11. Divide the dough to 11 equal sized balls. Cover the dough with a moist cloth.

 make a puri to make ellu kozhukattai

Shape Kozhukattai

12. Take a ball and make a dent in the center. Begin to spread it evenly to make a round puri. To prevent cracks you can dampen your fingers. You can also stick back the cracked parts. You can also use little ghee if the dough turns sticky. Place a poornam ball.

Take a ball and make a dent in the center

13. Join 4 sides of the puri excluding the corners. Dip fingers in water and press gently in the center.

Join 4 sides of the puri

14. Now join the corners as well. Stick again.

join the corners

15. Gently pull the excess dough on top to shape like a modakam. You can also roll it to a plain ball.

shape like a modakam

16. For varalakshmi puja or gauri puja on the day before ganesh chaturthi, some women make these in the shape of kadubu. Make a puri and place the poornam mixture on one half, not a ball. Then cover and seal the edges. If the dough is dry it may not stick. So dampen the edges with little water and stick. You can make a design just by folding little dough towards the inner side on the edges.

how to make kozhukattai by swasthi

17. However If you own a modak mould you can follow these steps

  • a) First grease the mould generously with ghee.
  • b) Place a rice flour ball inside and spread it evenly across the mould. Do not make it too thin. Modak may end up with wholes.
  • c) Place the stuffing and press. Do not try to stuff the ball. Instead stuff the powder or moist poornam.
  • d) Seal it with little more dough. Gently remove it. Repeat greasing to make more modakam.
how make modak using mould

Keep all the kozhukattai or modak covered with a moist cloth until they go for steaming.

Steam

18. Lastly bring water to a boil in a steamer or pressure cooker (without whistle). Place the kozhukattai/ modakam in the steamer basket lined with a moist cloth. Steam for 8 to 10 minutes.

steaming kozhukattai

Cool ellu kozhukattai completely and offer to the gods Gauri Ganesha.

kozhukattai offered on a banana leaf

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

kozhukattai

Kozhukattai Recipe

5 from 15 votes
Kozhukattai are Tamilnadu style sweet stuffed dumplings made during Ganesh chaturthi. These kozhukattai are made with sesame seeds stuffing.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings11
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

For stuffing

  • 1 cup sesame seeds
  • 1 cup jaggery (grated or powdered)
  • ยผ tsp cardamom powder

for the outer layer

  • 1 cup rice flour (refer notes)
  • 1 cup water ( if needed a little more for kneading)
  • ยฝ tsp ghee
  • 1 pinch salt
  • ghee ,extra , for greasing


Instructions

Preparation

  • Dry roast sesame seeds until aromatic. Cool and powder them finely. Blend it a jar to powder. Add  jaggery, cardamom and blend well. Make balls . Set aside.
  • Bring water to a boil. Switch off the stove and add flour.
  • Stir well and cover. Set aside for a while.
  • Knead the dough well to make crack free dough.

How to make Kozhukattai

  • Make 11 equal sized balls. Grease your fingers and begin to flatten the ball. 
  • Spread the dough to a small puri. If the edges crack, dampen your fingers and join the cracks.
  • Place a ball and bring all the edges together. Give a modak shape to it.
  • Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a steamer or pressure cooker. Place the kozhukattai on a basket lined with cloth.
  • Place the basket in the steamer when the water comes to a boil. If using cooker, then do not use weight.
  • Steam ellu kozhukattai in a steamer for 8 to 10 minutes.


Notes

You can use store bought rice flour. But if you are keen like me to make the kozhukattai with homemade flour then these steps will help
1. Wash raw rice a few times. Soak in for about an hour. Drain completely.
2. Spread it on a cloth and allow to dry.
3. When it is slightly moist, powder it in a blender.
4. Sieve it with a fine flour sieve.
Kozhukattai maavu or flour is ready to use.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Kozhukattai Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 210 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 2mg0%
Potassium 74mg2%
Carbohydrates 33g11%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 18g20%
Protein 3g6%
Calcium 141mg14%
Iron 2.2mg12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Kozhukkatai recipe first published in September 2015. Updated and republished in September 2021.

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About Swasthi

Iโ€™m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthiโ€™s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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5 stars
Hi, this is very nice and appealing as well. The way you explained is very clear. Thanks for the recipe.

5 stars
Very nice

5 stars
Modki recipe?

5 stars
Hi swasthi awesome..
I made Dum biriyani last week.. .
It very delicious

Can you please share how to prepare chat items…

5 stars
I made these for the friday puja. Came out awesome. Thank you

Wow really good to see, ur recipes are awesome, can u pls tell me where that moulds Will get

Love the modaks. The sesame, cardamom and Jaggery filling is simply delicious. The modaks look so perfect and delectable.