UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

Dish of the Day:- Upma Kozhukattai
Place- Tamilnadu

Upma Kozhakattai is something we make every Ganesh Chaturthi. This is supposed to be a salted modak, an apparent Ganpati favourite!

There's a really cute story involving kozhukattai. Little Ganesh used to love eating modaks- both sweet and salted. One evening, he came back feeling very hungry and all the way home, he kept imagining his mother, Parvati waiting to welcome him with a plate of modaks.
On reaching, he realised that his mother has made no such thing for him. Dejected, he flops down in one corner with his face in his hands. Evening turned to night and the moon shone brightly in the sky. He looks up and sees the moon, and somehow believes that it was a kozhukattai that his mother had left for him in the sky. Suddenly he gets excited and jumps in the direction of the moon.
A mouse was passing by and it happened to catch the entire incident. It burst out laughing at Ganpati's foolishness. Ganpati was enraged that he had made a fool of himself and that a mere mouse was mocking him. So as a punishment, he made the mouse his servant and vehicle!

And that's why even today when we bring Ganpati into our house, we bring the mouse as well..:)

How to Cook it Up:- (serves 4 people)

Rawa (Raw Rice Semolina)........2 cups
Water............................................4 cups
Grated Coconut...........................3/4 cup
Urad Dal........................................1 tsp
Mustard Seeds............................1 tsp
Chana Dal.......................................1 tsp
Red Chillies....................................4-5
Curry leaves..................................1 tsp
Oil for seasoning
Salt to taste

Directions:-

1) Heat a little oil in a kadhai.
2) Put the urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.
3) When the mustard starts spluttering, pour a little water and add the grated coconut.
4) When it boils, slowly fold in the rawa a little by little. Keep mixing it well so that the seasoning gets mixed evenly into the rawa.
5) When the mixture thickens, turn off the gas and keep the mixture aside. It will look like upma. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.
6) The grease your hand a little with water and make small balls out of the mixture. steam these balls in a steamer.
7) After about 15-20 minutes, the kozhukattais will be done. take them out of the steamer and serve hot.

* (You can make do with the apparatus used for steaming idlis)

Kozhukattai and Mulaka pachadi is the ultimate combination. Even thenga thogayal tastes good with it. Kozhukattai as a dish is a little bland and so to balance it, the chutney alongwith it needs to be spicy or tangy..