Rice, Coconut, Jaggery Dumpling aka Kozhukatta for Lazarus Saturday

This nostalgic snack seems to be connected to the Eastern Church origins of Kerala christianity.  The native name in Malayalam seems to have originated from the shape and content of the snack  which is stuffed with a coconut and jaggery mix. Here 'kozhu/kozhi' is for hen and 'katta' could be for the egg shape. This is my conjecture upon finding that the Saturday before palm Sunday has no commonly used name in Roman catholicism while it is celebrated as Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity. A sweet snack named lazarkia is made in Greece and Cyprus to celebrate Lazarus Saturday. That day is simply known as 'kozhukatta sani' in our families and 'sani' of course is Saturday.

In The Mix

rice powder - 1 cup

hot water - 1 cup or more

olive oil - 1 1/5 tbsp

salt to taste

grated coconut - 2 cups

jaggery/'sarkkara' - 200 grams

water - 3/4 cup

cumin powder - 1 tsp

cardamom powder - 1 1/2 tsp

ginger powder - 1/4 tsp

How To Do

Boil water in a pan and add oil and salt to taste. Remove from heat and set aside. Add rice powder in and keep stirring with a spoon until cool enough. Then knead by hand for a minute or so. Make into a loose ball shape and set aside.

Heat water and add the jaggery in. Keep stirring until all jaggery melts. Add cumin, cardamom and ginger powders. Check salt and add as needed. Once the syrup thickens, add coconut and keep stirring until all the water evaporates. The mix should stay soft and pliable.

Take dough in the shape of a small lime and flatten out with your hands. Fill with the jaggery mix and close all back together to form a ball or 'katta'. Add some oil to your hand if the dough sticks. Repeat until dough and mix are done. Be sure to ward off hands that reach for the jaggery mix if you have any hopes of yielding a decent number of these snacks. Be aware that this hand might as well be yours too:-)

                   

Steam cook for 15-20 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

Varutharacha Thenga Chammanthi a.k.a Roasted Coconut Chutney

During my undergrad hostel years, it was always a treat when a day scholar would invite us to her house for lunch or dinner. Since I never had dosa at home growing up and could eat this only at restaurants it was a delicacy for me. I surprised myself the other day when I said 'masala dosa' without even blinking in answer to my daughter's query on my favorite food! Idli is what my grandpa liked and his wishes were command since my dad never bothered to use his veto power.  The homemade red chutney that came with the dosa at the homes of these friends had a certain tanginess and color that I could never reproduce. Yogurt and lemon juice only went so far. When I went to H's house during the first trip to India this year, the lady that came to help Hmom made this dry chutney that I thought was awesome. She said she had added ginger and raw mango though I suspect the fresh grated coconut and the flat stone manual grinder (ammikallu) that my Hmom still keeps added much to the taste. I had it in the back of my mind to give it a try when I got back. Things happened and I forgot all about it. That was until I started searching for Onam recipes and came across this chutney at Marias's Menu by chance. Decided to make it right away and although it called for tamarind instead of mango and I swapped my Krup's Coffee Grinder for the ammikallu, it came out pretty close to what I had been searching for! Thanks to Maria and the lady at Hmom's house this will now be a keeper. I intend to try again with mango instead of tamarind to see how the taste changes.

In The Mix

medium sized shallot cloves - 2-3 sliced
ginger - 1/2 tsp chopped
crushed dry red chili - 1 1/2 tsp
grated coconut - 1 cup
tamarind concentrate - 1 tsp
coconut oil - 3 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig

How To Do

Heat oil and add the curry leaves, onions, ginger and crushed chili. Saute till the roasted aroma rises. Takes 2-3 minutes. Add the coconut and mix well. Roast gently for a minute or two without browning. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Add the tamarind concentrate and mix together with a small fork. Add salt to taste at this time. The first picture shows how the chutney looks at this time. The tamarind concentrate made a bit darker than I thought but who cares when busily drooling away;-)

I found that the Coffee Grinder is a good tool to grind without adding any water. Just had to do it in two batches because the cup is so small. But it was well worth it.

As I bit into a dosa wrapped morsel with this coconut goodness, a childhood memory of alippazhams (hailstones) melting away on my tongue flashed through. Because my friends, that is how it felt! It was over so quick that I had to have another piece, and another and another just to make sure it was not all a dream. Coconut chutney in any form is a joy but this is pure heaven I tell ya!