Kolukattai and Mothakam 

Kolukattai and Mothakam are same except in their shapes - Kolukattai is shaped like patties and Mothakam is like a small ball.

Ingredients:

Roasted red rice flour 2 cups
Green gram dhal 1 cup skinned and cleaned
Jaggery 200 Gms
Cardamom powder ½ teaspoons
Coconut scrapped 1 cup
Salt to taste
Water

Method:

Dry roast the green gram and boil this in water, until it becomes soft.

Drain well and let it cool. Powder or scrape the jaggery.

Mix the cooked green gram, jaggery, coconut, cardamom powder and salt together to form a homogeneous mixture.

To the rice flour, add salt and mix with boiling water into dough using just enough water.

The dough should be soft and pliable but not watery.

With lime sized dough in the hands, flatten to a round disc and make it into a cup shape.

Take care not to make it thin anywhere. It should be the same thickness everywhere.

In the middle, place a spoonful of the dhal mixture, cover and press the edges of the dough disc together to seal firmly to form a semi lunar shape.

Press with a fork to get a serrated edge.

Steam these few at a time carefully.

These might tend to break up if the dough cups are not thick enough.

To make Mothakam, the edges of the flattened dough should be gathered together to form a small cone at the top to take the form of a small ball.

Steam this in the same way as for kolukattai.

Omapodi

                Omapodi 

Ingredients:

Gram flour 2 cups
Omam seeds 2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder 1 pinch
Asafoetida powder 1 pinch
Baking \powder 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Special equipment: Wooden press as in murukku with omapodi mould which has smaller holes.

Method:

Sieve the gram flour and grind the omam to powder.

Add omam powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt to the gram flour and mix well.

To this add warm water and make it into smooth dough without any lumps.

Just add enough water to form soft dough.

Fill an omapodi mould and squeeze the dough in rings directly into hot oil in a pan and fry until golden and crispy.

Drain, dry and store.

Payatham Urundai / Moong dhal balls / Payatham Paniyaram

               Payatham Urundai

This is a speciality item generally made for occasions and can be made a week earlier and stored.

Ingredients:

Moong dhal (Green gram) split and skinned 2 cups
Roasted rice flour ½ cup
Scrapped Coconut 2 cups
Sugar 1 cup
Pepper powder ¼ teaspoons
Cumin powder ½ teaspoon
Turmeric powder ¼ teaspoon
Cardamon powder ½ teaspoons
Water as necessary
Ground White rice flour 1½ cups,
Water
Salt
Oil for frying

Method:

Dry roast the coconut until golden brown and grind to a powder.

Dry roast moong dhal well and grind to powder and sieve.

Grind sugar to powder.

In a wide mouthed bowl, put the moong dhal powder, rice flour, coconut, cardamon powder sugar, cumin powder and pepper powder and mix well.

Add boiling water and mix the flour mix to a consistency of pittu flour - do not add too much water and the mixture should be bit powdery and should not any lumps.

Make into big marble sized firm balls and set aside.

Mix the white rice flour, turmeric powder, salt with water well without any lumps to make the batter.

The batter should not be very runny. 

Soak the flour balls in this batter mixture and fry until golden.

Drain and remove and let it cool before storing.

Pagoda

                                 Pagoda

Ingredients:

Gram dhal split 2 cups
Green chillies 3
Chilli powder 1 teaspoon
Dry chillies 3 optional
Onions 1 medium
Fennel seeds 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves 6
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Rice powder Plain 3 Tablespoons

Method to make the gram mixture is as for gram vadai.

In addition add plain Rice flour to the mixture. This makes Pagoda crispier and will keep it that way for few days.

Take some paste in your hand and gently squeeze through your fingers in the form of small irregular pieces directly into the hot oil and fry until they turn golden and crispy.

Drain and remove.

Any balance Pagoda left can be packed in food storage bags and placed in freezer to use another day. It will remain crispier and fresh. Just allow to thaw and eat.