Ganapathi Bappa Moriya, Kozhakattai Konjam Thaariya?

It’s that time of that year again where we celebrate the birthday of Lord Ganesha, of House Hinduism, first of his name, Lord of wisdom and auspiciousness, remover of obstacles and the protector of the realm. Basically, Ganapathi Bappa Moriya! The birthday of the elephant headed god is here and so is the time to eat kozhakattai. Filled with coconut and jaggery on the inside and a soft outer covering made of rice- this is the form of kozhakattai/modak that most of us would have eaten.

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There’s a lot more that goes into the making this divine sweet- You “Shuddham ah” sit with your mother as she grates the coconuts and makes the jaggery syrup. You watch in awe as the poornam starts to thicken and develops a beautiful shine. You wait patiently for it to cool down and then start filling them into the rice dough (Or- you try; you miserably fail and end up making some weird thing that is definitely not kozhakattai, and then you pass the baton on to your younger sibling).
After the steaming of these kozhakkatais, is the most difficult part where you have to wait for the pooja to get over. The moment your dad rings the bell and “Deeparadhanai” gets over; On one hand, you try your best to pray for good luck and prosperity and on the other, you desperately try not to think of the prasadam for the next two minutes. And once that’s done, THE TIME HAS FINALLY ARRIVED for the sweet taste that was worth the entire wait! The only thing that remains is to safeguard your share of the kozhakattai and make sure your sibling doesn’t encroach upon your territory.

This Kozhakattai season, here’s a list of 5 different types of kozhakattai that you should try!

-The Original One: As mentioned earlier, this is the kozhakattai that all of us would have eaten, be it for Varalakshmi vritham, Ganesh Chaturthi or any other Hindu festival. The original kozhakattai is a living testament to the statement, “simple and best.” The other forms of kozhakattai are just variants of the original one.

Fried Kozhakattai: Also called Sugiyan in many households, this is the variant where people use gram flour maavu, coat the original kozhakattai with it, and deep fry it in oil or ghee. This is made for the Chaturthi of every month!

Paal Kozhakattai: This is  a bit different from the other types of kozhkattai as it does not have a filling. These are small dumplings made out of rice flour and are soaked in a gravy of coconut milk and jaggery. (With or without elaichi)

Paruppu Usilli Kozhakattai: Made with a filling of channa dal and spices, this is a savoury kozhakkatai and is hence called uppu kozhakattai. This makes for a tasty and nutritious evening snack.

Ammini Kozhakattai: This is generally made with the leftover rice dough of the original kozhakattai on Ganesh Chaturthi. This is a savoury kozhakattai too, and does not have a filling. It is instead tossed in chilli powder and other spices!

What are you waiting for? Forget the calorie count, just like Ganesha! Go indulge in grandma’s homemade kozhakattai, or you can always order from moremilaga! 😀

  • –  Anagha Natraj

 

Know our Team: Ragini Murali

For all those who have called our helpline and wondered who it is at the other end, meet our Operations and Customer Engagement In charge: Ragini Murali

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Ragini Murali

A housewife turned enterprising professional and a mother of two bright engineers, Ragini’s the goto person for all situations.

“I have always kept myself engaged by the way of Sloka classes and community service, and Moremilaga provided an ideal platform to explore a different facet of me” says Ragini whose husband is a Senior Manager in a PSU bank.

In case you don’t find her answering the helpline, you can safely assume that she’s either at Venkata Narayana Temple doing service to the Lord or at the Sathyam Theatre 🙂

Step by Step, into the past!

Gone are the days when making vadam was a family event. From buying ready made packets in stores and then directly into tiffin boxes, kids these days don’t know the emotions and sentiments attached to their every day foods.

Nice and Spicy Vadam koozhu

Nice and Spicy Vadam koozhu

Given below is a step by step ’emotional guide’ to the vadam making process.

Step 1: Paati would make the maavu, called vadam koozhu. Just like how we all attack the cake batter before it goes into the oven, the kids (currently, our parents) had to literally be driven out of the kitchen for the same!

Step 2: Paati would spread out the vadam koozhu in different patterns on thatha’s dhoti (which he desperately searches for, in the upcoming week!) and leave it out in the sun to dry.

Step 3: The kids then become the legal guardians of the “out to dry” vadam. They sit out in the sun all day, pretending to study and drive away the birds that come to eat their precious accompaniment to any food!

Step 4: BLAME THE CROWS for the missing pieces of vadam. Always blame the crows.

The crisp sound catches your attention very easily, but it’s the making that enticed kids from the 90s. Many a times, kids are found in the terraces and rooftops trying to shoo crows away. Sometimes it’s a squirrel or a small animal trying to get a nibble of some nicely ground and spiced up batter left to be dried. But, no. The kids would never let the animals win.

“I remember how my mother used to keep the vadam under lock and key. But most of the fun was in eating the semi dried maavu… That was totally in our control,” says Latha, a teacher. Change is the only constant and nothing is immune to it. Not even one of the tastiest traditional snacks of Tamil Nadu. “Nowadays, there’s just no time. Chillies have replaced the children as guardians, Thatha’s dhoti has become plastic sheets [good for thatha, but traditions?] and the packet vadam is still raw,” exclaims Shyamala Gopal, an IT professional.

Such a joyous occasion has been lost to the tides of time. Making Vadam koozhu is a ritual engaging the grandparents and the grandkids when the generation in between is out to work. Such bliss is incomparable. Unfortunately, it is now unrecognizable.

Get back the nostalgic feeling, order your homemade Vadam koozhu and much more, only at www.moremilaga.com

-Anagha Natraj

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