Verkadalai Mothagam, a delicious steamed sweet dumpling made from rice flour dough as outer layer with sweet peanut coconut filling inside.

As Vinayagar Chathurthi is nearby, i want to share some new mothagam recipes and this verkadalai mothagam pops up in my mind first, i have a vague memory of eating this delicious kozhukattai for first time when i was 9 or 10 years old.

During that time we were in Villupuram and our neighbour aunty shared this verkadalai kozhukattai with us on one vinayagar chathurthi, i guess i liked it very much then and have the memory of asking Amma about the stuffing because in our family Amma makes only chana dal pornam for kozhukattai on chaturthi days, so that was different from what i used to it, so asked her about it. Some memories are astonishing!!!! Right??

Now coming to the recipe, it's one of the easiest mothagam that you can prepare in very less time. If you have roasted peanuts, then the stuffing would be ready in a few mins. Even you can make the stuffing ahead or day before chathurthi and refrigerate it, unlike the traditional chana dal poornam, it has a longer shelf life.

In this recipe, I have used grated coconut but you can skip that and make it with only peanuts also, i have tried the stuffing with / without coconut, both taste equally good. Last year itself, i had made this & clicked the pictures to post here, but somehow it didn't happen, so i was determined to post at least this year and made this yesterday just for blog sake and here i'm with the recipe.

For more kozhukattai and sundal recipes, check out the full ganesh chathurthi collection.

Some FAQs about making kozhukattai dough !!

What type of rice flour is good for making kozhukattai?

Pacharisi / Raw rice flour is the most commonly used flour for making kozhukattai. You can make your own rice flour at home or use the store bought flour.

If you're buying from the store, make sure that the rice flour is very fine. Usually it's available in the market in the name of kozhukattai maavu or idiyappam flour.

In our home, while we grew up, Amma always made dough from idli rice batter for both kozhukattai and idiyappam. The flavor and the texture are so unique compared to rice flour dough.

Why can't I shape the modak / mothagam ?

Dough consistency is the key to making modak shapes easily. There are a couple of things to be taken care of for making the dough. Those are

Rice flour should be fine enough such that adding hot water into the flour makes it almost cooked.
Almost cooked rice flour is pliable and easy to make shapes. Otherwise you can't make shapes and the dough would be easily breakable.
Water should be boiled for making the dough.
Grease your hands well to avoid the dough sticking to your hands while shaping.
If you're a beginner, buy a modak/mothagam mold, it will do your job a lot easier.

Why do my modak/mothagam get cracked after steaming?

Steaming for a longer time would make the modak crack on the outer layer. Since the dough is almost cooked already, there is no need to cook for a longer time. Just 5-7 mins of steaming is enough.

Peanut Kozhukattai | Verkadalai Mothagam

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 6
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
For dough
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Boiling water - little less of 1/2 cup
For Filling
Peanut - 1/4 cup
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Cardamom -1
Jaggery - 1/4 cup(heaped)

Procedure

First dry roast the peanut until it's aromatic and slightly turn into brown color( if you have roasted peanuts, skip this step) and let it cool for a while.

Heat a pan with 1/2 cup of water and add the jaggery, let the jaggery melt completely. If it has any impurities, filter it once and bring into boil again.

In the mean time, add the roasted peanuts into the mixie jar along with a cardamom and grind into coarse mixture. Add the powdered peanuts and grated coconut into the jaggery syrup.

Mix it well and stir it continuously until it becomes thick. Switch off the flame and let it cool a bit.

Now for the dough, take the rice flour in a bowl, add salt and oil, mix it well, then pour the boiling water and make a soft dough. Let it rest for 5 mins.

Then make equal sized balls and take a ball, grease your fingers with oil well and gently press it with your fingers around the edges and move towards the center, it will make a small bowl like the below image ,take a spoonful of fillings and add into the center.

Seal the edges and make a smooth ball. Do the same for all the dough and fillings, place it on the greased steamer plate and cook it for 5- 8 mins on medium flame.