Kozhukattai or South Indian steamed dumplings is a healthy snack or Prasadam made for festivals. Sweet Aval Pidi Kozhukattai is a healthy dumpling made with flattened rice, jaggery and Coconut
Variants to Kozhukattai can be with Rice (like this savoury Brown Rice Kozhukattai) or the ones made with the rice flour Ammini Kozhukkatai or the soft and delish Kara Podi Kozhukattai
Today, for Naivedyam for Ganesh Festival, we are using Aval / flattened rice as the base for a sweet, steamed Kozhukattai.
Health benefits of Aval / Poha in everyday cooking
Aval / Avalakki / Poha (more so the Red variety) is high in B12 and Calcium. Eating poha on a regular basis can prevent iron deficiency or anaemia as it contains 20 mg of iron in every 100g raw rice flakes. We love Poha as an ingredient in most forms – Lemon Poha, Microwave Poha Chivda, Dadpe Pohe, Vangi Poha,Gojjavalakki,Curry leaf poha, Curd Poha, Indori Poha, Patal Pohyache Chivda etc.
Today we use White Poha in this yummy steamed snack thats apt for Naivedyam for Ganpati or any festival, but Red poha works best . If the kids love sweet nibbles, then this is a perfect treat for their sweet tooth.
Other Naivedyam / Prasadam recipes you may like on the blog:
Lets see how to make this..
Sweet Aval Kozhukattai | flattened rice steamed sweet snack
Course: Naivedyam / Prasadam / Snack
Prep time : 10 mins ; cook time : 10 mins ; Makes : 6-8 nos
Tips and Tricks to make a yummy Aval Pidi Kozhukattai
- The poha needs to be powdered slightly coarse and not fine, else the dough becomes sticky.
- The ratio of jaggery to the poha was perfect for us for a mildly sweet snack. Please feel free to increase the sweetness if required.
- This dish is best made with Red (hand beaten) poha. If using that variant, you may require a little more water.
What you need to make Sweet Aval Pidi Kozhukattai:
- 1/2 cup Flattened Rice (Poha / Aval / Chooda / Avalakki)
- 1/4 cup Jaggery
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
- 1/4 cup Fresh Coconut (or about 2 TBSP)
- 1 cup Water (I used a little less than this)
- 1 TBSP Ghee (skip for vegan)
- 1/8 tsp Salt
**This dish is very mildly sweet but we liked it that way. You may use 1:2/3 ratio of poha if you prefer it to be sweeter.
PIN FOR LATER
How to make Sweet Aval Pidi Kozhukattai
- Coarsely powder the poha. In a non stick pan, add the jaggery and half the water and gently simmer till the jaggery melts, strain the water and add it back to the pan if the jaggery has impurities (I didn’t strain as the quality of jaggery was good).
- Now add the cardamom powder, ghee , a pinch of salt and bring to a rolling boil adding the remaining water,now add the powdered poha, coconut and stir vigorously till it comes together and leaves the sides of the pan
- With greased / wet hands, make Impressions with your fist (or Pidi) on one portion of the dough and steam in a steamer for 6-8 mins till they turn glossy. Serve warm or with a drop of ghee.
Sweet Aval Pidi Kozhukattai | Naivedyam recipes | Gluten free snack
Equipment
- Steamer
- Spice Grinder
- Pots and Pans
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Flattened Rice Poha / Aval / Chooda / Avalakki
- 1/4 cup Jaggery
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
- 1/4 cup Fresh Coconut or about 2 TBSP
- 1 cup Water I used a little less than this
- 1 TBSP Ghee skip for vegan
- 1/8 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Coarsely powder the poha. In a non stick pan, add the jaggery and half the water and gently simmer till the jaggery melts, strain the water and add it back to the pan if the jaggery has impurities (I didn’t strain as the quality of jaggery was good).
- Now add the cardamom powder, ghee , a pinch of salt and bring to a rolling boil adding the remaining water,now add the powdered poha, coconut and stir vigorously till it comes together and leaves the sides of the pan
- With greased / wet hands, make Impressions with your fist (or Pidi) on one portion of the dough and steam in a steamer for 6-8 mins till they turn glossy. Serve warm or with a drop of ghee.
Notes
- The poha needs to be powdered slightly coarse and not fine, else the dough becomes sticky.
- The ratio of jaggery to the poha was perfect for us for a mildly sweet snack. Please feel free to increase the sweetness if required.
- This dish is best made with Red (hand beaten) poha. If using that variant, you may require a little more water.
I have been looking for red poha but haven't found them here , i am sure the white ones too would work but red ones here look earthy and rustic . A very interesting and healthy sweet ,
I can get u red poha next time we meet ; if u have an authentic kerala store in ur city / locality, they would also stock this ; – good brands are "double horse" or even "nirapara"
This is one tasty kozhukattai. I am so tempted to try it today..
I need to look for this red poha. I hear that red poha is more nutritious with lot of iron in it. This kozhukattai looks tasty.
Wow, feel like gobbling some, very tempting kozhukattais and my fav.
I have red poha at home and I am sure I am going to make these this festival season!
Red poha pidi kozhukattai awwwwww.. Need to try this.. good one kalyani.
This sounds like my kind of dish, it being sweeter. I am counting calories these days but sure am going to try it.
Healthy kozhukattai …my daughter will love them
Very interesting sweet kozhukattai with poha. Will have to try this out some time.
Sounds so good and interesting way to cook with poha..good one..
Yummy kozhakattais with poha! Bookmarked
Good one Kalyani we have fresh red poha right now so I can make it.
Adai looks so delicious. Bookmarking to try.
i used to get red poha stock regularly from my cook whenever she travelled her home town sindhudurg…after a while i ran out of options to use it and she stopped…i am sure this one will work with kid who loves anything with jaggery
I love aval traditional desserts and this is something I want to try.
A different kind of preparation for Ganesh Chaturthi besides the modaks and laddoos. Like how easy it is to prepare Sweet Aval Pidi Kozhukattai.
Thanks Mayuri. Yes, its a very easy prep for the Ganesh Festival
Simply delicious. I love these sweet aval pidi kozhukattai. I learned this recipe from you and made them during Diwali, when we get fresh red poha. They taste amazing, especially when drizzled with ghee.
Thanks Archana for trying this out. Glad you liked it. Fresh red poha sounds delish 🙂
We love anything with aval. The sweet aval pidi kozhukottai looks and sounds delicious Kalyani. I have to look out for the red poha here, never seen it here.
Thanks Jayashree, you can make it with normal White Gatti Avalakki also
Nice offering of Sweet Aval Pidi Kozhukattai. We too make a similar sweet except for the steaming part. The flavors of coconut and jaggery go well together. I am tempted to make this for the upcoming festivities.
Thanks, Neha. Do try it when possible
Once the calssic modak is no longer catching your fancy, easy ones to make like these are what i love to prepare for the few days we have with Ganesh at home. This is the tastiest aval koxhukattai.
Absolutely Seema – Easy, tasty and quick too