Poricha Kozhakattai / Fried Wheat Kozhakattai

On the event of Ganesh Chathurthi, everyone back home is abuzz with celebration and preparation of treats. Modhaks/Kozhakattais mark the festive air by lending the sweet aromas of jaggery and cardamom that mingle with the perfumed smells of incense and camphor. There are so many memories of sight and smell and touch. The bursts of colors in red, yellow, green, and lavender from the flowers, the carefully adorned clay idols, the crinkly paper umbrella stuck at the back, the prickly sprigs of wheat grass, the scatter of platters of freshly made kozkattais, vadai and paayasam, the tinkle of prayer bells chiming from the neighbors - are just some of the memories. 

Instead of the traditional kozhakattais made with rice flour, I present another common version prepared with wheat flour. It is much more straightforward, involves lesser time, and turns out really tasty (and yes, it is deep-fried! :)). But invoking the name of Ganesha, set aside that little bit of information :).

My mom often prepares this version, so it also happens to trigger more special memories for me.

Ingredients (makes 30 kozhakattais):

1. 3/4 cup jaggery / brown sugar
2. 1 cup grated coconut
3. 1/2 teaspoon powdered cardamom
4. 1 cup wheat flour / aata
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 1 teaspoon ghee
7. vegetable oil for deep frying

Note: There might be some left-over dough after the modaks are made... very little... the equivalent of one roti. For the most part, the stuffing quantity matches the quantity of dough.

Preparation:

1.  Add jaggery to a saucepan with a tablespoon of water. Heat and stir on medium heat until the jaggery melts and begins to froth and bubble
2. Reduce heat to low, and add cardamom and coconut. Keep stirring on low heat for 7 minutes until the mixture begins to come together and there is not much liquid (there might be a few stray drops of melted jaggery that will coagulate once cooled). I follow these 2 holy grails of principles to make sure the stuffing comes out well - low heat and stir for 7 minutes. I blindly follow these rules of thumb and everything is right with the world, no matter the type of stove.
3. Remove from heat and let the stuffing cool to touch. 
4. Then, grease your hands with a bit of ghee and roll out small gum-ball sized balls of the stuffing. The stuffing will be soft to touch (chewy to eat), but will hold shape when rolled. If it's runny, return to heat. If it's too hard, sorry the jaggery was heated too much :(
5. Now, take wheat flour in a wide bowl. Add salt, ghee and mix. Slowly add water and knead until the dough comes together. Don't add as much water as you would add for making rotis (a very soft dough will not crisp the dumplings when fried). The dough does not have to rest. 
6. Take half the dough, dust a clean surface with wheat flour and roll out the dough to into a big blob of 1/8 inch thickness. Using a 2 inch cookie cutter or a small lid, cut out small discs of dough. 
7. Place the rolled out jaggery-coconut stuffing to the center of each stuffing and pull the edges together and pinch at the top to resemble a draw-string purse/dumpling (refer to picture above). Keep aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 
8. Heat oil until hot. Test by putting a small flat disc of dough and see if it rises and fries immediately. 
9. Reduce the heat of the oil to medium, and fry batches of the prepared dumplings (about 5 at a time... don't overcrowd the pot). Slowly move around the dumplings to make sure all sides fry evenly. When golden brown, remove from oil and drain on paper towels. If the outer layer fries too quickly, reduce the heat a little.

Serve and enjoy!