Kambu kolukkattai

Kambu - pearl millet (bajira - Hindi), kolukkattai / kozhukkattai - steamed sweet dumbling

Few generations ago this must have been a staple snack / breakfast among the village people of Tamilnadu. I have read about this in Tamil folk tales and tasted a few times.Then I tried to bring out that ancient snack and here goes the recipe :)

Ingredients:

Kambu - 1 cup
rice - 2 tbsp
coconut (shredded) - 1/2 cup (optional)
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
jaggery (crushed) - 3/4 cup (or lesser)

Method:

Dry roast the kambu, rice till the kambu smells good.
Let it cool and powder it.
Add 1/2 cup water to jaggery and dissolve it by heating.
Filter and remove any impurities.
Pour the hot solution to a mixing bowl. Add the flour, cardamom powder and kambu flour. Mix well to get something like hard chapathi dough. Take a ball and press well inside the palm to get a rough oval shape. Grease an idly mold with very little sesame oil and place the dumplings. Cook in idly cooker for 5 minutes (full steam).

Kambu kolukkattai is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot / cold as healthy breakfast or snack.
Palm jaggery can also be used instead of the cane jaggery.