Ingredients
Makes 12 modaks. Scale using the Modak Calculator. Tap any ingredient to tick it off.
Method
Make the puran (filling)
If using chana dal: soak 2 tbsp dal for 30 minutes, drain, cook in a little water until soft but not mushy. Drain and set aside. In a pan, melt jaggery with 2 tbsp water. Add coconut and cooked dal (if using). Cook on medium heat stirring continuously for 7–8 minutes until completely dry. Add cardamom off heat. Cool completely.
Make the dough — Tamil Nadu method
Bring 280ml water to boil with salt and sesame oil. Remove from heat, add rice flour all at once, stir vigorously. Cover and rest 5 minutes. The sesame oil in the water — added before the flour — distributes more evenly through the dough than adding it after.
Knead while warm
Knead with lightly oiled hands for 2–3 minutes until smooth. The sesame oil makes this dough slightly more pliable and less prone to cracking than the Maharashtra version. Keep covered with a damp cloth.
Shape kozhukattai
The traditional shape is similar to ukadiche but slightly rounder at the base and shorter at the peak. Press dough into disc, add filling, bring edges up. In Tamil Nadu, the pleats are typically 3–4 and slightly wider than in Maharashtra. The result looks like a small mound rather than a tall peak.
Steam 10–12 minutes
Line steamer with banana leaf (strongly preferred in Tamil Nadu — adds fragrance). Steam at medium-high heat for 10–12 minutes until shell turns translucent. Rest 5 minutes.
Tips & Variations
Yes — they are the same sacred sweet with different regional names. Modak is the Sanskrit/Marathi name; kozhukattai is the Tamil name. The sesame oil in the dough and occasionally the chana dal in the filling are the main regional distinctions. The devotion is identical.
Idiyappam flour (used for string hoppers) is finer than standard rice flour and makes an exceptionally smooth kozhukattai shell. If available, use it — the texture is noticeably better. Fine modak rice flour is the next best option.
Tamil Nadu has both sweet (theengai pooranam) and savoury (ulundhu kozhukattai with urad dal) versions. This recipe is the sweet festival version. The savoury version uses a completely different filling and is a separate recipe.
Same as ukadiche modak — best the same day, 2–3 days refrigerated. The sesame oil in the shell means it stays slightly more pliable than the Maharashtra version when reheated.
About This Recipe
Kozhukattai is Tamil Nadu's kozhukattai is one of the clearest illustrations of how a single sacred food can travel across a subcontinent and become something distinct while remaining essentially the same. The Sanskrit modaka became the Marathi modak became the Tamil kozhukattai — the shape changed slightly, the oil changed, the filling varies by family, but the devotion to Ganesha remained constant.
The sesame oil in the kozhukattai dough is not merely a technical difference — it carries cultural meaning. Sesame is one of the most ancient and sacred ingredients in South Indian cooking, used in rituals, festivals, and everyday cooking since before recorded history. Its presence in the kozhukattai dough connects the sweet to the broader Tamil ritual food tradition in a way that ghee alone does not.
On Vinayaka Chaturthi in Tamil Nadu, the kozhukattai is prepared in every Hindu household. The sight of banana leaves laid out in the kitchen, the smell of sesame-oil dough being kneaded, and the sound of the steamer are as much a part of the festival as the puja itself.