Kozhukattai

Steamed rice flour dumplings — rice flour kneaded with hot water into a smooth dough, portioned, filled with a sweet coconut-jaggery-cardamom stuffing (pooranam) or a savoury seasoned urad dal filling, shaped into half-moons or cylinder forms, and steamed in banana leaf or a steamer until the outer shell is translucent, soft, and slightly chewy. The definitive Vinayaka Chaturthi (Ganesh festival) preparation; the entire Tamil Brahmin community makes kozhukattai for the Pillayar Chathurthi offering, the sweet version as naivedyam and the savoury as part of the meal. The outer rice shell must be smooth without cracks; a cracked kozhukattai is considered inauspicious for the festival offering.