CHETTINAD PAAL KOZHUKATTAI

Chettinad Paal Kozhukattai is a well-known and traditional Tamilnadu dish, particularly in Chettinad cuisine. This is a sweet meal that not only tastes nice but also looks good; pretty little balls are cooked in milk with jaggery. However, instead of jaggery, sugar can be used to make the same dish. Though the technique appears to be time-consuming, it is well worth the effort to attempt it. Please read the recipe all the way through as I have provided numerous ideas to help you get it just right.

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INGREDIENTS

For the Dough

1/2 cup rice flour 

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 cup water 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

For the Jaggery Syrup

1 cup jaggery

1/4 cup water

For the Milk Sauce

1 cup milk

1 quart coconut milk

3 Cardamom Pods 2 tbsp Grated Coconut 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Measure out and have all of the ingredients on hand. The first picture shows how to create jaggery syrup, and the second shows how to make dough.
2. These components are for producing the milk sauce seen in the picture. In a saucepan, combine powdered jaggery and water. No string consistency is required; simply heat until bubbles emerge.
3. Remove the contaminants by straining them through a metal filter and setting it aside. Pour 1/2 cup milk into a saucepan.
4. Then add 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Slowly and evenly sprinkle in the rice flour.
5. Add the salt to taste and continue to stir over a low flame. Mix well until it approaches the consistency of dough; it should be smooth and free of lumps. Turn off the flame.
6. Grease your hands and add a little ghee to the dough. Pinch a tiny amount of dough and roll it into balls, similar to how we create seedai. Make little balls so it cooks quickly.
7. To keep the rest of the dough from drying out, cover it as well. These are the instructions for producing the milk sauce. In a heavy-bottomed pan, pour 1/2 cup milk.
8. After that, add 1/2 cup of water. When it begins to boil, reduce the heat to a low setting and carefully put the balls in.
9. Initially, the balls sink to the bottom; but, once fully cooked and mushy, the balls begin to float to the surface. Then add 1 cup of coconut milk and stir well.
10. Pour in the jaggery water, followed by the crushed cardamom pods. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes on low heat; don’t boil for any longer or the mixture may curdle.
11. Add the grated coconut and gently mix everything together. Allow for a minimum of half an hour of relaxation.

NOTES

Tips for Paal Kolukattai Recipe

1. Traditionally, this paal kolukattai dish is created by soaking uncooked rice for a few hours, grinding it like idli batter, then pour the batter into a pan, thickening it, and shaping it like dough. The remainder of the steps is the same from here. However, I took a shortcut by using premade rice flour.
2. You can modify the sweetness of the jaggery to your liking. However, jaggery syrup should always be filtered to remove contaminants.
3. Always add the rice flour after the milk and sauce have come to a boil. Before shaping the dough into balls, make sure it is thoroughly cooked, without lumps, and smooth.
4. Also, roll the balls extremely small so that they cook quickly in the milk sauce and absorb the sauce nicely; if they are larger, they taste bland.
5. Rice balls can also be made in oblong or cylindrical shapes. Otherwise, place the dough in a murukku/chakli presser and plunge it into the hot milk (step: 8).
6. To prevent drying, always cover the dough with a damp wet cloth. Grease your hands with ghee to produce crack-free balls, which also adds flavor.
7. Add the rice balls to the roll boiling milk only, as indicated in Step 9; at first, the balls sink to the bottom, but after cooked, they float to the top naturally.
8. For extra flavor, add 1 pinch of edible camphor at the end.
9. Instead of jaggery, this Chettinad Paal kozhukattai recipe can be made with sugar.