Karadayan Nonbu Koyukattai (Steamed Rice Flour Jaggery Sweet)

I am a pretty fussy eater...I do not like lot of things but in recent years I have been trying anything under the sun.. but luckily my husband and myself have a lot of sweets that we like in common. Even though I am a fussy eater...he in general likes to try out everything (he even started eating pavakkai and brinjal these days!!).

One of the sweets that we like in common is this karadayan nombu koyukattai. I made this couple of months ago as an evening tiffen but thought of posting this now since this year's maasi nonbu charadu is falling this Sunday (March 14, 2010) and I thought it would be appropriate to post it this week. I planned to make this koyukattai this Sunday. Let me see how that goes since we need to do the pooja and the sacred charadu as early as 6:45 A.M. and I am not too sure whether I will be able to prepare it that early. This sweet involves a very lengthy process though...but has the ultimate taste to it when eaten with butter.

When we mention koyukattai people tend to associate with the one we make for Vinayaka Chaturthi...but this is different. For people from other regions of India I came up with a name easy for them to understand..."Steamed Rice Flour Jaggery Sweet" (I am not sure whether it is appropriate to call it patties).

On the nonbu day, this sweet is prepared and kolam (patterns with rice flour) are drawn and  the banana leaf is laid on top of the kolam. The vetrilai (beetel leaves), Poo (flowers), banana and this charadu (sacred yellow thread) is kept in one corner of the leaf and the koyukattai in the centre of the leaf. This nonbu is performed by all the ladies and when we were young they used to say that we need to perform this nonbu well inorder to get a good husband!! We will be asked to recite the sloka and then eat the koyukattai with dollops of butter -

"Urugaadha vennaiyum or adaiyum vaiththu un nonbu nootren,

oru kaalum en kaNavan ennai vittu piryaadu errukka vendum"

 

Back home they soak the rice for couple of hours and then they dry it on thin clean cloth and then grind it in the mixie. For Pandigai (festivals such as Nonbu, Sri Jayanthi) they always use the flour made at home they do not buy it from the shop. But here I just use the rice flour bought from the Indian Store.

Ingredients for making it -

Rice Flour - 1 Cup

Jaggery - 1 1/2 Cups (you may use 1 1/4 if you do not have a sweet tooth)

Karamani (black eyed beans) - 1 to 2 TBSP soaked in water for few hours

Coconut small bits 1 TBSP  - "optional" (but I use the dry coconut)

Cardomom - 4 (Always roast it in ghee before powdering it)

Back in India they use banana leaf to steam this. But here I use the idli plates to steam them!! Once my friend made it kerala style and she steamed it using frozen banana leaf....I am planning to use them for this year's nonbu.

Roast the rice flour till turns light brown and when you start getting a nice fragrance. Get it off the stove.

Melt the Jaggery in water and add the coconut and the karamani. Slowly add the rice flour without it forming lumps. Allow it to cook for some more time.

When it cools down. Make balls using the dough prepared above and flatten it the way it is shown in the photo (it more or less looks like the way we do vada). Make a whole in the center. The elders in the family always insist that we make a whole in the centre while making vadai, adai etc...but I guess it makes sense since it helps in making it cook faster.

Steam these vadais in the idli plates if you cannot find banana leaf.

Serve it with dollops of butter. It enhances the taste of the koyukattai when served with butter.