Arisi Upma Kozhakkattai / Steamed Cream of Rice Dumplings

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their comments, both good and constructive, on my basics of photography series introduction. I have some more lined up and will be posting them soon. So don't give up on your poor point and shoot cameras just yet :)

Now, let's move onto the arisi upma kozhukkattai. Arisi upma aka dli rava aka cream of rice, is a coarsely powdered rice of a particular variety that is used to make idlis, a South Indian delicacy. I didn't know about the existence of such a thing until we were invited to a relative's place for dinner. She had cooked these amazingly light, yummy kozhakkattai (steamed rice balls) and even though there were other dishes in the menu, I had just these for dinner. The picture is from her table since I don't see myself making this any time soon. TH is averse to anything steamed, unfried and healthy, of course!


So here is the recipe from the horse's mouth. Thank you Seetha aunty for introducing me to this lovely and authentic dish :)

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

Idli rawa / cream of rice - 2 cups
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Water - 4 to 5 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp

For tempering:

Oil - 1 tbsp
Chana dal / kadala paruppu - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Dried red chillies - 3, torn into pieces
Curry leaves - a few

To Prepare:

1. Heat oil in a wide bottomed pan and when hot enough, add the mustard seeds and wait until they pop. Then add the chana dal, curry leaves and red chillies and fry on low heat for a minute.

2. Add the water and bring to boil. 

3. Next, add salt, coconut, and the idli rava, little at a time, mixing continuously so that no lumps are formed. The resulting mixture should be watery. Close the pan and let the rava cook until the mixture becomes thicker thank, say, scooping consistency.

4. Let it cook a bit, adjust salt and make oval shaped balls with it. Steam for 10 mins or so and serve hot with some chutney of choice.