Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu Recipe | Ganesha Chaturthi Recipe

Learn how to make Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu ~ Gluten free and vegan steam cooked savoury rice ball dumplings tossed in aromatic tempering

|| Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,

Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra,

Vaamana rupa maheshwara putra,

Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe ||

Wishing all the readers of Monsoon Spice and my blog friends, a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi! Wishing you all happiness as big as lord Ganapati’s appetite, life as long as his trunk, trouble as small as his mouse and moments as sweet as his laddus! :)

Ganesha Chaturhi celebration at home

We are celebrating ‘Happy birthday of Gampa!’ as Lil Dumpling says with lot of fun, laughter, friends and of course, food! My weekend was spent shopping and cooking ‘neivedyam’, variety of delicacies offered to lord Ganesha, with DH and Lil Dumpling. From deep fried goodies to steam cooked sweet Kadubu and Modak, we made them all for the elephant headed god! For once I closed my eyes while deep friying batches after truck load batches of deep fried snacks and just went on with the madness! I have decided not to step on weighing scale for few weeks now!!! ;)

Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu

And then we decorated the mantap for our handmade eco-friendly Ganesha that Lil Dumpling and I made at the spur of a moment. We decorated our little Bal Ganesha with natural colours using rice flour for white, vermilion for red, turmeric for yellow and kohl for black. It was like going back in time and I felt like a little girl with piggy tails after a very long time! I feel really blessed and lucky to get this chance to spend my time with Lil Dumpling and reliving my childhood through him!

Ganesha Pooja at home

This entire celebratory atmosphere has brought the aura of divinity in our humble abode! The home smells of heady aroma of burning incense sticks, camphor, sandalwood and sweet aroma of jaggary, cardamoms and saffron! I do see all my hardwork being paid off when I see my little family and small circle of friends enjoying the food I cooked with so much love and devotion for Lil Gampa and my Lil Dumpling! My attempt to bring little slice of India is worth every moment I spent in bringing the festival atmosphere for my loved ones!

Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu ~ Ganesha Chaturthi Recipe

On the day of Ganesha Chaturthi, here is the recipe for Akki Unde or Ammini Kozhukattai, savoury rice flour mini dumplings which is a popular dish in south India. They are called Ammini Kozhukattai in Tamil Nadu and Undrallu Guggillu in Andra Pradesh. My amma used to make these Ammini Kozhukattai with the leftover Modak or Kadubu dough by making small marble sized balls or dumplings and steaming them. These steamed rice balls are then gently tossed in a simple tempering of mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves and a generous pinch of asafoetida.

Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu ~ Delightful and highly addictive snack

My mother always prepared these Ammini Kozhukattai with homemade rice flour. Few days before the festival she would wash the rice and then dry it in the sun by spreading it on a cotton towel. Once dried thoroughly, she would grind them to smooth powder and store it in an air tight container until needed. Unlike my mother, I lack patience and hence used store bought rice flour which works just fine although it does lack that flavour of nuttiness and earthiness that one can only get from fresh homemade batch!

Gowri-Ganesha Habba

The recipe for vegan and gluten free Ammini Kozhukattai is very simple but it does take time to shape the dough into small marble sized balls if you are cooking in large batch. But it is worth the effort when you at last taste these cute little dumplings! My Lil Dumpling enjoyed every bite of these mini dumplings and it sure looks like it will be featured in our menu quite often from now onwards. Do make these little Ammini Kozhukattai for this Ganesha Chaturthi or other occasions as you really don’t need any reasons to enjoy these little dumplings. These Ammini Kozhukattai make a very addictive snack or light meal at any time of the day! :)

Rice Flour for Ammini Kozhukattai

Add salt and oil and bring water to boil

Add the rice flour

Mix them well to form lump free dough

Roll them into marble sized balls

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Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu (Gluten free and vegan steam cooked savoury rice ball dumplings tossed in aromatic tempering)
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low
Serves: 3-4 people
Shelf Life: Best served fresh but can be refrigerated for 2-3 days
Serving Suggestion: As an evening snack or light meal

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Ingredients:
1 cup Rice Flour, homemade or store bought
1 tsp Oil
½ - ¾ tsp Salt (Adjust as per taste)
1¼ cup Water
2-3 tbsp grated Coconut, fresh or frozen

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1½ tsp Split Black Gram/Urad Dal
1-2 Dry Red Chilli, halved (Adjust as per taste)
2-3 springs Curry Leaves
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
½ tbsp Oil

Gluten free and Vegan Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu

Method:

1. Take water, oil and salt in a pan and bring it to boil on a high flame. Reduce the heat to medium and mix in rice flour slowly. Stir it continuously with a help of a wooden spoon such that no lumps left. Turn off the gas.
2. Cover the pan and let the dough cool down slightly. When the dough is cool enough to handle (dough should still be hot and not completely cold) grease your palm with oil and knead the dough for a minute to make smooth dough.
3. Grease your palms once again. Pinch little dough and roll them into marble sized balls. Place these balls in a greased steamer vessel and drizzle a tsp of oil on top to keep them from drying out.
4. Steam cook these rice balls in a pressure cooker without weight or steamer for 12-13 minutes on medium to high flame. Make sure you don’t overcook the rice balls they will turn rubbery and chewy when cooked for a long time. The rice balls should have glossy exterior and when you insert the knife or fork, it should come clean when cooked right. Keep them aside until needed.
5. Next prepare the tempering by heating the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves and hing in that order.
6. When mustard seeds start to pop and splutter, add steamed rice flour and give it a quick stir so that every rice ball is coated well with tempering.
7. Turn off the gas and mix in grated coconut. Serve this delicious Ammini Kozhukattai hot, warm or at room temperature as a snack or light meal. Enjoy!

Ammini Kozhukattai or Undrallu Guggillu ~ Gluten free and vegan steam cooked savoury rice ball dumplings tossed in aromatic tempering

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Sia’s Notes:

• Take care when adding the rice flour to boiling water as you need to keep stirring them continuously to make dough without lumps. 1¼ cups of water works perfect for me, but if you find the dough too dry add couple of tbsp of water to the dough.
• Make sure you don’t overcook the rice balls they will turn rubbery and chewy when cooked for a long time. The rice balls should have glossy exterior and when you insert the knife or fork, it should come clean when cooked right.
• You can also add few green chillies to the recipe if you prefer it on spicy side. Slit or finely chop the green chillies as per taste just before adding steamed rice balls to the tadka and stir fry them for a couple of seconds.