‘Kozhukattai,’ a cooked rice flour dumpling filled with coconut and jaggery, is considered the favourite food of Lord Ganesha. The sweetmeat, also known as ‘modakam’, is prepared in large quantities on Vinayagar Chaturthi, the birthday of the deity (due to be celebrated on September 18), at homes and sweetshops. But this age-old recipe has been tweaked during the celebrations since 2007 at the Sri Uchi Pillaiyar and Sri Manicka Vinayagar shrines ensconced in Tiruchi’s Rock Fort Sri Thayumanaswamy Temple. Instead of the regular dumpling, the ingredients of the sweet’s outer cooked rice dough parcel and fillings are mixed and steamed together.
The ‘Kozhukattai’ here is supersized to 150 kilograms, and the offering is halved into servings of 75 kg each for distribution to devotees at the two shrines on the auspicious day.
“This is not the ‘kozhukattai’ that we make at home. There is no outer rice flour cover; instead, all the ingredients for the ‘pooranam’ [filling] and the rice flour are steamed together,” G. Girish, proprietor, Agasthiar Publications, told The Hindu. Agasthiar Publications has been sponsoring the ‘kozhukattai’ preparation since its inception at the Rock Fort temple complex, and work is in progress for this year’s offering.
