Kozhukattai (Mel) Maavu / Kozhukattai Outer Covering Dough

Kozhukattai (Mel) Maavu / Kozhukattai Outer Covering Dough

Kozhukattai mel maavu has a simple recipe with very few ingredients but not most of us will succeed in getting it soft.

I feel that the right texture of the outer covering rice flour dough, is that, when we bite the kozhukattai, it should be soft, yet firm, and the teeth should sink smoothly and pass to the poornam without knowing that we have already reached the poornam. 

The rice flour used for making dough can also be prepared at home. Definitely the rice dough prepared from the home made rice flour has a very fresh feel on kozhkattai. 

We can also use store bought rice flour. We have to make sure that the rice flour from store is fresh batch. Old rice flours might smell stale and rancid which will spoil the whole dish. 

I tried different recipes from word of mouth to get the right texture of kozhukattai. But this recipe will definitely be very clear, that even a beginner could get it right the first time. 

Let me share you the recipe which I follow to make the mel maavu.

Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 1 cup
• Water - 2 and 1/2 cups
• Salt - 1 pinch
• Oil - 3 teaspoons

Procedure to prepare the rice flour dough:

• Take around 2 and 1/2 cups of water and let it boil. Once it starts to boil, add salt and 1 teaspoon of oil.

• Keep the rice flour ready in a broad vessel. Add the hot water little by little and mix well. Repeat this till you get a soft dough. (Be very careful not to dd more water at the first time itself.)

• Once you get the soft dough, cover it and keep it aside for some time to cool (till your hands could bear the heat of the dough to knead). 

• After some time, open it and knead gently to make the dough even and still softer. You can add some more oil to make it more soft and non sticky.

• Now you would have got a soft, non sticky dough. This dough will not crack easily even when you spread flat.

• The oil you added will keep the dough moist. The outer covering dough is ready.

Tips:

As you start making kozhukattais, and you feel that the dough is drying up and starts to cracks in the edges when you spread, then sprinkle little hot water and and knead. the dough will become soft and smooth again.

When you are done making the mel maavu.. half of the work is done in the task of making poorna kozhukattais.

Happy cooking !!