Vegetable Cornmeal Kozhukattai is a steamed dumpling that is made with mixed vegetables like carrot, beans, capsicum, green peas and coarse cornmeal. It is served as tiffin or breakfast or dinner with chutney in some South Indian households.
These kozhukattai’s aka dumplings are a great alternative to regular rice-based kozhukattai’s. The finely chopped ingredients blend well with corn meal and thus help kids to eat it without much fuss.
What is Vegetable Cornmeal Kozhukattai
Vegetable Cornmeal Kozhukattai aka dumplings is made with mixed vegetables like carrots, beans, capsicum, green peas and coarse cornmeal. These steamed dumplings are served as tiffin or breakfast or dinner in some of South Indian households. It is typically served with chutney as a side dish.
These dumplings are
- Vegan and gluten free
- Can be eaten as snack or as meal
- Can be served without any side dish
- Best alternative for rice based dumplings
- Simple and tasty finger food which fits well for lunchbox
Ingredients & Variations
The main ingredients for making vegetable cornmeal kozhukattai are vegetables and Cornmeal.
Vegetables:
I used finely chopped carrot, beans, boiled green peas and green capsicum. You can add any vegetables that are handy and available in your fridge. Most of the time I only use grated carrot which tastes good as well. I used frozen boiled green peas for this recipe. If you don’t have the frozen peas, then, soak the dried green peas for 8 hours, pressure cook and use it. If you use fresh green peas, then you need to boil it and use it in this recipe. I used yellow onion in this recipe. Other substitutes are red onion, shallots, small onion and white onions.
Cornmeal:
I used fine coarse cornmeal in this recipe which is old fashioned, stone-ground yellow corn meal that are mostly available in all shops. Coarse cornmeal gives are nice texture to this recipe. Instead of fine coarse, medium coarse corn meal can be used for this recipe. For coarse cornmeal, use the corn meal and water ratio is 1:2. The water quantity vary based on the corn meal variety. Start with the given measurement and sprinkle more water if needed while cooking the corn meal.
Checkout our other dumplings or kozhukattai recipes.
Recipe Card
Vegetable Cornmeal Kozhukattai
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp channa dal
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ginger finely chopped
- 1 sprig curry leaves finely chopped
- a pinch asafoetida
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup carrot finely chopped
- 1/4 cup beans finely chopped
- 2 tbsp green peas cooked / boiled
- 2 tbsp green capsicum finely chopped
- 1 cup corn meal fine coarse one
- 1.5 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt adjust as needed
- 1/4 cup coconut grated
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat Oil in a wide frying pan. Once it is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal channa dal, finely chopped green chillies, finely chopped ginger, finely chopped curry leaves and a pinch of asafetida. Fry until all the ingredients turn into nice golden brown.
- Add finely chopped onion. Sauce it until soft & translucent.
- Add finely chopped carrot, finely chopped beans, boiled green peas and finely chopped green capsicum. Add salt as your taste and stir well.
- Cover the pan and cook for 5-7 or until the vegetables becomes soft but looks firm.
- Add water. Mix once and allow it to roll boil. Once the water is boiling well, reduce the flame to low, add the cornmeal.
- Act quickly and mix the corn meal without forming any lumps. Once the water is absorbed by the cornmeal, reduce the flame, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the raw smell of cornmeal goes off. At this stage, you can sprinkle some more water if needed to avoid burning.
- After 5 minutes, open the lid, add grated coconut, and coriander leaves. Mix well and allow it to cool.
- Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, pinch a small portion of the mixture, make dumplings as shown in the picture. Press gently and just enough to hold the shape. Too much pressing of the dumpling gives hard kozhukattais.
- Pour water to the steamer or idly pot. Once it starts boiling, keep the steamer inside the pot along with kozhukattais/ dumplings.
- Steam it for 5-7 minutes. Once it is steamed, open it , cool down a while and serve It with any of your favorite side dish.
Video
Notes
Step by Step Instructions – How to make Vegetable Cornmeal Kozhukattai
- Heat a tablespoon of Oil in a wide frying pan. Once it is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, finely chopped green chillies, finely chopped ginger, a sprig of finely chopped curry leaves and a pinch of asafetida.
- Fry until all the ingredients turn into nice golden brown.
- Add finely chopped onion. Sauce it until soft & translucent. I used yellow onion here. One can use both red onion and shallots for this recipe.
4. Add finely chopped carrot, finely chopped beans, boiled green peas and finely chopped green capsicum. Add salt and stir well.
5. Add water. Mix once and allow it to roll boil. Once the water is boiling well, reduce the flame to low, add the cornmeal. I always follow the ratio of 1 and 1/2 cup water for every 1 cup of cornmeal.
6. Act quickly and mix the cornmeal without forming any lumps. Once the water absorbed by the corn meal, reduce the flame, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the raw smell of corn meal goes off. At this stage, you can sprinkle some more water if needed to avoid burning.
7. After 5 minutes, open the lid, add the freshly grated coconut and coriander leaves. Mix well and allow it to cool. I live in a cold place and leaving this mixture on a countertop for 5 minutes allowed me to make dumplings. Make sure to cool it for a longer time or just until you are able to handle the mixture with your hand.
8. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, pinch a small portion of the mixture, and make dumplings as shown in the picture. Press gently and just enough to hold the shape. Too much of pressing the dumpling gives hard kozhukattai.
9. Pour water to the steamer or idly pot. Once it starts boiling, keep the steamer inside the pot along with kozhukattai’s/ dumplings. Steam it for 5-7 minutes.
10. Once it is steamed, open the lid. Cool down the dumplings for a few minutes before removing them from the idly plate. If you remove the dumplings immediately, it sometimes sticks to the plate and dumplings may break.
Storage & Serving Suggestions
Serving Suggestion
All South Indian chutney varieties go well with this kozhukattai. Serve these kozhukattai with spicy and tangy flavored chutneys.
Checkout the chutney recipe suggestions
Storing & Reheating
- If there are any leftover kozhukattai/dumplings, store it in the refrigerator. It stays good in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Store it in a dry closed container. Before serving, steam it for a minute agin or microwave for 30 seconds.
Tips & Notes
- Always add corn meal after the water boils and quickly mix it using a ladle to avoid any big lumps.
- you can sprinkle water if needed while stirring the corn meal. Based on the corn meal brand, the water needed will vary.
- While making kozhukattai, press and shape kozhukattai just until it holds the shapes. Too much of gives hard kozhukattai’s.
- Do not remove the kozhukattai from the steamer immediately after opening the pot. Leave it for few minutes and then transfer to a plate. Otherwise the kozhukattai sticks to the steamer/idl plate and doesn’t give a good shaped kozhukattai.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can change the vegetables according to the availability. All the vegetables which hold the shape even after cooking works better.
If the corn meal used is old or expired, then it tastes bitter. Make sure to use the fresh cornmeal. The second reason could be uncooked cornmeal. Uncooked cornmeal tastes bitter. Fresh and perfectly cooked cornmeal gives the mild sweet corn flavor.
Yes, you can skip the coconut in this recipe.
If you have tried this recipe or have any questions, don’t forget to comment below. I would love to hear your feedback and glad to answer your queries. You can also Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube for other updates from my kitchen about Office Lunchbox, Kid’s Lunchbox and simple meal plate ideas.
