Kozakattai/ modak

One of the most arcane dishes in the world, according to me, is kozakattai. Which is when, once I started entering the kitchen, it was the first dish I wanted to try out.
"Mamma, do you think I can ever do it?", I asked.
"You can, but the results depend on the quality of rice flour", my mother assured me. "Don't expect perfection, and you might not be disappointed."
I could get only a handful of decent looking kozakattais, but that's not bad for a start, is it?

For the casing
1 measure rice flour
1 measure water
1 tsp oil
pinch of salt

For the filling
half coconut
jaggery
elaichi/ cardamom powder


Put water in a heavy bottomed pan and bring to boil. Add the oil and let it mix. Gradually add the rice flour, stirring constantly to ensure that there are no lumps. Cook on low flame till the dough leaves the walls and forms a "dough" in the middle. Take it out, cover in a damp cloth and keep aside.
Grate coconut (do this after making the dough, so the dough gets time to cool and "settle"). Depending on the amount of rice flour you have taken, estimate how much coconut you will need for the filling and take slightly less than same amount of jaggery (for one tea cup of rice flour, I took half of a small coconut).
Take a little water in a heavy bottomed pan, add jaggery, and keep stirring till it dissolves/ melts completely. Add the grated coconut and cook on low fire till all the water disappears. Take off heat. Add cardamon powder and stir.
Grease palms (!) with cooking oil, knead the dough, adding a little extra warm water, if it is too brittle. Divide into balls (bigger than marbles, but smaller than ping pong balls), flatten, make a depression in the middle, and work around the edges with your finger and thumb to form a katori shape.
Put stuffing in the "katori", and close the ends to make a "ponytail" (you can also use a modak mould if you have one).
Grease an idli maker, and place the kozakottai/ modak on them. Steam for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker with the whistle off.
Send up a prayer that it comes out okay (they are unpredictable creatures, since everything depends on the quality of rice flour), take out of the cooker/ steamer. Allow it to cool before taking it off.