Ingredients

• For the cover:
• 1 cup - rice flour
• 1.25 cups - water
• A pinch of salt
• 1-2 tsp - vegetable oil or ghee
• For the filling:
• 3/4 cup - whole black gram (white variety) (urad dal)
• 1-2 - green chillies (or as per taste)
• 1 tsp - lime/lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp - mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida powder
• A few sprigs of curry leaves and cilantro

How to Make Uppu kozhukattai

• Clean and soak the dal for at least 1 hour. Most of the water should have been absorbed and the dal will look plumped up and soft.
• Place the drained dal along with chillies and salt in a blender.
• Pulse a few times until it becomes coarsely ground.
• Do not add water until absolutely necessary.
• Now make small balls of the dough and place them in a steamer.
• Steam for 10-15 minutes.
• Let it cool for a few minutes, enough to let you handle it.
• Break the balls by crumbling them into coarse meal texture.
• In a skillet, heat 1 tsp of oil (or ghee) and add mustard seeds.
• When they start popping, add the curry leaves along with asafoetida.
• When the aroma starts wafting, add the coarse meal to the mix and give it a good toss until it all comes together.
• Add cilantro and lime juice and remove from heat.
• The dal mixture is already cooked. Just add more flavour by way of adding the tempering ingredients.
• While still hot, make it into small rounds.
• Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the cover and knead into a dough. (Prepare the cover when the filling is almost done. You don't want the cover to become cold.)
• Make small balls, roll them out into small rotis, and place a small amount of filling in the middle.
• Bring one side of the cover over to the other end - like a semi-circle.
• Pinch the seams so that it covers the filling on all the sides.
• You can use it this way or draw little patterns with your fingers or press down with a fork.
• Repeat for the rest of the dough.
• Steam for 10-15 minutes until it slightly changes colour and becomes slightly translucent.
• Cool for a few minutes before removing from the steamer.
• Serve warm or hot.
• Recipe Courtesy: http://chefinyou.com/