A special dish for Naga Panchmi. Traditional rice dumplings with both spicy and sweet fillings. Spicy filling is a mixture of ground dal with different spices and masala. Sweet filling is made from grated coconut and jaggery with elaichi as the flavour. Outer covering is made using rice flour or ground rice paste. Here I have used rice flour. These kadubu/dumplings are very filling and makes a very good dish to make for a festival. The kadubu/dumplings are made and then steamed for a few minutes covered in leaves. I have used parchment paper as I cannot procure banana or turmeric leaves easily around here.
Kuchida Kadubu | Khara Kadubu | Sihi Kadubu | Steamed rice dumplings with fillings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Steamed traditional rice kadubu/dumplings wih spicy and sweet fillings
Author: Vindhya Desai
Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 3-4 people
Ingredients
For Outer Covering:
- 1 Cup rice flour
- ½ Cup water
- Few drops of oil
- Salt to taste
For Sweet Filling:
- 1 Cup grated coconut
- ½ Cup grated/pieces of soft jaggery/gur
- 1 Tsp gasa-gase/khus khus/poppy seeds
- 6-7 powdered elaichi
- 2 Tbsp desi ghee
For Spicy Filling:
- ½ Cup toor dal/togari bele/pigeon pea dal
- 1 Tbsp chana dal/kadale bele /gram dal
- 2 chopped green chilli
- 2-3 sprigs of coriander
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 1" chopped ginger
- 8-10 powdered black peppercorn
- 2-3 small crystals of hing/asafoetida or a big pinch of powdered hing
- ½ Tsp jeera
- ½ Tsp mustard
- ½ Tsp crystal sea salt or regular table salt to taste
- ¼ Cup grated coconut
- ¼ Tsp baking powder
For Steaming Kadubu:
- Few small banana/plantain leaves or few sheets of parchment paper
Method
- Wash and soak toor dal and chana dal for 4 hours
- To make outer covering, heat ½ Cup water in a pan with a few drops of oil in it
- In a bowl or plate take the rice flour, mix salt with it
- Pour rice flour into boiling water, cover and cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Keep aside to cool
- To make sweet filling, dry roast gasa-gase/khus khus till it releases aroma and changes colour slightly. Keep aside
- In a pan, heat ghee, add jaggery/gur, mix and let it melt slowly
- To this add grated coconut and mix
- Add roasted gasa-gase/khus khus and elaichi powder
- Mix well and keep aside
- Drain water off the soaked dals
- To make spicy filling, in a mixer jar, add the soaked and drained dal
- Add green chilli, chopped coriander
- Add black pepper powder and hing
- Add curry leaves
- Add jeera and mustard
- Add crystal sea salt
- Add chopped ginger
- Add grated coconut
- Start grinding without any water
- Add 1 or 2 Tbsp of water till all dals are ground but the paste is still coarse
- Add baking powder, pulse a few more times. Keep aside, this is the spicy filling
- By now, rice flour paste would have cooled, with little warm water mix it into a dough till soft. Cover with cling wrap or damp cloth. Keep aside
- To make kadubu/dumplings, lightly grease the parchment paper or plantain leaves, pinch a small lemon sized ball off of rice flour dough. Spread it with your fingers over the parchment paper into puri sized round
- Spoon over the sweet filling onto the centre
- Fold over from one side to cover into a kadubu, lightly press on edges
- Repeat this for spicy filling as well
- To steam dumplings, heat a steamer or heat water in your idli stand. Place prepared parcels of dumplings
- Steam cook for 12 minutes. The outer covering will be light and shiny and will hold together
- The dumplings are ready. Serve hot. On the sweet dumplings add ghee. With spicy dumplings serve kadhi/paladya
Notes
Only chana dal can also be used instead of toor dal. I like the flavour of toor dal and is lighter
Use turmeric leaves or plantain leaves if available as they give a very unique taste to the kadubu
Change the size of the kadubu as you want
Ginger adds flavour and is good for digestion as the dals can be very filling and heavy
Use turmeric leaves or plantain leaves if available as they give a very unique taste to the kadubu
Change the size of the kadubu as you want
Ginger adds flavour and is good for digestion as the dals can be very filling and heavy
Stepwise:
Wash and soak toor dal and chana dal for 4 hours
To make outer covering, heat 1/2 Cup water in a pan with a few drops of oil in it
In a bowl or plate take the rice flour, mix salt with it
Pour rice flour into boiling water, cover and cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Keep aside to cool
To make sweet filling, dry roast gasa-gase/khus khus till it releases aroma and changes colour slightly. Keep aside
In a pan, heat ghee, add jaggery/gur, mix and let it melt slowly
To this add grated coconut and mix
Add roasted gasa-gase/khus khus and elaichi powder
Mix well and keep aside
Drain water off the soaked dals
To make spicy filling, in a mixer jar, add the soaked and drained dal
Add green chilli, chopped coriander
Add black pepper powder and hing
Add curry leaves
Add jeera and mustard
Add crystal sea salt
Add chopped ginger
Add grated coconut
Start grinding without any water
Add 1 or 2 Tbsp of water till all dals are ground but the paste is still coarse
Add baking powder, pulse a few more times. Keep aside, this is the spicy filling
By now, rice flour paste would have cooled, with little warm water mix it into a dough till soft. Cover with cling wrap or damp cloth. Keep aside
To make kadubu/dumplings, lightly grease the parchment paper or plantain leaves, pinch a small lemon sized ball off of rice flour dough. Spread it with your fingers over the parchment paper into puri sized round
Spoon over the sweet filling onto the centre
Fold over from one side to cover into a kadubu, lightly press on edges
Repeat this for spicy filling as well
To steam dumplings, heat a steamer or heat water in your idli stand. Place prepared parcels of dumplings
Steam cook for 12 minutes. The outer covering will be light and shiny and will hold together
The dumplings are ready. Serve hot. On the sweet dumplings add ghee. With spicy dumplings serve kadhi/paladya
