These dumplings are super addictive and require no fancy ingredients. But don’t be tricked by it’s humble appearance. Getting a perfect batch is an art and you have to really take your time to get them right.
By Suchitra Vaidyaram
This recipe is a keeper and though I have made them a bunch of times, I am yet to achieve perfection. I love making a batch of these dumplings and keep popping in my mouth as and when I please. They are super addictive and require no fancy ingredients. But don’t be tricked by it’s humble appearance. Getting a perfect batch is an art and you have to really take your time to get them right. After all the hard work, when I gobble the little dumplings in my mouth, I feel it’s worth the effort! 
Steamed sweet dumplings
- Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- Rice flour – 2 cups
- Jaggery – 3/4 cup
- Grated coconut- 1 cup
- Cardamom powder (dash of it for flavoring)
Instructions
Dough preparation
- Boil around 1 1/2 cups of water in a wok. As it begins to boil, add one spoon vegetable oil and switch off your gas.
- Remove the boiling water from your stove and stir in the rice flour slowly.
- Keep mixing the flour with water till it becomes a smooth dough.
- If your dough is too watery and sticky, add a bit of flour to achieve consistency. Alternatively, if your dough is too dry, add a bit of water to achieve good consistency.
Filling preparation
- Usually, we get jaggery in blocks or chunks from store. Crush them with a rolling pin to a powder consistency.
- On a low flame, melt the jaggery in a pan (use a bit of water for jaggery to submerge).
- As it starts to melt, add grated coconut and cardamom. Mix thoroughly till the coconut gets incorporated into jaggery.
- Before switching off the gas, add a bit of clarified butter to the filling.
Final preparation
- Roll out the filling into small balls.
- Take a small ball of rice flour and flatten it with your hand.
- With your fingers press the middle portion of the flattened dough so that it resembles a small cup.
- Keep the filling in middle.
- Close the dough with the filling in middle and shape the top to a small pointed dome.
- Prepare the rest of the dough the same way (with filling in middle).
- Steam them for about 8-10 minutes- Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
Hi Suchitra! Thanks for the recipe. Can you tell me which type of rice flour I should use–sweet rice flour? or what type? The dumplings sound wonderful. I love authentic Indian food and have some of Julie Sahni’s and Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbooks. -Michele