Manjal Irredha Gatti

Manjal Irredha Gatti is one of the special Tulunadu cuisine. Manjal Irre means turmeric leaves. Gatti is sweet, steamed dumpling. It is especially made during Diwali festival. It is a rice-based recipe, which includes stuffing made of coconut and jaggery wrapped in turmeric leaf. The aroma of the turmeric leaves around home when this sweet is being steamed, is a great precursor of what to expect.

Manjal Irredha Gatti recipe described here is using rice flour which is a relatively quicker process. The alternative is grinding soaked rice (see video below in this article).

Ingredients

6 to 8 long turmeric leaves

2 1/2 cups of rice flour

2 cups of hot water

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh grated coconut

1 cup broken or powdered jaggery

1 tsp cardamom powder (optional)

 Method to prepare Manjal Irredha Gatti

1. Rinse the turmeric leaves under running water. Wipe them dry and set it aside.
2. For the stuffing lightly roast coconut in a pan.
3. Turn off the heat. Add jaggery, cardamom powder and mix this stuffing well. Cardamom powder can be avoided if you want to retain the original flavour of the turmeric leaf
4. In a another mixing bowl add the rice flour and salt.
5. Add water little bit at a time and mix it together to make a soft dough.
6. Take a turmeric leaf and lay it flat on clean surface. Take a ball of rice dough and start spreading it in a thin layer over the leaf. You can take more dough if required. Dip your fingertips in water to help with the spreading.
7. Place a spoonful of stuffing over the rice and spread it.
8. Fold the leaf in half and seal it from all sides.
9. Steam it for around 20 minutes.
10. Once done remove it from steamer and allow it to cool for couple of seconds.

Serve it warm with the leaf. See the video below to make the cooking process easy.

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For more interesting recipes of the region, do visit this page.