MOKKAJONNA KUDUMULU, a humble steamed cake made of freshly ground maize kernels. Kudumulu is one of the ancient breakfast or snack Telangana cuisine offers. We have seen the Makka Pindi kudumulu earlier, which are made of maize flour and urad dal. Apart from this maize flour one here, kudumulu has numerous other variations. Like this grounded fresh maize/corn kernels smeared on sal leaves and steamed on the husks and cob. That lends a beautiful earthy aroma to the kudumulu / steamed crepes. This ancient way of cooking in sal leaves continues to thrive in Telangana households, especially in the countryside. The Sal leaves not only act as a cooking medium but also help in retaining moisture and flavors, lend an earthy aroma, provide nutritional and medicinal values. The sal leaves lend an earthy taste and smell to the food which makes it quite exquisite.
This simple preparation depicts how a humble and rustic way of cooking can lead to a beautiful dish. Telangana is known for its rustic cooking techniques along with rustic style dishes. Similarly, this dish is all about celebrating the simple ingredients and making some hearty soul food out of it. Traditionally the fresh maize/corn kernels are hand-ground in mortar and pestle we call Rubbu rolu. Only minimal seasoning ingredients are used in this Mokkajonna kudumulu. And we make two varieties of kudumulu with this grounded batter. One being the savory one and the other as sweet.
For the savory MOKKAJONNA KUDUMULU, the freshly harvested maize/corn kernels are grounded with salt, cumin seeds, and occasionally chili powder is used in a few areas. This grounded maize/corn kernel mixture is smeared on the greased sal leaf/badam leaf/moduga aaku on a bed of leftover peeled corn husks, cob, silk, and water. That lends a beautiful earthy aroma to the kudumulu. This savory mokkajonna kudumulu is served with dals, curries, chutneys, or simple ground jaggery with ghee.
Now for the sweeter version of MOKKAJONNA KUDUMULU, the maize/corn kernels are grounded in a mortar pestle with a hint of salt and a couple of spoons of jaggery. Similar to the savory kudumulu, these are also smeared on a greased sal leaf/badam leaf/moduga aaku and steamed on a bed of remainings of peeled corn husks, cob, silk, and water. And this sweet kudumulu is usually served with jaggery and ghee. Can also be devoured as-is. This steamed mokkajonna kudumulu makes a meal suitable for every age group.
As I’ve run out of sal leaves and couldn’t find any fresh leaves for cooking, instead I used idli molds. It works just fine although we miss the earthy aroma from the sal leaves. And this dish is completely based on plant-based ingredients and also makes a great vegan breakfast option. Do try this out and let me know your feedback so let’s get into the recipe, but before that please Checkout more traditional and vegetarian Telangana recipes here.
Here are some amazing recipes using maize/corn as the main ingredient.
MOKKAJONNA KUDUMULU
Equipment
- Steamer
Ingredients
For savory Mokkajonna kudumulu
- 1½ cups Maize/corn kernels
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp Red chilli powder optional
- 2 cloves Garlic optional
- ½ cup Rice flour optional, if you're using sweet corn
For Sweet/ Theepi Mokkajonna Kudumulu
- 1½ cups Maize/corn kernels
- ½ cup Jaggery
- 1 pinch Salt
- ½ cup Rice flour optional, if you're sweet corn
Instructions
Prepping
- For the savory version, add the following to the blender maize/corn kernels, salt, cumin seeds, red chili powder, garlic cloves if you like, and blend to a semi coarse paste without adding any water.
- For the sweet version, add the maize kernels, jaggery powder to the blender jar and blend to a semi coarse paste without adding any water.
- Heat a steamer pot add water and place the corn/maize husks, cobs and make a bed.
- If you have sal leaves/banana leaves/badam leaves available, wash and pat dry the leaves, grease it with oil.
- Smear a ladleful of blended puree on a leaf, cover it again with one more leaf and place it on the bed of corn husks carefully.
- If you're using idli molds, grease the pans, and add batter into the cavity.
- Cover and steam the kudumulu for 10 mins, and Let the kudumulu cool down a bit for 5 min and later demould them(if you're using idli mould).
- Serve warm mokkajonna kudumulu with chutney/curry and topped with oil/ghee.
- Serve sweet kudumulu/Theepi Mokkajonna kudumulu with a drizzle of ghee and more jaggery.
Notes
- If you feel that the batter is too thin, then add a little bit of rice flour to the blended corn/maize batter and the consistency should be similar to Idli batter.
- If you don't have any leaves like Sal leaves/Badam leaves/Banana leaf then use idli mold instead.
If you’ve tried this recipe and loved it, I’d love to hear your feedback by tagging your photo and sharing it with #mycurryveda on Instagram @mycurryveda or on Facebook. Also follow @taste.of.telangana on Instagram for more traditional recipes, culture, and stories.
