Sesame and jaggery turn up together at every warming festival in the Indian calendar, from Aadi to Karthigai to Sankranti. The pairing means much the same thing everywhere: warmth, and sticking together.
For the filling, roast the sesame until the seeds pop and turn a shade darker, then crush them coarsely. Stop while the mixture is still gritty. Ground to a paste it turns oily and separates in the pan, and the filling loses the faint crunch that makes ellu kozhukattai different from the coconut one. Everything else follows the same rice-flour dough as the rest of the family.
Everything you need for this recipe is on the shelf at One Place Bazaar, delivered to all 32 counties. See the rest of our Ganesh Chaturthi recipes.
