Karnataka's version of the steamed modak carries something the others do not: powdered roasted gram in the filling, alongside the coconut and jaggery. It gives the poornam body and a faint nuttiness, and it is the thing that tells you which state a kadubu came from.
Shapes vary by household. Some families close it into a half-moon, others pinch it into a peak like a modak. Both are correct and both will be defended vigorously. Two tablespoons of roasted gram is enough; more and the filling turns dry and crumbles when you try to seal the dough around it.
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