Deepa Kozhukattai.

Ma Vilakku. Dough for making South Indian Country Style Lamp. Edible Lamp from Tamil Nadu. Edible Dhiya. Edible Deepa. Rice dough Lamp. Festival Lamp Preparation.

Hmmmm I am not the right person to talk this! Yet….will try to explain this maximum. In Tamil Nadu, ladies make this rice dough recipe and knead it out as a lamp. And light it through. I am not sure about for which festival. I can faintly remember it has ‘Karthigai Deepam’ I suppose or its just a guess. It is generally eaten the next day after the festival is over. You wont believe its raw dough anymore(after being lighted). It tastes good!

Ingredients:

Rice 1 cup
Grated Jaggery 1 cup
Ghee 2-3 cups

Things Required:

Cotton Wig –1 bunch for lamps
Matchbox – for lighting lamp.

Variation: If you are religious Hindu, you can decorate this lamp with turmeric, kum kum(as you do for your regular lamp) and perform your prayer. Then serve this lamp next day has offering ‘prasad’.

Method:

Soak Rice in water for at least 5 whole hours. Then strain and drain the water. Now sun dry this rice…..spreading in a clean sheet. When the rice is completely dry, dry grind it in a mill.

Or one can simply buy ‘rice flour’ to entirely skip this 1 step.

To this rice flour, add grated jaggerry. Mix them thoroughly. Slightly sprinkle water and make them into thick hard dough.

Make equal parts out of it. Each part should be in large lemon size.

Now carefully make a well in the middle.(just like a country lamp – agal vilakku)

Pour ghee in the well. Place a cotton wig. Let the ghee/oil seep into the wig completely. Gently light this lamp. Allow it to stand.

Repeat the same procedure for all the lamps.

Variation 1: Decorate your prayer room with this lamp. Serve this as ‘prasad’ the other day.

Variation 2: Light the lamp and wait until it completes burning. Then serve as a snack. Slightly burnt ‘rice dumpling’ serves as an excellent treat.