With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, preparations are well underway. Between the new decorations and clothing, the environment has definitely taken on a celebratory hue. While these elements may be impactful, nothing screams celebration louder than a plate full of Modaks. Here are some Modak recipes for you to try this festive season!
1. Coconut and Jaggery Modak
Ingredients:
- 1 cup coconut, grated
- 1 cup jaggery
- A pinch of nutmeg
- A pinch of saffron
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tsp ghee
- 1 cup of rice flour
Instructions:
1. Start by heating the pan over medium heat.
2. Once hot, place the coconut and jaggery in the pan. If coconut is unavailable at your local market, you can buy some grated coconut online at your nearest Nature’s Basket store.
3. Mix the ingredients for about 5 minutes before adding the saffron and nutmeg to it. Mix thoroughly.
4. Cook the components for another 5 minutes before taking it off the heat.
5. For the Modak shell, grab a wok or similar deep dish and place it on the stove over medium-high heat.
6. Add the water and ghee to the vessel and boil it. Once done, add the flour and salt to the mixture and stir well.
7. Place a lid on the vessel and leave it to cook for about 10 minutes before taking it off the heat. Note that the mixture will only be half cooked at this point.
8. Slather some ghee on the inside of a bowl to prevent the dough from sticking. Add the half-cooked batter to it and start kneading it. Do this when the dough is hot.
9. Once properly kneaded, take a little dough. Create a ball and then flatten it on a smooth surface.
10. With a knife, make small vertical cuts to the edges of the flattened dough. Pinch the edges between two cuts together until it resembles that of a petal. Continue doing this until the entire flattened dough looks like the petals of the flower.
11. Add a tablespoon of the coconut and jaggery mixture onto the dough’s centre and seal it by pushing the flower tips together
12. Place the Modaks on a cloth made from muslin. Then, place them in the steamer for about fifteen minutes.
13. Enjoy this Ganesh Chaturthi with some delicious Modak!
2. Chocolate Modak
Ingredients:
- 1 cup grated or chopped mawa
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips – milk, sweet or semi-sweet
- 2 tbsp sugar. You can use organic sugar here
- ⅛ tsp cardamom powder
- A little bit of butter, oil or ghee for greasing
- 3 to 4 pistachios – chopped finely (optional)
- 5 to 6 rose petals (optional)
Instructions:
1. To begin, take a little bit of the butter, oil or ghee and slather it on the inside of your Modak mould. Make sure that you do this step properly to avoid the mixture sticking. Once you’ve slathered on an appropriate amount, you can keep the moulds aside
2. Place a pan over low heat and wait for 1-2 minutes or until the pan starts to warm
3. Once heated, add the grated mawa to the pan. Stir it for roughly 5-10 minutes. The mawa will slowly start melting in the pan
4. After the grated mawa has semi-melted, add the sugar in. Mix for a minute or until the mawa has completely melted and the sugar is properly combined
5. Add the chocolate chips. Keep stirring on low flame until you see the chocolates start to melt. Note that this step should be done quickly as the melted mawa does firm up fast and it could be quite difficult to mix in the chocolates at that stage
6. Keep stirring the mixture on low flame until it starts to thicken and reform. At this point, add a little cardamom powder to the mixture
7. Mix in the cardamom powder and continue stirring the mixture until you see the edges start to leave the pan. Make sure that the fire is on the lowest heat possible as it is quite easy to overcook the mixture
8. Once you see the edges leave the pan, transfer the batter into a different vessel and let it cool down completely
9. When the mixture is at room temperature, make take bits of dough and roll it into a small ball
10. Press the two ends of the mould together and hold it in place for a few seconds. Remove the Modak from the mould and set it aside
11. Repeat this process until all the batter has been converted to Modaks
12. Garnish with pistachios and rose petals. Chill until ready to serve
13. Enjoy this Ganesh Chaturthi Modak! Try these yummy Modak recipes to get into a festive mood! Want some more Ganesh Chaturthi recipes? Check out Traditional Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes For You To Try This Year!
