It’s that time of the year when we start to welcome festivals one after the other. The ten-day long Ganesh Utsav starts on August 22nd, marking the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesh. Widely celebrated in Western and Southern parts of India like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, the Lord is offered sweet dumplings, also known as Modak during this period. It is believed that Modaks are favourite food of Lord Ganesha, and hence they are considered as an offering in every household.

There are many ways to make Modaks, Steamed rice flour dumpling filled with coconut and jaggery mixture is one of the most famous ones. If you’re a beginner you may choose to go for a Modak mould available online or in any local store, they make it easier to carve a Modak in desired shape. Here are a few widely used ways to make different types Modaks…

Traditional Ukdiche Modak

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Rice flour
• ½ cup jaggery
• ½ cup grated or dessicated coconut
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp salt

How to make:

In a pan, heat 1 tbsp Ghee. Transfer grated coconut and jaggery into the pan and saute till the jaggery melts with the coconut and becomes one mixture. Add cardamom powder to the mixture and turn off the heat.

In another pan, heat 1.5 cups of water. When water starts to boil, add the salt and a tsp of ghee in the water. Now, add rice flour while continuing to stir the water and turn off the flame. Ash the rice flour well with the water to remove any lumps. Leave aside for 10 mins. Next, grease your hands with ghee, and start kneading the rice flour making small balls of the same. Push the rice flour in mould well enough to reach every corner, fill in with the jaggery-coconut mixture, and close the mould. Repeat for other rice balls. Steam the Modaks for seven to ten minutes while checking on them in between. Your hot, steaming Modaks are ready to be served to Bappa.

Instant Milk Modak

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 cup full fat milk
• 200 gms Milk powder
• 4-5 strands of Saffron
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

How to Make:

In a pan, heat ghee and add the whole volume of milk to it. Allow it warm up a little, add milk powder to the mixture and mix well to remove lumps. Add the Saffron strands. Turn off the heat and let the mixture rest for 5 mins. Now, start kneading the dough gently, add powdered sugar to the dough. Place small balls of the prepared dough in the mould, and press just hard enough for the dough balls to take shape. Your instant Modaks are ready to be served.

Chocolate Modak

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• ¾ cup milk powder
• 2 tbsp Cocoa powder- unsweetened
• 2 tbsp Ghee

Procedure:

In a pan prepare sugar syrup of one-string consistency. Once you have made the sugar syrup, add the milk and cocoa powder to the pan and turn off the heat. You will need to mix it really well, as the mixture begins to solidify quickly. At this point add a bit of ghee, and transfer the mixture to another plate. Allow it to cool slightly, make small balls of the cocoa dough, and start pressing them in the mould. Your Chocolate Modaks are ready to be served.

Gulkand Modak

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dessicated coconut
• 10 ml condensed milk
• Rose essence or Kewra water- 2 tsp
• Green food color- optional
• Pistachios- for garnishing
• ½ cup Gulkand
• 1 tsp Cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp Almond powder

How to make:

Mix all of the Dessicated coconut with condensed milk, rose water, and food color and knead to form a dough. Refrigerate for half an hour.

In another bowl, combine Almond powder, Cardamom powder and Gulkand to form a filling consistency.

Now in the mould, prepare the outer layer of coconut while filling it with the Gulkand mixture. Repeat process for other Modaks. Your Gulkand Modaks are ready to be served.

Don’t forget to let us know you favourite Modak recipe in the comments below.