Modak"
Ingredients Needed To Prepare Modak
1. Rice – 1½ cup 2. Salt – A pinch 3. Pure Ghee (Clarified Butter) – ½ teaspoon
For Stuffing
1. Fresh Coconut Grated/Scraped – 1½ cup 2. Jaggery Grated – ¾ cup 3. Green Cardamom Powder – A pinch
How To Prepare Modak
Wash and drain the rice thoroughly. Spread it evenly on an absorbing cloth so that the rice gets thoroughly dried. After it dries, grind it to a fine powder in a mixer. To ensure the thoroughness of the grinding process, pass the powdered rice through a sieve. In a pan boil one and quarter cup of water, adding salt and ghee into it.
1. Rice – 1½ cup 2. Salt – A pinch 3. Pure Ghee (Clarified Butter) – ½ teaspoon
For Stuffing
1. Fresh Coconut Grated/Scraped – 1½ cup 2. Jaggery Grated – ¾ cup 3. Green Cardamom Powder – A pinch
How To Prepare Modak
Wash and drain the rice thoroughly. Spread it evenly on an absorbing cloth so that the rice gets thoroughly dried. After it dries, grind it to a fine powder in a mixer. To ensure the thoroughness of the grinding process, pass the powdered rice through a sieve. In a pan boil one and quarter cup of water, adding salt and ghee into it.
Slowly start adding the rice flour, constantly stirring it so that there are no lumps formed. After the entire mixture is added, remove the pan from heat and keep it covered for the next 10-15 minutes. Grease your palms with a little bit of oil. Knead the cooked rice mixture to soft dough. When done, cover it with a moist cloth.
Take a pan and cook the mixture of the scraped coconut and jaggery on medium heat until it turns into a light golden brown color. Make sure that it is not overcooked. Then add the cardamom powder, remove it from heat and allow it to cool a little. Then divide the coconut mixture and divide it equally into 10-12 equal portions. Grease your palm with oil. Now divide the dough of the rice flour into 10-12 equal portions into lemon sized balls. Then flatten the ball in your palm to form discs with a diameter of three inches. Press the edges of the disc further to reduce the thickness.
Next, place the semi cooled coconut and jaggery mixture in the centre of this disc and form 8-10 pleats with your fingers. Then gather them together in the shape of a bundle with its tip being conical. Seal the edges. To understand the shape better, take a look at the picture with this recipe.Steam these balls in a steamer for 10-15 minutes. Serve the hot modak with a bit of ghee.
Modaks are also available in sweet shops. They are usually made of Khoya/ Mawa resembling the same pleated shape. They come in various shapes and sizes with various flavorings like Kesar (Saffron) Modak, Chocolate Modak, Triranga (Tri colored) Modak, Pista (Pistachio) Modak and so on. Each year the sweetmeat vendors find innovative ways to redo the same traditional sweets, adding more variety to the celebrations.
Another favorite sweetmeat of Lord Ganesh is Ladoo/Laddu/Laddoo. Laddoo denotes that the shape is round. This again has several varieties. There are Boondi Laddos, Besan Laddoos. Rava Naral Laddoo (Semolina Coconut Laddoo), Dry Fruit Laddoo and many more combinations.