Ukadiche modak is the sweet made for Bappa on Ganesh Chaturthi: a thin, soft shell of steamed rice flour around a filling of fresh coconut and jaggery. Shaping the pleats takes a little practice, but even plain modaks taste just as good.
Ingredients
For the saran (filling)
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated coconut
- 1 cup grated jaggery
- 1 tsp ghee
- 1 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus), dry roasted
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder and a pinch of nutmeg
For the outer cover
- 1 cup fine rice flour (ambemohar or modak flour if you can find it)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp ghee and a pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the filling. Heat ghee in a pan, add the coconut and jaggery and cook on low-medium flame, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes until the jaggery melts and the mixture thickens. Add poppy seeds, cardamom and nutmeg. Cool.
- Cook the flour. Boil the water with ghee and salt. Lower the flame, add the rice flour all at once and stir quickly. Cover and leave on the lowest flame for 2 minutes, then switch off and rest for 5 minutes.
- Knead. While still warm, knead with greased palms (dip them in cold water if it’s too hot) into a smooth, crack-free dough. Keep it covered.
- Shape. Flatten a lime-sized ball into a cup with thin edges. Pinch 8 to 10 pleats around the edge, add a spoon of filling, and gather the pleats to a point at the top.
- Steam. Place the modaks on a greased plate or banana leaf in a steamer and steam for 10 to 12 minutes, until the shells look glossy.
- Serve warm with a little ghee poured over each modak.
Siddhi’s Tips
- Knead the dough while it’s warm. Cold dough cracks when you pleat it.
- Don’t overcook the filling, or it hardens as it cools.
- If pleating is tricky, use a modak mould: line it with dough, fill and press shut.
For more festival sweets, see the Diwali meal plan and the sweets in the recipe index.
Prep time: 30 minutes · Cook time: 25 minutes · Makes: 12 modaks