Modak – A traditional steamed sweet dumpling offered to lord
Ganesh on the occasion of Ganesh chaturthi festival.
Serves: 12-15
Ingredients
For the outer modak
covering:
1 and half cup rice flour
1 tsp oil
1.5 to 2 cups water
a pinch of salt
For the inner sweet
filling:
2 and half cups grated fresh coconut
2 cups crumbled jaggery
1 tsp cardamom powder or crushed 4 cardamoms
Instructions
Making the sweet
filling:
grate the coconut.
crumble or grate the jaggery.
crush the 4 cardamom pods to a fine or semi-fine powder in a
mortar-pestle
In a thick bottomed pan, take the jaggery and add the
coconut to it. Heat up the stove.
Mix the jaggery and coconut together and stir.
The jaggery will start to melt.
Once the entire jaggery is melted, you will see a moist
liquid mass of jaggery and coconut.
Keep stirring and let the mixture cook till the mixture
becomes a little dry. Just keep in mind that the jaggery should not be over
cooked as then your mixture would become very sticky and hard.
When done, add the cardamom powder and mix well.
Making the outer
cover of the Modak:
In a pan or dekchi add the water, oil and salt.
Keep this pan on the flame and let the contents heat up till
the mixture comes to a rolling boil.
Remove the pan from the fire and add the rice flour to it.
Add small portions of rice flour.
Keep on mixing as you want the mixture to be free from lumps
and smooth. If the mixture becomes dry, add little water. If it gets a thin
consistency, add a little rice flour. Consistency is very important here as you
do not want the dough to break when making the modaks.
Mix all the rice flour and keep on mixing with a wooden
spoon or spatula.
Now keep this pan with the rice flour on low flame and keep
on stirring till the rice mixture becomes thick and one solid mass.
Cover the mixture for 5-6 minutes.
When the mixture is slightly hot or warm, then knead the
mixture.
You can apply some oil on your palms while kneading the rice
flour dough.
Apply some water or oil on your palm. Take a small portion
of the rice dough and make a smooth ball out of it with your hands. Keep this
rice flour dough ball on your palm.
Now flatten this dough ball in your palm with the fingers of
the other hand. Make a small puri of it on your palm.
Keep a small portion of the jaggery-coconut mixture on the
center of this puri.
Bring together all the edges together and close the top.
Remove the extra portion of the dough from the top.
Shape and taper the top of the modak with your fingers.
Make all the modaks this way.
Steam the modaks for 7-10 mins on a low to medium flame in a
pressure cooker without the weight. You can also steam in a steamer.
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