Modak/Modakkam
As we enter the month of August, we are looking at lengthy festive season ahead in Hindu Calendar. We in India have this tradition of offering to god which is called as “Prasad” and then distributed among the people who are present at that time/moment during the pooja/worship. Various kinds of food are offered as prasad, modak is one of them which is normally offered during Lord Ganesh pooja They are called by various names i.e. Ukadiche Modak (Maharashtrian’s) Kadubu (Karnataka), Kudumu (Andhra Pradesh/Telangana) and kozhukattai in Tamilnadu.
Modak is a loved by Lord Ganesha as per the traditional belief is us and majority of Hindus who worship Lord Ganesh. Even in the Ashtothram i.e. 108 various names when we worship/pooja lord Ganesh there he is called Modak Priya 😊. We as kids used to wait for this festival and have the elaborate feast/bhog (lemon rice, Medu Vada, Idlis and chutney to go along, Steamed Rice, Rasam and along with these the delicious modak to have 😊.
Modak’s are dumplings with various kinds of fillings and the outer covering are normally made of rice flour and steamed. Here we are going to see three variations of the fillings i.e. Peanut, White Til/Sesame/Nuvalu), Fresh Coconut, here all the three fillings have one common thread is the sweetener is Jaggery. These three fillings are traditional ones, which I have seen my mother doing them since my childhood. Some places modak are deep fried, i.e. in Karnataka modak are called kadabu which are deep fried.
Let’s see how these three different Modak’s filling are made:
Modak
Modak’s are dumplings with various kinds of fillings and the outer covering are
normally made of rice flour and steamed.
Ingredients
Peanut Modak
- 1 Cup Peanut (Outer Cover Removed) and Dry Roasted
- 1 Cup Jaggery Grated
Til Modak
- 1 Cup Til Dry Roasted
- 1 Cup Jaggery Grated
Fresh Coconut Modak
- 1 Cup Fresh Coconut Grated
- 1 Cup Jaggery Grated
- 1 Pinch Elachi Powder
Modak Outer Covering
- 1 Cup Rice Flour
- 1 1/2 Cup Water
- 1/2 tsp Ghee
- 1 Pinch Salt
Instructions
Modak Filling:
-
To make the peanut and Til filling, dry roast peanut and til separately and grind them
along with jaggery (i.e. til and peanut separately). The mixture will have
coarse texture to look and feel. -
For the Coconut Filling, grate fresh coconut and along with the jaggery roast them till
jaggery melts and mixes with coconut. At this stage mix the elachi powder stir
the contents thoroughly and let it cool.
Cooking Outer Cover Dough:
-
As said above the outer cover is made of rice flour, as mentioned in the ingredients, boil
water till it comes to boiling point. -
Then add the rest of the ingredients i.e. rice flour, ghee, salt and leave it to rest
covered for at least 10 to 15 minutes. -
After 10 to 15 minutes mix the dough thoroughly till you get a dough which sticks to together.
-
Let it cool, one should be able to touch with bare hand and feel the warmth of the
dough to your palms.
Making Modaks Outer Cover
-
After the rice flour dough cools down, oil your palms and take dough in balls (i.e. about
lemon sized) and roll them like chapatis into small round shapes.
Cooking Modaks (Final Stage)
-
Then keep any filling of your choice i.e. approx. 1 tsp in middle portion and then close it press
the dies to together with a fork or with hand. -
Place the filled Modak in greased plates (have used idli mould plates), keep separate
filling Modak’s in different plates. -
Steam them in pressure cooker or an idli cooker for about 3 to 4 minutes. Serve it as sweet
or prasad to god, whichever it ends up in your plate 😊………..that’s the best part…. 😊
Recipe Notes
- Do not steam them for more than 3 to 4 minutes as the Modaks tends to crack if done so.
- Grease the plates before steaming as the Modaks tends to stick to the plate after steaming if not greased.
- Do not attempt to handle the dough before it cools, it might burn one hands if handled before it is cooled properly.
- Separate different filling Modaks while steaming so that identify properly or you can change the style of outer cover for identification as done above.
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These look delicious! I would love to try these sometime with my kids – I bet they would love them, too! 🙂
I am going to have to research this jaggery! I have never heard of it until now. Thank u for this amazing recipe I can’t wait to try it out
I’ve never heard of these but they look like a delicious treat! Thanks for sharing about the history of these treats!
I love dumplings and these look really tasty.
I’ve never tried modak before but your recipe has me intrigued. Just need to figure out what ingredient substitutes I can use here in the U.S.
Whats Jaggery?
Jaggery is similar like sugar which is made out of sugarcane juice, but its chemical free and very healthy for your body…!
These remind me of steamed dumplings I had in Japan. They were delicious. I would be interested to know where to get the different ingredients.
I love trying foods from other countries and these South Indian sweet dumplings look delicious. I need to see if I can find jaggery here in Italy!
I’ve never heard of modak but they look delicious!!
This is the best time for Modak and I used to love them when I was in Pune . Will try these
You’re always introducing me to new foods… these look sooo tasty!
Good To know that :-))
thanks Simone, happy that you like the recipe :-)…!
I love learning about new food traditions and I bet these freshly steamed dumplings taste amazing! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I love learning about new foods, new recipes and traditions. Thank you for being so thorough in explaining Modak and the story as well as history. Hope to get to try them one day.
Modak is one of my favorite snacks to have. It is healthy, easy and delicious.
Thank you so much for sharing..!
I was thinking of making modak for this year’s festivals but I didn’t know the recipe..! Now I know, thanks this helped..!