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Ganesh Chaturthi 2022 – All For The Love Of Modak

The modak means "small part of bliss" and it symbolises spiritual knowledge

Lord Ganesh or Ganpati is also known ‘Modarpriya’ due to his love for modaks. It’s said that once Goddess Parvati had offered her two sons, Karthik and Ganesh, a modak and both didn’t want to share but it all. Hence mother thought of a contest and asked both to take three rounds of the world and the one who comes first becomes the winner and also gets modak as reward. Ganpati was sharp enough and he took three rounds around his parents (Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati) as he felt they meant the world to him. And from then onwards, Modak happened to be his favourite food.

Even till date Modaks are usually made for Lord Ganesha around ganesh Chaturthi in India. This year Maharaj Bhawar Singh, Corporate Chef - Khandani Rajdhani tried making modaks with mawa and more and here are the recipes 

•     Rice flour 1 1/2 cups

•     Salt a pinch

•     Oil 1 teaspoon for greasing

•     Fresh coconut grated 1 1/2 cups

•     Jaggery (gur) grated 1 cup

•     Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) roasted 1 tablespoon

•     Green cardamom powder a pinch

•     Nutmeg powder a pinch

•     Heat one and one-fourth cups of water with salt and one teaspoon oil in a deep non-stick pan.

•     Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and add the rice flour in a steady flow, stirring continuously to prevent lumps from forming. Cover the pan with a deep lid and pour some water into the lid. Cook on low heat for three minutes.

•     Remove the lid, sprinkle some cold water on the rice flour and cover again with the lid, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and add the rice flour in a steady flow, stirring continuously to prevent lumps from forming water in it; cook for another three minutes. Repeat this process twice more. Take the pan off the heat and keep it covered for two minutes.

•     Transfer the mixture to a large plate (parat), grease the palms of your hands with oil and knead the dough till completely smooth and pliable. The dough should not stick to your palms. Rest the dough covered with a damp cloth.

•     For the stuffing, combine the coconut and jaggery in a non-stick pan and cook on medium heat for one or two minutes till light golden brown. Make sure that you do not overcook the mixture. Add the roasted poppy seeds, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder, an

•     Divide the dough into twelve equal portions and shape them into balls. Grease the palms of your hands and spread each ball to form a three-inch bowl. Press the edges of the bowls to reduce the thickness.

•     Place a portion of the stuffing in the centre; pleat the edges of the dough and gather them together to form a bundle. Pinch to seal the edges at the top.

•     Heat sufficient water in a steamer. Place the modak on a perforated plate in the steamer and steam for ten to twelve minutes. 

•     Serve hot modak with pure ghee.

•     2 cups Ricotta Cheese

•     1 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

•     1/2 cup semi sweet Chocolate Chips

•     1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

•     Heat heavy bottom pan on a medium heat.

•     To that add ricotta cheese

•     Mix and cook for 5 to 8 mts.

•     Once the ricotta cheese starts to thicken up, add condensed milk in that.

•     Mix and cook for 4 to 5 mts more.

•     Turn the heat off.

•     Add cocoa powder, chocolate chips, mix well.

•     Wait until mixture cools down completely.

•     Once the chocolate mixture is cool to touch.

•     Take the modal mould and stuff with chocolate mixture to give that a modak shape.

•     Chocolate Modak is all ready!

Prep time: 10 mins, Cook time: 15 mins, Total time: 25 mins

•     Mawa/dried whole milk – 1 cup

•     Sugar – 1/2 cup

•     Green Cardamom – 2 (powdered)

•     Kesar/saffron – few strands

•     Milk – 2 tbsp

•     Mash mawa and keep it ready. Remove seeds from the cardamom pods and crush it nicely. Grease a square plate with some ghee and keep it ready.

•     Add few saffron strands in warm milk and keep it aside for 20 minutes.

•     Add mawa, sugar, saffron milk in a non-stick pan and mix it well.

•     Heat the pan and cook on medium heat. Keep stirring till the mixture becomes thick. Do not wait to completely dry the mix or it will harden.

•     Remove from the stove, add cardamom powder and mix it well. Spread the mixture on the greased plate.

•     When it cools down, taken a portion in your hand and give it a modak shape using mould. You can also simply cut it into equal squares if you do not have modak mould available.

     Quick Method to make khoya/Mawa at home: Take a pan and add 1 litre whole milk and bring it to boiling point. Lower the flame and continue to boil. Keep stirring so that it does not stick to the pan. Stir vigorously when milk starts to thicken. Khoya is ready when the milk stops simmering and its completely dry. Transfer it into a bowl and keep it aside to cool.

•     Gram Flour- 1 bowl

•     Sugar-1.5 bowl

•     Water- 1.5 bowl

•     Vegetable oil-1 tbsp

•     Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp

•     Chopped Pista- 1tbsp and saffron leaves-10-15

•     Vegetable oil or ghee for deep fry

•     Take gram flour in a large size bowl and add half bowl water slowly to make thin batter without lumps and add 1 tbsp oil. Beat it for 5-7 minutes with beater to make it fluffy.

•     Put pan on the gas and add ghee. Heat it on medium flame

•     Hold Jhar (a big round spoon with multiple small holes in it) just above the pan and put batter on it with service spoon and tap at edge of the jhar so small droplets will fall in the oil.

•     Fry it for 5-7 minutes on medium flame and take it out in a plate with another jhar to drain extra oil. If possible put bloating paper on plate to absorb extra oil.

•     Put another pan on the gas then add one bowl of water and sugar and cook it for 10-15 minutes on medium flame to make one taar sugar syrup. To check one taar, take one drop of sugar syrup between thumb and index finger and see single taar.

•     Add cardamom powder, pista and saffron leaves in sugar syrup and put off gas

•     Add Boondi in sugar syrup and properly mix it and keep for 15 minutes

•     Now put Boondi mixture in Modak mould and press it. Now take it out.

•     If you do not have Modak mould then make it with hand and give shape of Modak

•     2 Cups Mava

•     1 Cup Cashew nut powder

•     1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

•     Cardamom Powder

•     Yellow Food colour

•     Take mava, sugar and cashew nut powder in heavy bottom pan. 

•     Turn the heat on medium heat. 

•     Stir it and mix well.

•     Add food colour.

•     As it gets heat up, it will starts to melt add cardamom powder. 

•     Now roast it well till all the moisture evaporated. 

•     It takes 5- 6 minutes.

•     Remove it to the plate and let it cool to handle it.

•     Check mava and make sure there are no lumps.

•     Take small ball of mava and put into the mould.

•     By using your finger pack it.

•     Press it and open the mould carefully and remove it.

•     Modaks are ready to serve.

•     1 Cup Fresh Grated Coconut

•     200 Grams Mawa or Milk powder

•     1 Cup Sugar

•     4 Pods Cardamom

•     2 Tbsp Ghee

•     15 Dates, seeds removed

•     10 dried Figs

•     ¼ cup Raisins

•     ¼ cup Almonds

•     ¼ cup Pistachios

•     ¼ cup shelled Walnuts

•     ¼ cup desiccated Coconut

•     4 Cardamom pods, seeds crushed into powder

•     1 teaspoon Ghee

•     Finely chop the dates, figs and raisins.

•     Also chop all the almonds, pistachios and walnuts into tiny bits.

•     In a saucepan, dry roast the desiccated coconut till lightly browned. Transfer to a large bowl and keep aside.

•     Dry roast the chopped nuts together till lightly browned. Add them to the bowl with the coconut and keep aside.

•     Heat ghee in the same pan and add chopped dates, figs and raisins and fry continuously for about 5 minutes.

•     Switch off the heat and let it cool slightly.

•     Grind the cooled dates, figs and raisin mixture till it forms a coarse paste.

•     Add this paste to the bowl with the browned nuts. Mix well till a uniform mass is formed.

•     Take lime-sized balls of the mixture and form them into modak shapes.

•     You can use a modak mould to do this, or shape them by hand.

•     To shape them by hand, make a lime-sized ball first and then, holding the ball in the palm of one hand, use the fingers of your other hand to pull up the top of the ball, thus forming a fig shape.

•     Store the modak in a air-tight container.

•     These should last at room temperature for about 4-5 days.

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