Saturday 15 May 2021

Recipe 117: Traditional Modak

Modak is essentially a Maharashtrian dish. 

It is sweet, soft and has two main star ingredients - rice flour and coconut.

Not much of an elaborate recipe, Modak is something you can make anytime of the year when you are craving a sweet dish that is not very calorific. 

In fact, when you get a hang of the shape of modak without cracks, you can actually fill savoury fillings and steam. I tried making mince chicken modaks and served them with chilly tomato sauce once, and it was a hit. Think of it like a momo but with a rice flour covering instead of Maida.

I am not a pro at making modaks especially handmade. But if you use specialized tools for shaping, I am sure modaks will turn out pretty looking.

Modaks are best eaten warm. Once it is cold in fridge, modaks harden. But re-steaming or microwaving for few seconds, again makes them soft. 

My recipe for traditional modak provides you with proper ingredients for a flavourful modak. Shape is for you to perfect.

Ingredients:

  1. 1 cup rice flour
  2. 1 cup water
  3. 1 cup coconut powder (fresh or desiccated)
  4. 1/2 cup jaggery crushed 
  5. 1 tbsp. ghee
  6. 1 tsp. oil for greasing
  7. 1 tsp. salt
  8. 1 tsp. cardamom powder 

Method:

In a sauce pan bring water, salt and ghee to a boil.
Switch off the heat and add the rice flour.
With the help of a ladle, mix the rice flour and water. 
Allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes and begin to knead the dough with fingers.
Cover the dough and allow it to rest.
Meanwhile, in a kadhai saute jaggery, coconut and cardamom powder till jaggery melts.
The coconut mixture must be semi-dry.
Now take a small portion of the rice dough and flatten it with hands. 
Add 1-2 tsp. of coconut mixture onto the center and try to seal all edges and form modak-shape.
Place all the modaks on a greased plate and steam it for 15 minutes.
Allow the modaks to cool for 5-10 minutes on the plate itself. 
Then take them out carefully on the serving platter.
Serve warm!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want a perfect looking modak?



























*Affiliate Link

1 comment:

  1. Hello, thanks for leaving a comment. For collaboration email me at paul.aditi2@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete