Wednesday

Ukadiche Modak

In Maharashtra, Ganesh festival is synonymous with ukadiche modak. Sweet steamed dumplings of rice flour, coconut and gur, the modak (plural is also modak, without an 's')  are a tasty combination of the ingredients available in plenty in the Konkan coast where they originated.







 
To make modak

For case:
2 cups rice flour
2.5 cups water
Salt to taste
  
For filling:
3 cups scraped fresh coconut
1.5 cups chopped or broken Jaggery (Gur)
(Brown sugar can be used as a substitute if Gur is not available)

First prepare the filling. In a thick bottomed pan, put in the coconut and the gur. Keep stirring on a medium flame till all the gur melts, the coconut turns golden and the mixture begins to look ‘integrated’.




 For the cases: In a thick bottomed pan, heat water with a little salt and a tablespoon of oil. Once it begins to boil, add the flour and stir vigorously with a flat spoon for a minute or so till there are no lumps left. Cover with lid and steam twice. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. The end result should be a cooked dough of soft, pliable consistency.
Let the dough cool a bit. Apply a little oil or butter to the hand and take a small portion of the dough, the size of a table-tennis ball. With your hands roll the dough into a smooth ball.         

Then keep the dough ball on your left palm and begin to mold it into a cup shape with your right hand, using thumb and fingers.
                            

Once the cup is formed fill it with a spoonful of the coconut filling.

















 Tamp down the filling and pull the dough from all sides over it to close the modak.  



 





Once you have about 5- 10 such pieces ready, steam them for about 10 minutes.

You can use a steamer available for such purposes, or create one by heating a little water in a wok and placing a sieve with the modak in it once the water boils.
Cover with a lid while steaming.
 
Lo, your modak are ready! Serve them warm with thick ghee.

2 comments:

  1. I tried this recipe, added some nuts to the filling and some elaichi. The covering did not turn out doughy like my first attempt to this recipe. They tasted marvellous. However, the covering was difficult to handle and some of them broke open while filling. I guess, it comes through practice.

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  2. Thanks for the feedback Shital! Glad you found it useful.
    I deliberately do not add elaichi (cardamom) as the taste of coconut is masked by it. However each to their own in this matter.
    Yes, making the dough and the cups does take some practice. There are moulds available in the market, but these can result in thick and clunky dough cups. The thinness you can get by applying your fingers is worth it. Cheers,

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