Here’s my version of Modak that I made this Ganesh Chaturthi:
Ingredients:
- Maida/All purpose flour
- Atta/Wheat flour
- Coconut
- Sugar
- Cardamom powder
- Ghee (Clarified butter)
- Oil for frying
Stuffing
For the stuffing, take 2 cups of grated fresh coconut and add 1 cup of sugar to it and heat it on low flame. Add a pinch of cardamom powder. The stuffing is a dry mixture. Keep stirring until the coconut turns slightly crisp or until a tinge of brown is seen on them. Once done, cool the mixture in a tray. (There is a small bit of stuffing in the middle of my photograph for reference)
Dough
The dough can be entirely made from wheat flour alone. However, a mix of maida and wheat flour gives it a crisp texture and a softer bite. So, here I have used 1 cup of wheat flour and 1 cup of maida. In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon of clarified butter (ghee) or even oil will do. Add the hot ghee/oil to the flour mixture and slightly mix it with a spoon. Once a mixture cools down a bit, add a little water and kneed into a stiff dough. Let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.
Roll out small round shapes from the dough. Add the stuffing at the center. Now you can give the shape you desire. Let your imagination run wild!. As I was making this as an offering for the festival, I have given it two traditional shapes, as in the photograph. One of them resembles a momo or a dumpling.
And…
As the last step, heat oil for frying. Add a bunch of them depending on the size of your Modak and the size of your frying pan. Fry them on low flame until light brown.
Happy festival!
Reverie 