HAPPY GANESH CHATURTHI: TIME FOR MODAKS

Lord Ganesha‬ has arrived in the humble homes of his devotees. The best offering one can make to him is that of his most loved sweet, the delicious ‪modaks‬. The traditional modaks are ‪steamed‬ ones prepared with a ‪sweet‬ ‪filling‬ of ‪coconut‬ & ‪‎jaggery‬.

Now don't worry if you do not know how to make them. My friend Sajani Kochunny makes awesome modaks and she has agreed to share her recipe. Thank you dear for being so gracious.

Here is her recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
Rice Flour (Slightly roasted) - 2 cups
Ghee - 2 1/2teaspoons
Grated coconut - 1 whole
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/4th teaspoon
Water - 1 1/2 cups
Salt to taste

METHOD:
For the sweet filling:
1. Heat 2 teaspoons ghee in a pan. Add one fourth teaspoon of cardamom powder to it and saute.
2. Now add in the grated coconut and mix well.
3. Grate the jaggery into this mixture and cook until the jaggery melts covering the coconut entirely. The mixture should be dry and not runny.
4. Keep aside to cool.

For the outer covering:
1. In a saucepan add water, half teaspoon ghee and salt and bring to a boil.
2. Now add the rice flour and mix vigorously till the flours absorbs all the water.
3. Now knead the mixture to get a dough.
4. Cover this dough and keep aside for 5 minutes.
5. Now make small dough balls about 2cm in diameter.
6. Apply ghee to your palms and start flattening the dough balls into discs.
7. Place the discs on a flat surface and place a teaspoon of the filling in the center.
8. From all four sides bring the edges to the centre above the mixture and pinch together to arrive at the unique shape of modak. You can also use modak moulds available in the market to get the shape.
9. Now steam the modaks for 10 minutes in a steamer.
10. Remove from steamer and serve hot drizzled with ghee.

Hope you try out this recipe and add a sweet touch to ‪GANESH CHATURTHI‬.

‪Ganpati‬ ‪BappaMorya‬