Monday, September 21, 2015

Ukadiche Modak /उकडीचे मोदक/ Steamed sweet Rice flour dumplings


Growing up in Maharashtra I have always indulged in different varieties of Maharastrian delicacies. And obviously one of them is Ukadiche Modak or rice flour dumplings with sweet coconut filling in it. These are usually made during the holly festival of Ganapati. It is presented to Ganapati Bappa as his Prasad. It is said that he loves Modak the most.  During the Ganesh worship ceremony, known in India as Ganesha Chaturthi the puja always concludes with an offering of twenty-one modaks to the deity and as prasad

This particular variety of modak is steamed and eaten with Tup or Desi Ghee which makes it healthier.

I could go on and on talking about this awesome sweet, instead you may find more details about it here.

Let’s make these Modaks for our Ganapati Bappa.


Ingredients:

You will be able to make around 14-16 modaks with this measurement. 
  1. Khovalela Naral/ Grated coconut: 2 Cups (fresh or frozen) 
  2. Gul/ Jaggery: 1-1½ Cup (depends on jaggery’s sweetness and your family’s taste buds) 
  3. Tandul Pithi/ Rice Flour: 2 Cups (very very smooth) 
  4. Pani/ Water: 2-2½ Cups 
  5. Ghee/ Clarified butter: 1 Tbsp. / 2 Tbsp. 
  6. Mith/ Salt: A pinch 
  7. Velachi Pud/ Cardamom Powder: 1Tsp.

Method:

For Filling:
  1. Take one coconut. 
  2. Grate the coconut and use 2 Cups from it.
  3. Alternatively take 2 cups of frozen grated coconut in a microwave safe bowl. (Thaw the coconut before measuring it.) 
  4. Add 1 Cup of jaggery to the coconut. Stir it. 
  5. Put it in microwave for 30 Sec. 
  6. Take it out, give it a good mix and put it back in microwave for about 2min. 
  7. Take it out after a minute, add cardamom powder and stir it. At this point you may add chopped nuts of your choice to this mixture. 
  8. Take it out with the help of oven mitten. Usually at this time the stuffing is ready. If you feel the jaggery is not melted completely then just put it back just for 10-12 sec. If you keep it longer then the stuffing will be hard. (I have done that and had to rescue it. I have added the tips to rescue the filling at the end) 

For Outer Cover:

  1. Take 2 cups of water in a pan and put it on the stove on medium-high heat.
  2. Once you see the water bubbles, add a pinch of salt and a tbsp. of ghee in it. 
  3. Measure the rice flour properly in a bowl. The rice flour has be very soft and smooth on touch. If it is little thick then please sieve it. 
  4. Once the water is boiling put the heat to low and put entire bowl of flour in the water. 
  5. Start stirring it immediately and vigorously with the help of a nice firm spatula. 
  6. Please make sure it’s not lumpy anymore. 
  7. Put a tight lead. 
  8. The steam trapped inside the pan will do the magic now. Take is off the gas after 2 minutes. 
  9. Switch off the gas. 
Modak Making:
  1. Take out the warm dough on a plain surface. 
  2. Start kneading the dough once it is bearable to hands. But it should not be cold otherwise we will not be able to shape them. 
  3. Put a little oil or ghee on your palms and start kneading. 
  4. Cover the dough with warm damp cloth.  
  5. Make medium sized ball and start making modaks. 
  6. Take the rice flour ball and roll a small puri of it (about 2-3inches). 
  7. Take the coconut filling and put 1 Tbsp of it in the middle of this puri. 
  8. Take this puri in one hand and start pinching it with another hand. It will look like a bulb of a lotus flower. 
  9. Now start taking all the pinched petals together and stick them together making a peak out of it. 
  10. It will look like a small onion. 
  11. I have a Modak mold bought from Tulashi Baug, Pune so I used mold to make these modaks (grease the mold before filling it with little ghee). It is very special for me since it has been gifted to me by a dear friend. 
  12. Take a rice cooker (with steamer) or idali steamer to steam these modaks or dumplings. 
  13. I have a rice cooker-steamer in which I put one damp handkerchief and put 7 modaks at a time on the steam mode for about 7-8 minutes. If you are using idali cooker or pressure cooker for steaming the modak, then please keep it for 12-14min or as per instructions on your cooker. 
    Another form of mold

  14. Once done, take them out and pour desi ghee on it and relish them as a nice, healthy sweet.
    गणपती बाप्पा मोरया !!!
Tip:

  1. If for any reason your filling or सारण becomes hard, put it in a pan and add little ghee to it. keep stirring till it is soft again. It may change it's color to little brownish but that is completely alright. 
  2. The rice flour should be really smooth. If it's too coarse then the outer cover will break while molding the modaks. 
  3. Do not let the dough cool down for the same above mentioned reason. 

Please try this super easy recipe of Ukadiche Modak and please your Bappa (We call Lord Ganesha- Bappa). If you like this recipe, give a thumps up and please share it with others. Happy Cooking!!!!

Please leave your comments and suggestions about this recipe. We welcome your feedback.

बोला गणपती बाप्पा मोरया, मंगल मूर्ती मोरया !!!!!!!

Other recipe you can try during the festival:
Paan Ladoo
Paan Shots
Narali Bhat  

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https://www.facebook.com/kirtiskitchenkatta/

2 comments:

  1. Ganpati Bappa Morya..Mangal Moorthi Morya _/\_ thks for the additional tips

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Lataji, I'm glad you liked the additional tips...try them and post pictures of it here ...Ganapati Bappa Moraya...happy cooking

    ReplyDelete