Modak recipe on Ganesh chaturthi

"The festival celebrates him the god of good beginnings, prosperity and obstacle remover. It is observed throughout India, especially as a public event in the western states of India such as Maharastra, gujrat and chhatisgarh usually as a private home festival in other states such Goa,Tamilnaydu , Telangna Aandra pradesh and Madhya pradesh public venues, along with the reading of texts and group feasting, athletic and martial arts competitions are held. It is unclear when the festival started, it may have South Indian origins, but historical evidence suggests it become a major social and public event with sponsorship of Shivaji after Muslim-Hindu (Mughal-Maratha) wars, and again in the 19th century after public appeal by Indian freedom fighter Lokmany tilak who championed it as a means to circumvent the colonial British government ban on Hindu gatherings through its anti-public assembly legislation in 1892.

Ganesha Chaturthi is also observed in and by the Hindu diaspora elsewhere such as in the Trinidad, Suriname, Fiji, Mauritius,United States and Europe.

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Modaka are sweet dumplings, the traditional offerings and prasada in Ganesh Chaturthi. 

The primary sweet dish during the festival is modak (modak in Marathi  and Konkani,modakam or kudumu in Telugu, modaka orkadubu in kannada, kozhakatta or modakkamin Malayalam and kozhukattai or modagam in Tamil). A modak is a dumpling made from rice or wheat flour, stuffed with grated coconut, jaggery, dried fruits and other condiments and steamed or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the karanji (karjikai in kanada ), similar to modak in composition and taste but in a semicircular shape.This sweet meal is called Nevri in Goa .

fried modak recipe :

fried modak recipe – a traditional maharashtrian sweet dish offered to lord ganesha on the occasion of ganesh chaturthi festival.

 COURSE desserts

 CUISINE Indian, Maharashtrian

 PREP TIME 35 minutes

 COOK TIME 30 minutes

 TOTAL TIME 1 hour 5 minutes

 SERVINGS 10 -12 modaks

 AUTHOR Akanksha shukla 

INGREDIENTS (1 cup = 250 ml)

for the outer covering or shell:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon warm oil
• water to knead the dough

for the inner filling:

• 1.5 cups grated or powdered jaggery
• 1.5 cups fresh grated coconut or unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 1 or 2 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
• 1 or 1.5 teaspoon cardamom powderor crushed cardamom
• 1 or 2 pinch grated nutmeg (jaayaphal or जायफल) - optional
• ½ or ¾ cup water

HOW TO MAKE RECIPE

preparing the covering

1. with the ingredients mentioned for the outer covering, make a smooth dough.
2. cover and keep the dough aside for 20-30 minutes.

preparing the filling:

1. mix all the filling ingredients.
2. cook and stir on a low or medium flame till the mixture is dry and cooked.
3. keep aside to cool.

preparing & shaping the modaks:

1. take a small ball from the dough.
2. roll thinly in to a circle of about 3-4 inches diameter.
3. gently take this circle on your palm.
4. now add the filling in the center.
5. pinch the edges one by one.
6. bring together all the pinched folds in the center.
7. shallow or deep fry the modaks in medium hot oil till golden browned.
8. drain on kitchen tissues.

RECIPE NOTES

1. instead of whole wheat flour, you can also use all purpose flour or maida or half-half of both.
2. make sure you seal the modak well. any small opening will lead to the filling being drained in the oil while frying.
3. If you want to bake modak then brush the modak with some oil or ghee. bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degree celsius. bake till the modak crust becomes golden and crisp.

step by step fried modak recipe:

1: seive the flour with salt and add warm oil to the seived flour.

2: add water and knead to a smooth but firm dough.

3: once the dough is kneaded, keep it covered for 20-30 minutes.

4: take fresh or dessicated coconut, jaggery, roasted sesame seeds, cardamom & nutmeg powder in a kadai or pan.

5: mix them all.

6: add water.

7: cook the whole mixture on a low or medium flame.

8: stir for some 8-10 minutes till the jaggery melts, the water dries up and mixture is cooked & dry. keep the mixture aside to cool.

9: take a small sized ball of the dough.

10: with a rolling pin gently make a thin round dusting the surface or the dough ball with some dry flour.

11:  take the rolled dough circle on your palm add the some spoonfuls of the filling in the center of the thin round.

12: this is an optional step – with a brush or with your finger tip, apply water on the circular edge. keep a small bowl of water on your work surface.

13: now start pinching the edges one by one. this comes from practice. so the more you make modaks, the more efficient you will be 🙂

14: bring all the pinched ends together and taper the center.

15: make all modaks this way and keep aside. cover with a cloth so that the dough does not dry out.

16: heat oil and deep fry or shallow fry themodaks on medium temperature.

17: drain the modaks on kitchen paper napkins. makes about 10-12 modaks.