Modak (Ukadiche)

Steamed rice dumplings filled with sweet coconut filling (made specially for Lord Ganesha for the Ganpati festival and other festivals in India that celebrate lord Ganesha).

I have recently made a video version of this recipe. you can watch it here.

I probably started making Modaks, when I was 2-3 years old, with my great grandmom, grandmom and mom.  I am so nostalgic, writing about this, it takes me straight to the ‘grand’ kitchen of my old house, where 4 generations used to work together in the kitchen super early in the morning, every Ganesh Chaturthi to have the 21 modaks ready in time for the morning Pooja. My Grandmom would make the filling the night before and the morning of Ganpati, she would make the rice dough and was in charge of steaming the modaks that were ready. My great grandmom, helped with the kneading of the rice dough and my mother was the delegated the most important task of shaping the modaks, because she was the best modak-maker and all the 21 modaks needed to look identical in the beautiful prasad (offering) plate, just like the one in the picture above! Ganpati also happens to be my most favorite festival and also time of the year with monsoons in India! I tried to emulate mom’s beautiful modaks while aji would be busy batching the steaming of the modaks and my great grandmom would sit on a highchair and supervise us and appreciate our artwork 🙂  How I miss those days! I soon started making Modaks as pretty-looking as my mom’s and was “allowed” to include my creations in the prasad plate 🙂 Mom can also make extra complicated artistic modaks, such as modaks with 21 petals, or a two tiered modak – you know what I am going to have her make these and post a picture here! I am not there quite yet 😉

After moving to the US, I first had to make everything from scratch, the dough, filling, all the works, and it was not just doing my favorite part which is shaping the modaks! So I got our heirloom recipe from my mom – I know making modaks can be intimidating, but I assure you you can’t go wrong with this recipe 🙂

This recipe makes around 30-35 medium-sized modaks. I make very large modaks, so I end up making only about 21-25 from this recipe.

in general, one fresh coconut makes 7-8 large modaks or 10-12 medium sized modaks. For each coconut, you need dough made with about 1 cup of rice flour. I take about 2 minutes to make each modak.

handy planning tip 😛 – So to make 21 modaks (popular number to make for Ganesha pooja), you will need 3 fresh coconuts, 4 cups of rice flour and about 1 hour (with the dough and filling prepared earlier)

You can easily scale up or down.

You will need:

For filling:
3 freshly grated coconuts OR 1 packet frozen grated coconut (I used daily delight brand in the US)- completely thawed at room temp (do not Microwave)- squeeze the coconut by hand and get rid of the milky water in it- this packet yields about 4 cups coconut
1 cup minced Jaggery
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ghee or coconut oil, if you want to keep it vegan
1 teaspoon powdered cardamom seeds (3-4 pods)
1/2 teaspoon saffron strands- crushed

you can also use all sugar or all jaggery. I just like the mixed taste better.

For the rice dough:
4 cups water
4 cups fine rice flour – sieve it if you think its a little coarse
4 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon salt

For Preparation:
a cup each of water and oil (for dipping fingers in, to make the dough easier and smoother to work with)
Pieces of damp muslin cloth or strong kitchen roll
Some kind of a steamer (here, I used an idli steamer or sometimes I use the steamer that came with my rice cooker)

Procedure:

Make the filling first- this has to be at room temperature completely before you fill it in the modak. I normally make it the night before and keep it covered at room temperature, to use in the morning. You can also make it earlier in advance and store it in the fridge, just bring it to room temperature before filling in the modak.

• Take the coconut, Jaggery, sugar and ghee in a large non-stick pan or a heavy bottom steel pan and start cooking on low heat stirring CONSTANTLY.
• Break pieces of Jaggery with the spatula while stirring.
• The filling transforms as you continue cooking as shown in the pictures.
• The sugar and Jaggery will dissolve and mix with the coconut and become a nice homogeneous mixture.
• I cooked it on the lowest heat on my stove for about 16 minutes. Take it off the heat.
• Mix in the saffron and cardamom powder when the mixture is a little cooled off.
• Cool this filling thoroughly at room temperature.  (the pictures at zero time, 5, 10 and 15 minutes)

if you make the filling in advance, make sure to refrigerate it and get it to room temperature before filling the modak

To make the dough:
This has to be made just a little before the actual modak-making cannot be made in advance. It has to be warm and pliable when making the modaks.

• Bring the water to a rolling boil, add oil and salt.
• Add the rice flour  and **turn off the heat immediately** stir constantly.
• it will get very thick and dry, some of the rice flour will not hydrate, and remain chalky and powdery this is ok (sorry I forgot to take a picture at this point) **DO NOT COOK THIS MIXTURE, turn the heat off immediately after adding the rice flour**.
• Make cuts in the rice mixture with the spatula and cover it with a plate, locking in all the steam.
• Leave covered for about 5-10 minutes.
• Open  the lid and take the rice mixture in manageable portions at a time in a
  big dish and knead it into a smooth soft dough (soft play dough like consistency)
• Dip hand in oil (to avoid scalding) and add cold water little at a time if needed. Knead until you get a smooth, homogenous dough.
  – Cover the dough balls with a wet piece of cloth or wet kitchen roll to avoid drying and cracking
• This dough is partially cooked, which is ok as it will get completely cooked when the modaks are steamed.

Modak preparation:

• Keep a bowl of water and another of oil handy. Take a medium sized ball of rice dough and make a smooth oval ball. Poke the tall end of the oval ball with thumb and start making a cup shape out of the ball (as if working with clay!).
• When you have a uniformly thin large cup, fill a couple tablespoons or so of the filling mixture into the bowl. Start pinching the edges of the bowl into creases or folds that stick out. Don’t go upto where the filling comes in contact with the cup (as this will make the cover tear).
• Throughout the shaping process dip fingers in oil and water to prevent the cup from cracking due to dryness. Once the entire circumference is folded, gather up all the folds with your palm in the centre on the top of the cup and press them together to make a peak (called “nose” in Marathi)
• Cover the prepared modaks with a wet cloth until you have enough to fit in one batch of your steamer.

• Line the steamer with Muslim cloth or banana leaves, or just brush a little oil.
• Bring water to a boil in the lower compartment of the steamer.
• Dip each modak in water and place it over the lined top of the steamer. I also like to spray the tops of the modals very lightly with water. Place the top in the steamer that has boiling water and close the lid and steam for just about 5-10 minutes.

Serve hot with ghee and/or coconut milk.