One of the most popular and lovable deities in the Hindu pantheon is Ganesha, the Lord of wisdom and prosperity, remover of obstacles, also known as Vignaharta. His devotees come up with umpteen varieties of modak every year, to offer as bhog to Bappa. From gorgeous Indian mithais like motichoor, peda and kaju katli to Nutella and jelly, modaks get a contemporary spin. Diet modak creators have put forth yummy yet low on calories bhog for Ganaraya. Here are some different and new varieties of modaks available in market today.
Jelly modak: Easy to prepare with fresh fruit extracts or juice and China grass (agar agar), these wobbly modaks are sure to captivate children’s fancy. They need to be refrigerated for best taste. Alpa Poladia, Founder of Jellyicious Art Delicacies, Mumbai, reveals that vegetarian (gelatin-free) jelly modaks prepared from real fruits like red dragonfruit, kiwi, plum, and guava are a novelty.
Basil mawa and Gulkand wellness modaks: Loaded with the immunity-boosting tulsi leaves and rose petals, these two varieties have takers among the fitness conscious. The innovative mother-daughter duo Vaishali and Juhi Sawant from Pune, make sure to present their offerings artistically with a visual appeal.
Ragi and Hibiscus modak: Want a healthy version, go for gluten-free and sugar-free modaks. These modaks contain ragi’s nutritious goodness with a boost of beta-carotene and vitamin C of petals. They are stuffed with petals and dryfruits, suggests Kushkant Tripathi, Director of Food and Beverage at Intercontinental Marine Drive.
Paneer Modak: Paneer or cottage cheese isn’t just an item to be used in savoury dishes. The Indian cottage cheese has found its way to the desserts menu. If you want to surprise visitors coming home for darshan, these paneer modaks will do the trick. To prepare these protein-rich modaks at home, cook crumbled cottage cheese with condensed milk and saffron on low flame till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, shares Priyanka Baliga, a foodie and home chef from Mapusa, Goa. Add the mixture to a mould, let is set, and your modak is ready.
Motichoor modak: Use motichoor recipe but instead of rolling it into roundels, give the shape of a modak. Add almond, pista slivers and saffron for an added colourful effect, says Maharaj Bhawar Singh, Corporate Chef — Khandani Rajdhani in different cities across India and with International outlets too.
Nutella chocolate brownie modak: Brownie and Nutella lovers will surely like to indulge in these delicious modaks. Brownie crumbles with a dollop of Nutella are pressed in a modak mould a surplus boost of dry fruits. At least that’s how Chef Vinayak Patil of Butterfly High restaurant says he makes them.
Paan modak: You might have heard about and even eaten paan ice-cream. But, have you tried the paan modak yet? Made with betel leaves, gulkand, dessicated coconut, and condensed milk, these modaks are a perfect way to end a festive meal.
Savoury modak: Picking up in pan-India are salty modaks like Chinese veggies (sweetcorn, edamame, cabbage) replacing coconut-jaggery and other savoury modaks. Radhika Iyer, a homemaker from Bhopal, prepares traditional sweet and savoury modaks. Called Usili kozhukattai in Tamil, it has the same wrap, but in an elliptical shape as ukadiche modak, and is filled with coarsely ground, steamed and seasoned urad dal with curry leaves.
Baked modaks: They are made by baking chocolate barfi, kesar peda cheesecakes or kaju katli and mixed with chocolate ganache. Rachel Goenka, CEO & Founder of The Chocolate Spoon Company, has introduced these three delicious modak flavours at Sassy Spoon outlets in Mumbai and Pune.
Steamed dryfruit: The nutrient-dense dryfruits in steamed modak is a quick recipe and make for a hearty bhog. Daksh Shankar Sirwani, Chef de Cuisine at Hotel Crowne Plaza, Jaipur, has come up with this and a dark chocolate variety too.
Recipes
Gluten and sugar-free Ragi and Hibiscus Modak
Ingredients:
10-15 Rose petals
10-15 Hibiscus flower petals
3 whole Figs
3 whole Dates
2 gm Saffron
50 gm Grated coconut
100 gm Ragi flour
200 gm Rice flour
A pinch of Cardamom powder
300 ml Water
Method: Boil water in a pot. Add one gram saffron, shredded rose and hibiscus petals to boiling water. Boil till it releases a bright red colour. To the mixture, first add rice flour and mix together followed by ragi flour. Mix it well to form a consistency of dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. For the stuffing, add chopped figs, chopped dates, grated coconut, rose and hibiscus petals, remaining saffron and cardamom powder to a pan and mix well. Cook this mixture for five minutes to lightly roast it till all ingredients are mixed well and set aside. Take a bit of dough and roll into a ball two inches wide. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough ball as thin as possible into a round shape. Place the round sheet on your palm and add a spoonful of the stuffing in the centre. Pinch the ends of the sheet together, forming pleats as you go around the sheet. Slowly close the pleats together till the tips meet and pinch the top to close the opening. Repeat the process with the remaining modaks. Place a steamer in a pan filled with water. Line the steamer with a banana leaf, grease it with some oil and place the modaks for steaming. Steam for 10 minutes. Remove from the steamer and garnish with petals and saffron. Serve hot.
(Recipe by Kushkant Tripathi, FnB Director, Intercontinental, Marine Drive)
Nutella Chocolate Brownie Modak
95 gm Brownie
10 gm Pista
10 gm Almonds
10 gm Cashews
20 gm Nutella
20 gm Chocolate sauce
Method: Take a bowl. Make Chocolate brownie crumble. Add chocolate sauce and dry fruits. Take modak mould fill it with the brownie mixture. Stuff it with Nutella and press sides tightly. Remove and dust each with brownie crumble. The Nutella chocolate Brownie Modak is ready.
(Recipe by Vinayak Patil, Corporate Chef, Butterfly High, Mumbai)
Motichoor Modak
Ingredients
1 bowl Gram Flour
One and a half bowl Sugar
One and a half bowl Water
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
1 tbsp Chopped Pista
10-15 Saffron leaves
Vegetable oil or ghee for deep fry
Method: Add half bowl water to gram flour slowly to make a thin batter without lumps and add 1 tbsp oil. Beat it for 5-7 minutes with beater to make it fluffy. Heat ghee in a pan on medium flame. Hold jhar (a big round spoon with multiple small holes in it) just above the pan and put batter on it and tap at edge of the jhar to let small droplets fall in the oil. Fry it for 5-7 minutes on medium flame and take it out in a plate. Make a one-string syrup by boiling water and sugar. Add cardamom powder, pista and saffron in sugar syrup and put off gas. Add boondi in sugar syrup and properly mix it and keep for 15 minutes. Insert boondi mixture in modak mould and press it tightly. Remove from mould. Repeat. If you do not have modak mould then make it with hand and give shape of modak.
