Modak (with coconut stuffing)

Modak is a sweet which is mainly made as an offering to Lord Ganesha. It is known to be his favorite sweet. Thus Modak is always made duing Ganesh Chaturthi days and Sankasthi Chaturthi days. A modak consists of an outer cover which can be made of wheat flour, all-purpose flour or a mix of 2 or more flours. The stuffing inside can also be of different types. In the recipe here I have used a coconut jaggery based stuffing. Other common stuffings used are coconut-sugar, split bengal gram(chana dal)-jaggery etc. You can find the recipe for wheat based modaks here. Also the modaks can be deep fried or steamed.

Below is the recipe with step by step pictures.

Makes : 21 Modaks
Preparation Time : 30 min
Cooking Time : 25 min

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour : 1 n 1/2 cup
Scrapped Coconut : 1 cup
Jaggery : 3/4th cup (grated)
Cashew pieces : 1 -2 tbsp
Oil : for deep frying the modaks
Cardamom Powder : a pinch (optional)
Salt : as per taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Mix the jaggery and coconut and place in a pan on low flame. This will melt any jaggery pieces. Remove from flame.
2. Add cashew pieces to the coconut jaggery stuffing and keep aside. You can add cardamom powder at this stage.
3. Knead a soft dough adding maida, salt and sufficient amount of water.
4. Divide the dough into 21 small balls. Roll each dough ball into a small disc of around 4-5 cm diameter.
5. Place some stuffing (around 3/4th to 1 tsp) in the center of the disc. Bring together the edges and lightly press with your fingers. Your modak is ready to be fried. In the same manner, get all the modaks ready with the stuffing.
6. Heat oil in a skillet. Once the oil is hot enough, gently slide modak in the oil. Fry the modak till it appears slightly golden in color. Remove from oil on absorbent paper. Fry all modaks in similar manner. You can fry 3-4 modaks together depending on the size of your skillet.

Modak Recipe