New Delhi: The holy festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is considered incomplete without offering the favorite food of Ganpati Bappa. Devotees prepare various types of dishes to welcome and please Bappa, but the sweetness and devotion in 'Ukadiche Modak' i.e. steamed modak is a different thing. When the delicious stuffing of fresh coconut and jaggery is stuffed inside the outer layer of soft and tender rice flour, its taste mesmerizes everyone. If you also want to offer homemade, pure and traditional Prasad to Bappa this time, then this easy recipe will add magic of taste to your kitchen.
Correct measurement of required ingredients
To prepare the best modak, take one cup rice flour, one cup water, one and a half cup freshly grated coconut and one cup grated jaggery.
To enhance the taste, half a teaspoon of green cardamom powder, one teaspoon of poppy seeds and a pinch of nutmeg powder will be required. Along with this, two teaspoons of desi ghee is enough for kneading and frying the dough and just a pinch of salt is enough to balance the taste.
Process of making sweet stuffing
Making Prasad starts with the delicious stuffing. Heat one spoon of ghee in a pan and add poppy seeds, grated coconut and grated jaggery to it. Cook this mixture on medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes while stirring continuously until the jaggery melts completely. When the ingredients mix well, add cardamom and nutmeg powder and turn off the gas. Keep this mixture aside to cool.
Now add one cup water, one spoon ghee and a pinch of salt in another vessel and boil it. As soon as the water starts boiling, reduce the flame, slowly add the rice flour, cover the lid and let it steam for 3 to 4 minutes. After turning off the gas, when the dough remains a little lukewarm, apply a little water or ghee on your hands and knead it into a smooth and soft dough.
Shaping and Steaming Modak
Make small balls of dough and spread them like a bowl with the help of fingers and make pleats i.e. buds on its edges. Fill the cooled coconut-jaggery mixture in the middle and close the buds by bringing them together. Now spread a wet cotton cloth or banana leaf on the strainer of a steamer and place the modak and steam it for 10 to 12 minutes. After cooking, add a little saffron milk or desi ghee on top and offer it to Bappa.