Ukadiche Modak

There are a few things I cook only when the house already smells like a festival. Modak is one of them.

Every Ganesh Chaturthi, before anyone sits down to eat, a small plate goes to Ganpati first — a few steamed modaks, still warm, the rice-flour skin a little shiny from ghee. I used to watch my mother pinch those tiny pleats with two fingers. Some came out neat. Some leaned to one side. All of them tasted like home.

Ukadiche means steamed. No frying, no sugar syrup. Just a soft rice-flour cover and a filling of coconut and jaggery. The dough needs to be warm, the filling almost dry, and you don’t chase perfect pleats on the first try.

Thoughtsout
Serve them hot, with a drop of ghee on top. Cold modak is still good. Hot modak is why you made them.

Ingredients

For the filling

• 1 cup fresh grated coconut (not desiccated)
• 3/4 cup grated jaggery
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
• A small pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• 1 teaspoon white poppy seeds, optional
• 1 tablespoon chopped cashews, optional

For the cover

• 1 cup fine rice flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• A pinch of salt
• A little extra ghee, for greasing your palms

Steam

Steam on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. They are done when the cover looks a little translucent and does not taste raw. Brush with ghee and serve while they are still warm.

Method

1. Melt ghee in a pan. Add coconut and stir one minute. Add jaggery. Stir 4–5 minutes until it leaves the sides. It should still feel soft, not hard.
2. Take it off the heat. Stir in cardamom, nutmeg, poppy seeds, and cashews. Cool it on a plate. Hot filling tears the dough.
3. Boil water with ghee and salt. Lower the heat. Add the rice flour all at once and mix fast. Cover on a low flame for 2 minutes, then switch off and leave the lid on for 2 more minutes.
4. When the dough is warm, not cold, knead it smooth. If it cracks, add a teaspoon of warm water. If it sticks, add a drop of ghee. Keep it covered with a damp cloth.
5. Take a lemon-sized ball. Flatten it into a small bowl, thinner at the edges. Put a teaspoon of filling in the centre. Do not overfill.
6. Pinch small pleats and gather them into a peak. If pleats feel like too much, just seal the top. Keep shaped modaks under a damp cloth.
7. Grease the steamer or line it with wet muslin. Leave a little space between modaks. Steam 10–12 minutes. Brush with ghee and serve hot.

Common mistakes

Cold or dry dough cracks. Wet or generous filling opens in the steamer. Steaming too long makes the cover hard. Ten to twelve minutes is usually enough.

Questions people ask

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