Food Friday | Once upon a time, there was a modak

The first time I tasted a modak was at a college friend’s old ancestral home in Ghatkopar. While studying in Mumbai, thousands of miles away from home, I remember that experience to be of great importance. The steamed goodness of the sweet, traditionally made in homes during Ganesh Chaturthi was unique and familiar at the same time to a Bengali yearning for home.

The ‘ukadiche modak’ (steamed sweet dumpling) is possibly the most integral part of celebrating Vinayak Chaturthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesha, I had learned. With its first mentions going back to Susruta Samhita, there is no doubt that modaks are indeed an old recipe, old enough to be simple and delicious, and made with ingredients most had at home anyway – rice flour, coconut, jaggery and a steamer. The dumpling is also called kudumu in Telugu, kadubu in Kannada, kozhakatta in Malayalam and kozhukattai in Tamil. A similar style of rice flour dumpling in bengal is called ‘pithe’.

My childhood was full of little pujas, havans, and celebrations at home and it was unquestionably the sweets, the mélange of ghee-laden delicious offerings to the gods that demanded all my attention on such days. There is a luscious enchantment in the many assortments of ‘bhog’ (food offered to gods in Hinduism) in our diverse nation.

A bouquet of 21 Modaks are offered to Ganesha this time of the year, as rendered in mythology from a story of Ganesha beating Karthik in a race to circumnavigate the world three times, with smartness and wisdom. Instead of the world, Bappa took three rounds around his parents while Karthik flew around the world on his peacock, Lord Shiva and Parvati, thus being conferred the title of the god of art and writing.

As Shweta Agarwal, Founder of Genda Phool says, “In India, every festival is synonymous with a special treat, Thandai for Holi, Tilgul Chikki for Makar Sankranti or Modak for Ganesh Chaturthi. Each of these delectable mithai marks the arrival of the festivities. As mithai-makers, these festive seasons also give us a chance to get creative and curate fresh and special offerings.”

Agarwal told me that she has created Vanilla, Kesar, Pista, Chana Dal and hazelnut fillings for the festive collection of Genda Phool this year. The Blue Gourmet by Rahul Bajaj has innovated with Paan, Hazelnut and Salted Caramel flavours and are confident that these sweet treats are sure to make a statement.

Le Sutra Hospitality’s Rahul Bajaj always wanted to open his own chocolate factory and realized his dream by studying and understanding the process of growing, harvesting and processing cacao. It resulted in a single origin cacao farm in Kerala supplying exclusively to the Blue Gourmet for couverture chocolates.

The influence of chocolate on modak making has been a significant turn towards increasing the shelf life of these delicate dumplings. ITC’s Fabelle Exquisite Chocolate joins the festive zeal with its newly launched creation namely Fabelle Chocolate Modak Creations. Encased with the goodness of traditional ingredients, it features handcrafted milk & white chocolate modaks.

Chef Vikram Khatri, Director of Culinary at The Westin Pune attributes this switchover from the traditional coconut jaggery cardamom filling to the demand for something new. “As we are in the era of social media, and based on the consumer’s ever-changing preferences, experimenting with traditional recipes is a given, and if done keeping authenticity in mind is always exciting.”

Khatri’s Rose Gulkand modak is a delightful recipe that I have shared with our dear readers at the end of this article.

Patasa, an artisanal dessert brand curated by Palak Panchal, also offers the traditional modak with a modern twist. Nawabi modak, sugar-free dates and fig modak with roasted nuts; Choco caramel modak, citrus modak and almond modak with orange filling are on the brand’s offerings.

Naturally, sweet modaks are not great for diabetics and health-conscious consumers. The Conscious Baker hence offers vegan and diabetic-friendly modaks among other items, striking a balance between healthy and decadent. A gluten & sugar-free ragi hibiscus modaks could also be your choice of indulgence this week!

There is also a fried version called ‘Talalele modak’ for those who like a crunch. I personally am devoted to the soft, steamed ukadiche.

Ragi Hibiscus Modak by Executive Chef Prashant Bhoir of Hotel Intercontinental, Marine Lines

INGREDIENTS

Rose petals 10-15

Hibiscus flower petals 10-15

Fig 3 whole

Dates 3 whole

Saffron 2 gms

Grated coconut 50 gms

Ragi flour 100 gms

Rice flour 200 gms

Cardamom powder a pinch

Water 300 ml

METHOD

Boil some water in a pot. Add 1 gm saffron, shredded rose and hibiscus petals to the boiling water and boil till it releases a bright red colour. To the mixture, first add rice flour and mix together followed by ragi flour. Mix well to form a consistent dough and let it rest for 10 mins. 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 5 minutes to lightly roast it and set aside. Take a bit of dough and roll into a ball 2 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 place a spoonful of stuffing in the center. 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. Repeat for the remaining modaks. Place a steamer in a pan filled with water after lining it with a banana leaf. Grease with oil and place the modaks on steam for 10 minutes. Remove from steamer and garnish with petals and saffron. Serve hot.

Rose Gulkand Modak by Chef Vikram Khatri, Director of Culinary at The Westin Pune Koregaon Park

INGREDIENTS

For Stuffing

Gulkand ¼ Cup

Mixed Nuts, chopped 2 tbsp

Desiccated Coconut 1 tbsp

For Outer Covering

Mawa/Khoya, crumbled 2 Cups

Powdered Sugar ¾ Cup

Rose Syrup 2 tbsp

METHOD

For stuffing, combine all the ingredients and mix well, keep aside. For outer covering, heat a heavy bottom pan on low flame. Add mawa and keep stirring for a minute, mawa will start melting. Add sugar and stir for a minute. When the mixture starts leaving fat, add rose syrup and cook till mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan. Turn off the flame and transfer the mixture to a plate, allowing it to cool. When the mixture is still warm, gently knead it into dough. Divide the dough into equal portions and make smooth balls. Grease the modak mold with ghee and stuff a mawa ball. Press the ball to cover the sides of the mold and make a cavity in the centre. Fill in the stuffing and with a small portion of dough, cover the base of the modak. Gently unmold the modaks and repeat with others.

(The author is a travel blogger at themoonchasers.com covering interesting stories in food & beverage and culture from her experiences)

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