Modak is rich sweet dumpling made during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in India. It is offered to Lord Ganesha. Modak used to be my all-time favorite sweet especially this time of the year.
Traditional Modak is a steamed dumpling made from rice flour and had a filling of coconut and jaggery. It is called Ukadiche Modak. However, there are many variations of modak like fried modak, chocolate modak, Mawa Modak etc
What is kesar and where can I find it?
Kesar is saffron thread. It not only gives a nice yellow color to the modak but also adds a rich flavor. Most grocery stores keep saffron in their spice aisle. You can also find it online here. (affiliate link)
Remember to use only a few strands of kesar. When used in excess, it can quickly turn bitter.
How to get the perfect shape of Modak?
To get the neat defined Modak shape, use a modak mold. I got mine from India. But now a days you can also find it online here (affiliate link). Modak can also be prepared without the mold. For this, take some mawa mixture and make a base on the palm while narrowing it on the top like a pointed dome. It won’t be well defined, but it works.
If you feel that the mawa mixture is too soft to shape into modaks, then refrigerate it for an hour and then use to make modaks. Also, if the Modak is crumbling and not coming out from the mold easily, then grease the inside of the mold with some ghee (clarified butter) before making the modaks.
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Kesar Mawa Modak
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- ½ cup Cream
- ½ cup Milk
- Few Strands Saffron
- 105 g Milk Powder (approx. 1 cup)
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch powder
- 6 Green Cardamom
- 65 g Icing Sugar
Instructions
- Crush seeds of 6 green cardamom using a mortar and pestle and keep it aside.
- In a deep non-stick pan, heat 2 tbsp salted butter over medium heat. Once the butter starts to melt, add ½ cup of cream and keep stirring it continuously using a spatula until the mixture becomes silky smooth.
- Now add ½ cup milk and few strands of saffron in the pan and continue stirring it. Soon the milk will strart getting a rich yellow color as the saffron gets infused in the milk.
- As soon as the milk starts simmering, add 105 g (approx. 1 cup) of Milk powder and mix rigorously using a whisk or a spatula. Make sure there aren’t any lumps.
- Now add 1 tbsp of cornstarch and continue mixing using a spatula. In a minute or so the cornstarch will be cooked, and you will see the mixture getting thick and leaving the sides of the non-stick pan. At this stage the mawa is ready.
- Then transfer this mawa mixture onto a plate. While the mawa is still warm, add the crushed green cardamom and fold in 65 g Icing Sugar. Mix well using a spatula ensuring that sugar is thoroughly mixed. The modak mixture is ready.
- If you feel that the mawa mixture is too soft to shape into modaks, then refrigerate it for an hour and then use to make modaks. This step will help make the modaks with ease.
- Now take some mawa mixture in your hand and make it into a ball using your palms. Then press the mawa ball into the mold. Close the mold, press firmly, and remove the excess mawa mixture from it. Then open the mould and gently take out the modak from the mold. Place it on a plate and repeat the same step to prepare the rest of the modaks.
- This mixture shold yield you approx. 10 modaks.
- Refrigerate the modak for an hour before serving. This will help modaks retain its shape. The Kesar Mawa Modak is ready!