Easy Homemade Modak

I do not know about you but I am already super excited for the festive season that is just around the corner. You can feel it in the air with the weather changing and people getting ready for what we call, the celebration of Ganesha’s arrival, the very loved, Ganesh Chaturthi! I have the perfect recipe of easy homemade modak for you that will make this Ganesh Chaturthi even better. 

To make these easy homemade modak, you need very limited ingredients, and it barely takes any time to put together. I used my recipe to also make a chocolate version for which you only need one additional ingredient. 

Let us take a look at what it is that you actually need and the process of making modaks at home. 

What is a modak 

Modak is actually a very popular Indian sweet dish that somewhat looks like a dumpling. It is made widely during Ganesh Chaturthi because it is one of Lord Ganesha’s favorite dishes and is used in the prayers. 

It has two components: the outer shell and the filling. The filling is traditionally made with coconut and jaggery. The outer shell is traditionally made with rice flour mixed with a few other ingredients. 

Modak can actually be cooked in two different ways- it can either be steamed or be fried. Steamed modak is actually called ukdiche modak and is popularly served with hot ghee. For easy homemade modak, I decided to do things with a twist and with ingredients that might already be in your pantry. 

Which mould to buy 

I bought cute little modak moulds to make easy modaks at home. There are so many options online, it can easily be confusing which one to buy. The ones I chose were these cute aluminium ones. You can find the link here.

You can actually make these modaks without any moulds at all! Just shape them with your own hands. Take some dough and flatten it out on your palm. Add the filling in the center and then bring different edges of the dough, to meet in the center. The just slightly pull up the center point, making it sharp. And your modaks will be ready!

Easy homemade modak shell 

The first thing you need to make is the outer shell. For this, you need: milk powder, a can of condensed milk, ghee, and cardamom powder for some extra flavor.

This will make the base of the modak shells. After this has been cooked, you can divide the mixture into two equal halves. Leave one half as is and for the other half, that is our chocolate half, you will also need four teaspoons of cocoa powder. 

Filling for easy homemade modak 

The filling for these modaks could honestly not be any easier. I decided to combine the flavors of coconut, jaggery, and crushed pistachios for a great tasting filling. All you need to do is mix all of this together and that is it. Your filling is good to go. 

Process of making easy homemade modak 

The first thing you need to do is cook your filling. So in a saucepan add milk powder, condensed milk, cardamom powder, and ghee. Cook this on medium low heat until the mixture becomes thick and slightly coats the bottom of the pan. This mixture contains condensed milk so it will get very hot while its cooking. Be cautious of directly touching the mixture as it might burn your fingers. Use a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to deal with the mixture. 

Once cooked, divide the mixture in two equal halves and transfer in two separate bowls. Keep one half aside and for the other half, add in four teaspoons of cocoa powder. If your cocoa powder is very lumpy. Just use a small sieve and sift it in the mixture and then use a spatula to combine. This will be the outer shell for our chocolate modaks. 

Let the two mixtures cool down slightly in their respective bowls. Once they are warm enough to safely touch with your fingers, make medium sized spheres of the mixture and push it inwards, into the modak mould.
Push the dough up the sides as well, leaving a well in the center. Add in the filling in this well and top it off with the some additional mixture to lock the filling in, and fully cover the modak mould upto the top, making a closed base. 

Repeat the same process till all your mixture has been used and modaks have been made. You can keep these in the refrigerator till everyone gets ready for the pooja. 

Tips to make easy homemade modak 

The recipe is fairly an easy one but even then, a few things can go wrong here and there

1. While cooking the mixture for the outer shell, make sure to only do that on low medium heat. Increasing the heat will only burn the mixture and not cook it any faster. 
2. Make sure to constantly keep moving the mixture with a spatula or a wooden spoon. This will ensure nothing burns at the bottom. 
3. It can take upto 7-8 minutes also for the filling to be fully cooked. Just be patient and do not rush through the process. 
4. Once cooked, and divided in two separate bowls, let the mixture cool down a little. When the mixture is right off the stove, it is extremely hot and can burn your fingers if you try to work with it. 
5. While stuffing the mixture into the modak moulds, make sure your mould is nicely locked and is not flimsy otherwise it will open up in the middle of stuffing it and ruin the shape. 
6. Once you have made a cavity i n the center of the modak and filled it, make sure to stuff some more modak mixture on top to seal the modak nicely. It should reach the top circumference completely so that you have the perfect modak shape. 
7. Be very careful while opening the modak mould in order to demould the modak inside. If you apply too much pressure, the modak might lose its shape. 
8. Sometimes, no matter how gentle you are, the modak is still losing shape upon demoulding, just refrigerate the modaks while still in the mould. This will firm them up a little and make it easier to demould them. 

I hope you have a lot of fun making these easy modaks at home. If you do, do not forget to share images with my on my Instagram @shivesh17. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

 

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Ingredients

• 1 can (400gms) condensed milk
• 2 cups (240gms) milk powder
• Pinch of cardamom powder
• 1 +1/2 (22gms) tbsp ghee
• 4 tsp (10gms) cocoa powder

Filling:

• 1tbsp (12gms) jaggery
• 2tbsp (15gms) chopped pistachios
• 1tbsp (7gms) shredded coconut

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over low medium heat add condensed milk, milk powder, cardamom powder, and ghee.
2. Give this a good mix and cook it till the mixture becomes thick. Mix it continuously so that nothing burns from the bottom.
3. Once thick, divide the mixture into two equal halves and put each half in a separate bowl.
4. In one of the bowl, add in cocoa powder and mix that in as well. This will be the shell for the chocolate modak.
5. Let the mixtures cool down a little in their two bowls.
6. To make the filling, simply combine crushed pistachios, jaggery powder and shredded coconut.
7. take a portion of the modak mixture and shape it into a rough sphere. Push down the sphere into the mould and make a well in the center.
8. Fill half of the center with the filling and cover the top of the mould with some more modak mixture.
9. Gently open the mould and demould the modak.
10. Garnish with golden leaf or as you wish.
11. Enjoy!

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