Ganesh Chaturthi 2017: Here's How You Can Make Guilt-Free Modak at Home

Festivity is in the air as we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi starting today, a 10-day long festival commemorating the birth of Lord Ganesha. Ganesh Chaturthi is essentially a festival of rebirth and renewal. This year, the festivities begin on 25th August 2017 when devotees will welcome beautiful idols of Lord Ganesha into their homes and please him to seek his blessings by showering him with love and devotion. The celebrations will come to an end on 5th September 2017 with the immersion of Ganpati in water, bidding adieu only to be welcomed with greater sprightliness next year.

The preparations begin at least a month before the festival when artisans meticulously work on making colour clay idols and sweet shops stock up on Ganpati's favourite motichoor laddus and modaks. People decorate their homes, buy new clothes and put together everything Lord Ganesha loves the most in order to keep him happy. This time around, we suggest you do it differently. Try and experiment with guilt-free modaks that you can easily make it home. Just a few simple tweaks to the traditional fare and you can create a masterpiece of your own. Here are some ideas for inspiration.

1. Channa-Dal Modak

Chef Manjusha Ashutosh who runs Manjusha's Cooking Classes in Gurugram suggests a lovely way to prepare modaks with protein-rich channa dal. "I refer to this as the South-Indian style modak because of the use of edible camphor in it. You may have noticed that some of the ladoos served at South Indian temples as prasad have camphor mixed in them which makes them even more divine," she shares.

"Channa-dal modaks are very easy to make. Soak the channa dal for an hour. Later, drain the water and roast the dal in desi ghee. In another pan, make a chasni with gur and water and mix it with the roasted dal. You must also add some honey to impart stickiness which will allow the modak to set properly when placed in the mould. Also, a pinch of cardamom powder and nutmeg powder add a wonderful aroma to it. Finally, remove it from the fire and then add some edible camphor for a divine flavour," she explains. Once your dough is ready, knead it a bit so that it becomes smooth and then you can either shape it with your fingers or use a mould to make your modaks.

2. Millet Modaks

Food Blogger Nithya Ravi from Banglore shares some creative ways to make modaks with nutritious millets. "Modak is an irresistible and delicious offering made to Lord Ganesha. Amongst the many varieties of steamed dumplings, you can make a healthy version of the same modak using a different stuffing and a different outer covering. For instance, you can use Ragi flour to make the covering. It is full of calcium. Even Bajra flour works well. For the stuffing, you can try a mix of grated carrot along with jaggery somewhat like carrot halwa. You can also replace jaggery with brown sugar. While you experiment with different ingredients and stuffing, the method to make it remains the same as the traditional steamed rice flour modak," she shares.

Recipe: Steamed Rice Flour Modak by Anita Mokashi

3. Steamed Rava Modak

The traditional modak, also known as Ukadee che Modak, is a sweet dumpling in which the outer covering is made with rice flour and then it is filled with a mix of coconut shavings and jaggery and finally steamed. To give it a healthy spin, Chef Manjusha suggests using rava or semolina instead of rice flour. For the filling, you can use a mix of roasted and caramelised nuts.

4. Dry Fruit Modak

Here's a very interesting modak preparation that you must try. Chef Manjusha tells us that she creates a special type of modak which is only prepared with nuts, dry fruits and seeds. It does not contain an added sugar or flour. A paste of dates and apricots (soaked in water for two hours) is used to bind all the ingredients. The modak is loaded with nuts like almonds, cashews, pistas and peanuts (roasted and ground into a semi-course powder) along with sesame seeds, chironji, khus khus and desiccated coconut - all of which are also dry roasted. Finally, the nuts and seeds are mixed with the date and apricot paste in a pan with desi ghee and chopped raisins and figs to impart sweetness. When the batter turns golden brown and emits a lovely aroma, it is ready. Let it cool a bit and them place in the modak mould to set.

5. Ulunda Kozhukattai

Ulunda Kozhukattai is a type of savoury modak where the steamed rice flour dumpling is stuffed with lentils. It is made in the same way as the traditional sweet modak which is also known as Kozhukattai in South India. You can make a mix of ~CHECK~ cup soaked black gram, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 7 to 8 curry leaves, a pinch of heeng and some salt to taste. Grind the dal into a paste with water and then roast it along with other ingredients in desi ghee. Once the mix is ready, stuff it in the rice flour dough and steam like usual.

During the festivities of Ganesh Chaturthi, an offering of 21 modaks is often made to please Lord Ganesha. After the Lord 'tastes' the offerings, known as Naivedya, they are relished by his devotees as Prasad.




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