Making stuffing:- Take jaggery, defrosted coconut and cardamom powder in a pan on medium heat.- Mix, stir and cook till the mixture thickens and most of the moisture evaporates. It took me around 4-5 minutes.- Once ready remove it to a plate and let it cool down.
Making dough:- Take all purpose flour, semolina and salt in a bowl. Add oil and mix by rubbing between your fingers and thumb. It should look like breadcrumbs.- Now add little mil at a time and start kneading the dough. The dough should be smooth yet semi-stiff (not too soft). - Cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Shaping modak: - After resting time knead the dough once again; divide it into 10 equal portions. Roll each portion in a ball and flatten it out with your palms.- Take one flattened disc on the rolling board and keep rest covered with the kitchen towel.- Roll it using a rolling pin into 4-inch diameter circle. Keep the edges a little thinner than the center part.- Put some stuffing in the center. Apply some water or milk to the edges with a pastry brush or with your fingertips.- Start pinching the edges with your finger and thumb to make pleats. To make it perfect you need practice.- Now bring all the pleats together in the center very carefully and pinch them together to seal it properly. Do the same for all the modaks.
Frying modak:- When you are shaping the last modak, at that time heat oil in a pan on medium heat for deep frying or shallow frying.- Fry in the hot oil till it becomes golden brown and crispy from all the sides. Keep moving for even browning. Then remove it to the paper towel-lined plate. Let it cool completely
Notes
Make sure to seal the edges well otherwise, the stuffing will come out while frying and then sticks to the modak surface (which doesn’t look good and ruin the entire oil).
Instead of all purpose flour, you can use whole wheat flour. If so, the outer layer will be slightly dense in texture because of the wheat flour.
Q: How do I know oil is ready for frying?A: Oil should be medium hot for frying. Check the oil by dropping a pinch of dough in the oil.
If it comes on the top very immediately then the oil is too hot.
If it takes too long to come on top then the oil is not enough hot.
If it comes on top after a second or two, this is the right temperature to fry the modak.