Fried modak recipe for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The crispy, flaky and fried outer cover is stuffed with sweet coconut-jaggery filling. It is a simple prasad (bhog) that’s sure to impress Bappa!
❤️Why I Love This Modak Recipe
- It’s a no-fail and beginner-friendly recipe.
- I always want my modak to have beautiful looking pleats which I can never achieve in classic ukadiche modak (when shaped with hand). But it is very easy and manageable to make in this fried modak recipe, you’ll see below in step-by-step photos.
- This fried modak prasad gets ready in under 1 hour. I know it is a little time consuming, but when it is made with love and devotion, I am sure Bappa will love this.
🧾Ingredients
So here is the pic of ingredients required to make fried modak recipe. You’ll need total 8 ingredients (3 for stuffing + 5 for outer covering). A very basic and simple list, but the end result is divine.
Coconut: It is best to use freshly grated coconut. But I never get here in the USA. So I always use frozen grated coconut which is very easily available in any Indian grocery store.
Jaggery: I have used desi gur which is semi-soft kind. You can use any type - powdered jaggery, grated jaggery block.
Semolina: It makes the outer layer super crispy.
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
Making Stuffing:
1) Take jaggery, defrosted coconut and cardamom powder in a pan on medium heat.
2) Mix, stir and cook till the mixture thickens and most of the moisture evaporates. It took me around 4-5 minutes. This cooking time depends on the quantity you are making, plus how much moisture your coconut has. Once ready remove it to a plate and let it cool down.
Making Dough:
3) Take all purpose flour, semolina and salt in a bowl. Add oil. Mix by rubbing between your fingers and thumb. It should look like breadcrumbs.
4) Now add little mil at a time and start kneading the dough.
5) The dough should be smooth yet semi-stiff (not too soft). Cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Shaping Modaks:
6) After 10 minutes, 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.
7) Roll it using a rolling pin into 4-inch diameter circle. Keep the edges a little thinner than the center part.
8) Put some stuffing in the center. Apply some water or milk to the edges with a pastry brush or with your fingertips.
9) Start pinching the edges as shown below with your finger and thumb. To make it perfect you need practice. More near you make the pleats more beautiful it looks.
10) Now bring all the pleats together in the center very carefully and pinch them together to seal it properly.
11) Do the same for all the modaks. When you are shaping the last modak, at that time heat oil in a pan on medium heat for deep frying or shallow frying.
Frying Modak:
12) Add into the hot oil. Fry in the oil till it becomes golden brown and crispy from all the sides.
13) Keep moving for even browning. I have shallow fried so I need to keep moving to make the brown from all the sides. But if you are deep frying then you might not need to move that much.
14) Then remove it to the paper towel-lined plate. Let it cool completely before offering to the god.
💭Expert Tips
- Make sure to seal the edges well otherwise, the stuffing will come out while frying and then sticks to the fried 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.
- 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.
PS Tried these modaks? Please leave a star rating in the card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback! Plus, Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates.
📋 Recipe Card
Fried Modak Recipe
Ingredients
For Stuffing
- 1 cup Coconut grated (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup Jaggery (Gur)
- ¼ teaspoon Green cardamom seeds powder
For Outer Covering
- ½ cup All purpose flour (Maida)
- ¼ cup Sooji (rava or semolina)
- a pinch Salt
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 3-4 tablespoons Milk
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
Hey kanan,
Lovely modaks! I'm planning to make 21 tomorrow, can you share proportions pls. Also for how long will these stay crisp?
Thanks!
double the ingredients to make 21.
It stays crisp for 1-2 days (of course if the weather is not humid in your area)
The way you got the shape is just the work of some great excellence. Lovely and inspiring 🙂
Thank you
This was my first attempt at making modak. This recipe turned out really awesome. Very crisp and delicious. Thank you.
Great Neeti. Happy to know that modak came out good. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi
My husband would love this recipe he is a big fan of coconut.. (I'm not) but want to make this for him .. What I have on hand is sweetened shredded coconut.. Would that work? Or should I go buy the unsweetened one?? And please if u have more coconut flavor recipes please do share with us .. I would love to make those for my husband
thanks Kanan
I would not recommend using sweetened coconut. because addition of jaggery to sweetened coconut will make stuffing too sweet or if you skip the jaggery then you won't get moisture in it and there won't be jaggery flavor. thus filling will stay dry and separated. SO better to buy fresh or frozen coconut.
Sure Pradeep, I will add more coconut flavor recipes here.
Thanks Kanan for your feedback .. I will the unsweetened kind when I go grocery shopping next time..
Hi. I tries dis modak and they turned out very well. Thanks a lot for sharing such a quick n yummy thing with us. Please share walunut pie recipe also as I'm keen in making that at home
Thanks for your feedback, it will be helpful to other readers. I will add walnut pie in my recipe list and will share the recipe here.