Ukadiche Modak (Steamed Modak)

Ukadiche Modak recipe for Ganesh Chaturthi Festival. This recipe makes soft, melt-in-your-mouth kind outer layer stuffed with chewy, sweet coconut filling. They have the perfect combination of flavors and textures. In other words, pure festive bliss! 

For cooking them, the steaming method is used. So they are also called ‘steamed modak’.

What is Ukadiche Modak? 

Ukadiche is the Marathi word, meaning ‘steamed’. Modak is the sweet treat and there are many verities of modak recipes. This is a traditional and classic Maharashtrian recipe usually made on the first day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival as an offering (Prasad) to Lord Ganesha.

These steamed modak are made of three main ingredients – rice flour, jaggery and coconut. These three are said to be local produce of Maharashtra.

There are three steps in making ukadiche modak. (1) make stuffing (2) make outer layer dough (3) Shape and steam.

These homemade steamed modak may require more effort than some other sweet dishes but they are well worth it! 

❤️ Lord Ganesha’s Favorite Food: Modak

This classic ukadiche modak is one of Ganpati Bappa’s favorite foods. So these are made with devotion and offered to him as a prasad (naivedya) during Ganesh Mahotsav. Check out my collection of 10 different modak recipes to impress Bappa.

Apart from this, ladoo are his favorite. Plus, few other savory dishes (like poori bhaji, varan bhaat, rice poori, rishi panchami bhaji) are also offered to him as a bhog.

🧾 Ingredient For Ukadiche Modak Recipe

Here is the pic of the ingredients used in ukadiche modak. You’ll need 10 ingredients (6 for stuffing + 4 for outer covering). Don’t forget to read a few notes about them after the pic.

• Coconut: Here in the USA, I rarely find a fresh coconut. So most of the time I use frozen grated coconut and it works perfectly fine. Many use dry coconut in the absence of it. But fresh (frozen) is a better choice.
• Jaggery: The stuffing color purely depends on the color of your jaggery. In the above pic, you see dark colored jaggery. But in the step-by-step pics (shot in 2015), I have used lighter colored one. 
• Poppy seeds: It is optional. These are white poppy seeds aka khuskhus (not the one that you find on bagels).
• Rice flour: I have used the regular rice flour that is easily available in Indian grocery stores. It works fine if shaping them using mould. 
  • You can shape them by hand by making pleats (you’ll see below), but the dough is easily breakable and you won’t be able to make near pleats to make it look beautiful as the sweet shops. 
  • To avoid breaking the dough, you’ll need to add 2 teaspoons of glutinous rice flour (easily available in Asian supermarkets)

👩‍🍳 How To Make Ukadiche Modak? (Pics) 

Making Stuffing For Ukadiche Modak:

1) Take grated coconut and jaggery in a pan on medium heat.

2) As jaggery melts, the mixture becomes loose and runny. Continue cooking till it becomes thick and most of the moisture evaporates. It takes around 6-7 minutes. The cooking time depends on how much moisture your coconut and jaggery has. So keep an eye on it.

3) Now add poppy seeds, cashews, raisins and cardamom powder.

4) Mix and cook a minute. Turn off the stove, remove the stuffing to a plate and let it cool down.

Making The Dough For Outer Covering:

5) Bring water to a boil and add ghee. Keep the heat on medium-low.

6) Add rice flour and stir immediately to avoid lumps. It will come together like a dough.

7) Cover it with lid and Cook for 2-3 minutes. Do stir once or twice in between.

8) Remove it to a plate and let it cool to touch.

9) Once it is warm or cool enough to handle. Start kneading and if it feels hot, apply some water on your palm and continue kneading.

10) Make the smooth and lump-free dough.

Shaping Method 1: Using Modak Mould

1) Grease the inside of the mould using ghee. Take a small ball from the dough.
2) Add one ball into the mould.
3) Press it tightly and make the hollow center. Use your finger to shape it.
4) Add the stuffing & lightly press it.
5) Take little dough and seal the open part.
6) Open and gently remove it and place it on the plate. Keep it covered with a clean kitchen towel while you shape the rest.

Shaping Method 2: Using your hands

1) Grease your hand with ghee or just wet with water. take one ball on your palm.
2) Now using your other hand, slightly press it to make the small disc.
3) Now using two hands (thumbs and fingers), gently press it and keep shaping it.
4) Make about 3-4 inch diameter circle.

5) In the center, add 2-3 teaspoons of stuffing.
6) Now using your thumb and first finger, start pinching the little edges and make the pleats.
7) I made only 5 pleats only. More near the pleats, more beautiful it will look. This comes from the practice also as mentioned above you’ll need to add glutinous rice flour (see ingredient notes).
8) Now carefully pinch it together and seal it.

Steaming The Modaks:

1) While shaping, don’t forget to keep them covered to avoid drying.

2) Prepare the steamer and let the water come to a boil. Meanwhile, Brush all the modak using water. Or alternately you can dip them in a glass of water.

3) Prepare the steamer thali. Arrange the parchment paper or muslin cloth or banana leaf on the steamer thali. Arrange them on the thali.

4) Steam them for 13-15 minutes on medium heat. Let it cool to touch. Meantime they will firm up. Now remove them and place them on the plate. Drizzle ghee or saffron-milk over ukadiche modak.

💭 Expert Tips For PERFECT Modak Recipe

• Don’t overcook the stuffing otherwise, it becomes chewy. Overcooked jaggery makes it hard to eat.
• You must knead the dough while it is warm. If it sticks, you can add ghee and also grease your hand with ghee.
• The dough has to be smooth, soft and pliable to able to shape the modaks.
• Make the outer covering of medium thickness. If it is too thick then it takes more time to cook. Also, it doesn’t taste good as the proportion of outer part vs center filling is not right.
• If the outer shell is too thin then It may break while making the pleats. Also, it may break and stuffing will ooze out while steaming.

🥣 Storage & Make-Ahead

• Ukadiche modak stays good for 1 day at room temperature and a couple of days in the refrigerator.
• The stuffing can be made a day or two before and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. 
• The dough has to be made the same day you are shaping them.

FAQs

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