FRIED MODAK

This is a traditional sweet recipe made during festive season for Lord Ganesha. You can use wheat flour or all purpose flour, wheat flour modaks are more dense in color and taste.

Authentic recipe filling is made out of jaggery and fresh coconut, but here I have used equal portions of fresh coconut and grated white pumpkin.

Ingredients:

Outer covering:

2 cups whole wheat flour/all purpose flour (1 cup = 250ml)

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon warm oil

Water to knead the dough

Inner covering:

1.5 cups powdered jaggery/sugar

1 cup freshly grated coconut/unsweetened desiccated coconut

1 cup grated white pumpkin

3 tablespoon almond/cashew powder

1 or 1.5 teaspoon cardamom powder

½ or ¾ cup water

Modak filling

Mix all the filling ingredients, cook and stir on a medium flame till the mixture is dry and cooked.  Keep aside to cool.

Shaping and making modak:

Take a small ball of dough, roll thinly in to a circle of 3-4 inches diameter. You can also take a big ball of dough roll it thinly and using a round object (bottle lid) to get 3-4 inches diameter circles.

Take this circle on your palm and add filling in centre, pinch the edges one by one and bring together all pinched folds in centre. Shallow or deep fry the modaks in medium flame using  oil until they turn light brown and appear cooked. Please maintain the temperature of oil on medium heat so that they are properly cooked. Drain the oil using kitchen towel, this makes about 14 to 15 modaks.

Notes:

Using white pumpkin gives a gooey texture which kind of melts in mouth.

Recipe contributed by PRITI KUMAR