Ganesh Chaturthi 2019- Fried Modak Is The New Dish For Lord Ganesha

It is deep fried or shallow fried modak recipe with sweet, chewy coconut stuffing and very crispy outside covering. It is offered to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Ingredients

For the stuffing –

1 cup Coconut shredded, fresh or frozen
½ cup Jaggery (Gur)
¼ teaspoon Green cardamom seeds powder

For the cover –

½ cup All purpose flour (Maida) you can substitute with whole wheat flour/ atta. Only difference is that it will become little dense because of the atta.
¼ cup Sooji (rava or semolina)
a pinch Salt
1 tablespoon Oil
3-4 tablespoons Milk
Oil for deep or shallow frying

Method

Making stuffing:

* Take coconut, jaggery and cardamom powder in a pan. Turn the heat on medium.

* Mix them well. And let it cook with stirring continuously.

* Jaggery will start to meld down. And cook it till the mixture becomes semi-dry. It might take 4-5 minutes.

* If making a bigger batch then it will take some more time than mentioned. Do not cook for longer time otherwise stuffing will become very hard.

* Let the stuffing cool.

Making the dough:

* Take all purpose flour, semolina, salt in a bowl.

* Add a tablespoon of oil. And mix well with your fingertips.

* Add milk little at a time and knead into a stiff and smooth dough.

* Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Making fried modak recipe:

* 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 pressed ball 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 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.

* Now take it into your palm. 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.

* Now bring all the pleats together in the center very carefully. And then pinch them together to seal it properly.

* 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. Oil should be medium hot.

* Fry in the 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.