Modak - M

Pillayar Kozhakattai- Ukdiche Modak

Kozhakkattai | Ukadiche Modak is a festive sweet that is made for Lord Ganesha's Birthday also known as Vinayaka  or Ganesh Chaturthi that is observed in the month of August - September. The festival lasts for 10 days and is celebrated popularly across most regions of India.

From one coconut , we shall use one half for Modak and the other half for Kamarkat , which I have explained  in my earlier post. I prefer to use Maharashtra / Gujarat Jaggery as they are soft and reddish in colour.

The grated coconut is white and it is better , we do not go deep and touch the shell . We shall again use one half for the Modak and the other half , we shall use for the kamarkat. 

Pour 200 ml of water in a kadai and heat under simmer. Add one volume of shredded Jaggery. When the Jaggery gets dissolved in the solution , decant and separate the concentrate from impurities. Clean the Kadai, ladle and put back the Jaggery concentrate.

Add one volume of the grated coconut and turn them, till all the water evaporates and the mixture become thick. Now you can add finely ground cardamom powder and at the end add one teaspoon of ghee to smoothen the concentrate. Continue till the mixture is free from water, sticky and turns brown.   

When still warm make  8 to 9 balls for the stuffing inside the modak. From one half of the coconut , I could make 8 balls. Do the rolling repeatedly till the balls become smooth and shiny. The ghee will play its part now. The balls should not break. This concludes the Stuffing or the Pooran part. 

Rice Flour - White covering for the Pooran

Take 3/4 cup of good raw rice and remove stones if any. Soak it in water for a few minutes and wash it 2 to 3 times to get rid of the starch. Decant and dry the rice in shade over some newspaper. When dry , grind the rice in a dry grinder mixer and repeatedly sieve it till you get extremely fine graded rice flour. Add 1/2 cup of water, one teaspoon of ghee, one teaspoon of cooking oil and  a pinch of salt in a kadai and bring it to near boil. You can now add the sieved rice flour and within 2 minutes , the consistency improves. Switch off the heat. Knead the dough using a potato-masherGRN 028 indicated in my earlier post on Kitchen Gadgets. You can now cover the dough in a wet cloth for 15 to 20 minutes. The Pooran will last for atleast 3 weeks. This is the time for a much needed tea break. Do not worry. After tea break you can make 8 to 9 balls out of the kneaded mix , touching cooking oil  with your fingers , in case it becomes sticky.

This is my method. Put a drop of oil at the centre of the Chapati Making stone. Slighly flatten the ball and still maintaining the round shape, place the ball at the centre. 

I am practising this method after observing chefs from Thailand, China / Taiwan demostrating it. It is easy. Position the stainless steel lid over the ball and simply press uniformly, applying pressure from the top using both hands. 

On removing the lid, you will get a circular spread like this. Practice a couple of times. You will get more and more confidence as you repeat. Believe me. It is practice. For removing similar to Dosa, you can use a flat knife or a steel spatula. 

You can now place the Pooran ball at the centre. Fold the covering and roll over the ball , pinching at 4 - 5 places in the process , all the time rolling and shaping the ball. It is simply cooking with fun. Children will love to do this.

I use edge of the spoon to give the desired cleavages for the ever elusive pinched look. Slightly press the bottom of each modak for a good seating. I always use the colander GRN 004 for steaming applications, as detailed in Kitchen gadgets.

I use one small turmeric leaf. Cut into 4 pieces and drop it in the water kept for steaming. The pleasing aroma is to be experienced, after steaming. Steam without weight for 10 minutes and spare a good 15 to 20 minutes to cool. The modaks will not stick to each other.  

I use the small left over coverings and position them to give the much needed support to the modak during steaming. The Colander will drain away all water particles from clogging around the modak. You can enjoy the emanating aroma of the turmeric leaf , as you open the lid of the cooker.

The moment to think of God Ganesh, offer with humility and pray for the betterment of all the living creatures of the Earth.

Left Click with mouse on any image and you can view all the enlarged images one by one.

The quality test and the moment of truth. Using a good knife , split open 3 to 4 modaks and rate yourselves.

Best wishes in advance for the Ganesh Chaturthi. You have lots and lots of time to practice.

Ingredients	Steamed
Outer covering	Modak
Rice	3/4 cup
Pure Ghee	1 table spoon
Salt	1 pinch
Cooking oil	1 teaspoon
Ukdiche Modak	Kozhakattai
Pooran stuffing
Coconut grated	3/4 cup
Jaggery -  shaved	1/2 cup
Cardamom powder	1/2 teaspoon
Steaming
Turmeric leaf	1 medium

I am interested to know more about your blogs and posts.

Rangarajan Ramaswamy Bangalore 15.07.2013