Sweets & Desserts Zephyr's Corner

Ganesh Chaturthi special: Sweet Kozhukkattai (Modak)


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आप इस रेसिपी को नीचे हिंदी में भी पढ़ सकते हैं

Ganesh Chaturthi instantly brings to mind the large murtis of Lord Ganesh in our neighborhoods and delicious modaks. The Lord is believed to be partial to this particular naivedyam and is therefore offered it on Ganesh Chaturthi. There is a story behind His love for modaks. Once when Lord Shiva and Parvati had taken a young Ganesha to visit the famed sage Atri on the Earth, his wife Anusuya offered him a platterful of goodies to eat, but it was not enough to satiate his hunger. Only when she offered him a modak did Ganesha feel full and happy. Hence the offering of modak to Ganesha on Chaturthi!Modaks are made in two ways – steamed and fried. The former is the preferred form of naivedyam, though the fried modak is equally good, with the added advantage of a longer shelf life.

ganesh-chaturthi-fried-modak/

We also make kaara kozhukkattai – a savory version of the modak, which are given a karanji-shape to distinguish them from the sweet kozhukkattai! It will share the recipe for this in the next post.
We make the steamed modak both in my parental and married homes for the festival. The outer covering is made in different ways. My mother washed the rice, drained and pounded it. This was then sifted to get a fine powder, which was made into a thick paste. My mother-in-law soaked the rice, ground it very fine and then cooked it into a thick dough-like paste. While both are traditional methods, they are also very cumbersome, and unless one got the right consistency, the dough had small lumps that were most difficult to handle.

However, we get readymade modak flour in the market, which can be very easy to shape into modaks. The idiyappam powder that is available in the market can also be used to make modaks. If you can’t find either in your city, you can lightly fry the rice (just enough to heat it through) and cook it into a dough. It will come out fine.
Modak moulds are available in the market which can be used to shape them. The art of shaking the perfectly scalloped modak is a fine art indeed. The Maharashtrian modaks are the most aesthetically crafted ones. However, don’t let it scare you away from making this deliciously sweet, which is both tasty and healthy!

Ingredients for the outer covering of modak:

• Modak flour/toasted rice flour 1 cup
• Salt A pinch
• Ghee or oil 1 tsp
• Water 11/2 cup

Ingredients for the filling:

• Grated coconut 2 cups
• Jaggery 3/4 cup (powdered)
• Ghee 1tsp
• Cardamom powder ½ tsp
• Cashew nuts (broken into bits) 1 tbsp
• Raisin (kishmish) 20-25

Ingredients for modak filling

Method:

To make the outer covering:

• Boil water in a heavy bottomed vessel or kadhai.
• Add salt and oil.
• When it comes to a rolling boil, add the rice flour slowly, stirring continuously.
• Switch off the flame once the flour comes together in a ball and doesn’t stick to the sides. It takes a maximum of five mins.
• Cover and let it cool.

To make the filling:

• Take a heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai and add a tbsp of water and the jaggery.
• Let the jaggery melt completely and then strain it for impurities.
• Put the melted jaggery back in the pan and add the coconut and ghee to it. Cook stirring it till the coconut mixture looks dry. At this stage,

Modak Filling

it begins leaving the sides of the pan and comes together. Switch off the flame. Don’t overcook, as the filling will become too hard when it cools down.
• Add the cardamom powder and dry fruits.
• Shape them into small balls and keep aside.

 

Making the modak:

• Knead dough into a smooth consistency while still warm.
• Dip your fingers into the mixture of milk and oil to prevent the dough from sticking.
• Take a gooseberry-sized ball of dough and shape into a small katori. Alternately, take a slightly larger ball of dough and shape it into a flat round, the size of your palm.
• Place the coconut ball in the centre of the katori/round and bring pinch the edges to form scallops. Bring the scallops together and pinch off the excess dough.

Shaping the kozhukkattai

• Your modak is ready for steaming.
• Arrange it on an idli mould or steamer plate and steam for about 5-7 mins. The outer layer would have sweated a little and turned translucent. That is the doneness test.

Kozukkattai for steaming

Note:

• Don’t stress if the shape has not come out perfectly. The taste would more than make up for the lack of perfect shape! Some people shape it in the form of a karanji too, the idea being that it is still a modak in content. So go ahead and try it out for this Ganesh Chaturthi!
• Adding dry fruits is optional. My mother never added them but I sometimes do.

 

Kozukttai and appam for the naivedyam

मोदक दो तरह से बनाए जाते हैं- स्टीम्ड और फ्राइड।  ज्यादातर नैवेद्यम के लिए  स्टीम्ड  मोदक पसंद किया जाता है। हालांकि तली हुए मोदक भी समान रूप से स्वादिष्ट होते है ओर  लंबे समय तक अच्छे रहते है।

Ganesh-chaturthi-fried-modak

हालांकि, हमें बाजार में रेडीमेड मोदक का आटा मिलता है,जिससे मोदक को आकार देने मे बहुत आसानी हो जाती है। बाजार में उपलब्ध इडियप्पम पाउडर का इस्तेमाल भी मोदक बनाने के लिए किया जा सकता है। यदि आप को अपने शहर में यह नहीं मिलता हैं, तो आप चावल को हल्का भूने  (बस इसे हल्का गर्म करना पर्याप्त है) और इसे पका ले। यह मोदक के आटे की तरह हो जाएगा।

मोदक के सांचे बाजार में उपलब्ध हैं जिनका उपयोग उन्हें आकार देने के लिए किया जा सकता है। 

मोदक के बाहरी आवरण के लिए सामग्री:

•  1 कप मोदक का आटा / सिके चावल का आटा 

• नमक एक चुटकी

•  1 छोटा चम्मच  घी या तेल

•  1 + 1/2 कप  पानी 

भरने के लिए सामग्री:

•  2 कप  कसा हुआ नारियल

• 3/4 कप गूड पीसा हुआ

• 1tsp  घी 

•  ½ छोटा चम्मच  इलायची पाउडर

•  1 बड़ा चम्मच  काजू (छोटे टुकड़ों मे टूटा हुआ) 

•   20-25  किशमिश 

बाहरी आवरण बनाने के लिए:

• एक भारी तले वाले बर्तन या कढाई में पानी उबालें।

• नमक और तेल डालें।

• जब पानी उबलने लगे,घीरे घीरे चावल का आटा डाले ओर लगातार चलाते रहे।

• आटा जब एकसाथ  आ जाए ओर एक गोले का आकार ले तब आंच बंद कर दें।ध्यान दे आटा किनारे से न चिपके। इसमें अधिकतम पांच मिनट लगते हैं।

• ढककर ठंडा होने दें।

भरने के लिए:

• एक भारी तले की कड़ाही  लें और उसमें एक टेबलस्पून पानी और गुड़ डालें।

• गुड़ को पूरी तरह से पिघलने दें और फिर इसे छान दें।

• पिघले हुए गुड़ को वापस पैन में डालें और उसमें नारियल और घी डालें। इसे तब तक पकाएं जब तक कि नारियल का मिश्रण सूख न जाए। इस स्तर पर,यह पैन के किनारों को छोड़ना शुरू करता है और एक साथ आता है। आंच बंद कर दें। इसे जयादा ना पकाएं कयोंकि  ठंडा होने के बाद अगर यह कडा हो गया तब भरना अधिक कठिन हो जाएगा।

• इलायची पाउडर और सूखे मेवे मिलाएं।

• उन्हें छोटे गोले का आकार दें और अलग रखें।

मोदक बनाना:

• आटा जब हल्का गर्म हो उसे चिकने हाथों से गूंध ले ।

• आटे की एक लोई लें और एक छोटी कटोरी का आकार दें। वैकल्पिक रूप से, आटे की थोड़ी बड़ी लोई लें और इसे अपनी हथेली मे गोल आकार दें।

• कटोरी / गोल के बीच में नारियल का गोला  रखें और किनारों को एकसाथ ला कर सील कर दे।

आपका मोदक भाप के तैयार है।

• इसे इडली मोल्ड या स्टीमर प्लेट पर व्यवस्थित करें और लगभग 5-7 मिनट के लिए भाप दें। बाहरी परत थोड़ा पसीना और पारभासी हो जाता। बस आप का मोदक तैयार है।

ध्यान दें:

  • यादि आकार थोड़ा बिगड़ गया हो तो भी कोई बात नहीं मोदक का  स्वाद लाजवाब होगा।
  •  सूखे मेवे डालना वैकल्पिक है। मेरी मां ने मेवे कभी नहीं डाले लेकिन मैं कभी-कभी डालती हूं।

2 Comments

    1. Yes, it is called Kozhukkattai in Tamil. The recipe is almost similar except for slight changes in the ingredients of the saaran. I like the scalloped look of the modaks of Maharashtrians 🙂

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