What is modak?

Modak is a steamed or fried dumpling made from rice flour, wheat flour or maida with a stuffing of sweet coconut and dry fruits filling. Although, modak can be served to guests all around the year, it is considered auspicious to offer it to Lord Ganesha on Ganesh Chaturthi and throughout the 10 day Ganesh Pooja period. 

These days, specially in north India, you can find over 10 varieties of Modak in the market like Meva modak, chocolate modak, motichoor modak etc, but all those are usually other sweets like laddoo and mava barfi shaped like a modak. The authentic Maharashtrian modak is of 2 kinds 

• Steamed Modak or Ukadiche Modak and 
• Fried ones are called Talniche or Talalele Modak 

I’m going to share the Talniche modak recipe today. If you want to try out Ukadiche Modak then I would definitely recommend the Ukadiche Modak recipe shared by Neha in her blog Whiskaffair.

Why do we offer Modak to Lord Ganesha?

There are two very sweet stories from Hindu Mythology and folklore associated with Lord Ganesha and his love for Modaks.

Once Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha visited Devi Anusuya’s house to give her their blessings. Where lord Ganesha was served with various dishes but none of them could satisfy Ganesha’s hunger. So Anusuya thought of making something sweet for Lord Ganesha and served modak which satisfied the hunger of Lord Ganesha. It is also believed that Lord Ganesha burped 21 times after eating Modak, hence it is considered holy to offer 21 Modak to Lord Ganesha on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The second story associated with this sweet dish goes like this

Lord Vishnu gifted Goddess Parvati some Modaks, and he asked her to give them to only the person who truly deserved it. Since Goddess Parvati had two sons – Ganesha and Kartikeya, she made a little contest for them, and asked them that the person who would travel around the universe three times and come back first would get the modaks. Since Kartikeya had a peacock, he flew away on it and started his journey, but Lord Ganesha had a mouse for a vehicle. So he thought about it and did 3 parikrama of his parents, as they meant the world and universe to him. This solution won Mata Parvati’s heart and he got his Modaks.

Why am I making Modak now?

I am missing the 10 day Ganpati festivities which would happen in my society during Ganesh Chaturthi. Since the festival is linked to these sweet dumpling, I’m bound to miss them as well 😉 

Till a few years back, we had very loving Marathi neighbors who always gave us Modaks as Ganpati Bappa’s prasad. I learnt the recipe from them as well. So today I will share the absolute authentic Talniche Modak recipe as learnt from my Maharashtrian neighbour aunty.

Here it goes

Step by step Talniche modak recipe with photos

Ingredients for Talniche Modak Recipe

For Modak Dough:

• Whole Wheat Flour – 1 small bowl
• Salt – just a pinch
• Ghee/Clarified Butter – 1 tsp

For Modak Filling:

• Ghee/Clarified Butter – 1 tsp
• Poppy Seeds/Khus Khus – 1 tsp
• Fresh Grated Coconut – 1 bowl
• Sugar – ¾ bowl
• Dry Fruits (Almond, Cashew, Pistachio, Raisins) – 4 to 5 tsp
• Milk – 4 to 5 tsp
• Saffron Strands – 4 to 5
• Cardamom Powder – ¼ tsp
• Silver Vark – for garnish (optional)
• Ghee – For frying

Procedure for making talniche modak

Preparing dough for modak

1. Take a small bowl of whole wheat flour in a mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt and one tsp of ghee into the mix. 
2. Add water and knead to make soft dough. Keep the dough aside for 15-20 minutes to rest.

Preparing the modak filling

3. Heat one tsp of ghee in a pan, add one tsp of khus-khus/poppy seeds into ghee. sauté for one minute. 
4. Add one bowl of grated coconut to the pan, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes add sugar, 4-5 tsp of saffron milk and dry fruits to it. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the flame and allow the filling to cool.

Assembling Modaks

5. Knead the dough again for 1-2 minute and divide it into 8-9 small portions. Make small small balls of these portions.

6. Roll the balls into thin sheets and add 1 tsp of prepared filling to it.

7. Shaping the modaks if you do not have a modak mold- Make a diya structure by folding at four corners. Give smaller folds between these plates and join all the plates by stretching it in upward direction. Prepare all the modaks by following this recipe.

8. Heat 250 gms of Ghee/Clarified butter in a pan at slow flame and fry the prepared modak one by one. 

9. Tasty talniche modaks are ready! Garnish it with silver foil and offer it to Ganapati Bappa for prasad

May Lord Ganesha give you happiness and success in all your endeavors in the future. On this note, I hope you enjoyed reading this recipe and would try it out as prasad for Lord Ganesha too.

Ganpati Bappa Moryaa!

Do check out the some other desserts that I have shared on this blog on the following links

• Boondi Laddoo recipe is another favorite prasad for Lord Ganesha
• Rajasthani Malai Ghevar Recipe
• Bengali Sponge Rasgulla Recipe
• Kaju Katli Apple Recipe