Ukadiche modak recipe is often made for Ganesh Chaturthi as prasad for Ganpati bappa. These are similar to dumplings in appearance but made with a gluten-free rice flour covering instead of all-purpose flour. The filling is made with coconut and jaggery. The dumplings are steamed for about 15 minutes and served with generous amounts of ghee or clarified butter.
We bring to you a very easy recipe for modaks. The same recipe is used for another wonderful dish called patolya. Patolya are steamed in turmeric leaves. The leaves add a delicious heart-warming aroma to the dumplings. These flat dumplings are often made in the Indian lunar month of Shravan for Naag Panchami.
We grow our own turmeric leaves. They are very easy to grow. All you need is a turmeric root. You can find it in your international market. All you would do is plant the root in a pot or in ground and water it. However, it takes about 3-4 weeks to see a sprout. So be patient. It will take a couple months for leaves to grow enough to be useful for this recipe.
The filling for modak or patolya is made with coconut and jaggery and is cooked until it is solid and has no more liquid. For the dough, we recommend that you use a stand mixer. It will make kneading very easy. If you don’t have one, use your hands.
If you like this modak recipe, we are sure you will enjoy our scrumptious mango sheera, and our delicious mango shrikhand.
Ukadiche modak and patolya
Equipment
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 tsp ghee
- ½ cup grated jaggery
- 1½ cups grated coconut fresh or frozen (thawed)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp green cardamom powder
Dough
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups rice flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ghee
If making patolya
- 12 turmeric leaves
Steamer
- 1-2 cups water for steaming
- ghee for serving
Instructions
Filling
- In a pan, melt 1 teaspoon of ghee and add jaggery, coconut, cardamom powder and salt.
- Keep stirring on medium heat until the mixture is dry. Make sure there is no liquid in the filling.
- Set the filling aside to cool.
Dough
- In a pot, bring water to a boil.
- Lower heat. Add salt, ghee and rice flour.
- Mix well. If using a stand mixer, transfer dough to stand mixer and knead for 5 minutes until dough is soft.
- If using hands, let dough cool a little before kneading it.
Patolya
- If making patolya, divide dough into 12 equal parts.
- Wash turmeric leaves and snip off both ends of the leaves.
- Spread one dough on each leaf thinly using water to make it easy (see video).
- Spoon a little filling inside the dough.
- Fold the leaf to seal the filling inside.
- Steam the leaves in a steamer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Ukadiche modak
- If making modak, divide the dough into 18-21 equal parts. Shape them into balls.
- Using your hands gently shape each ball into a shallow bowl. (see video)
- Spoon a little filling inside the dough and close the dough by shaping it into a modak.
- Steam modaks for 10-15 minutes.
Serving
- Serve modak and patolya with generous amounts of ghee.
- Garnish with saffron (optional)
DISCLAIMER:
Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only. Actual numbers may be different from those provided below. If you have health issues, please work with a registered dietician or nutritionist. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
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Hot & Sweet Dumplings were a perfect desert for my family. Thank you for a easy recipe.