Ukadiche Modak/Steamed Modak

EVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP

THEME: #161 GANESH CHATURTHI RECIPES

FoodieMonday/Bloghop group decided to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with recipes. Recipes we would make to offer Lord Ganesha. Undoubtedly its the best time to make the famous Ukadiche Modaks or steamed Modaks.  Steam or fry them. I steamed these traditional Maharashtrian mithai.

Ganapati Bappa Moriya, Mangal Murti Moriya

All those celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi chant the above and get ready for the Ganesh Chaturthi, Vinayak Chaturthi or Vinayak Chavithi festival.  To find out what the chanting actually means watch this video. In fact, the festival marks the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

The Story:

The story goes that when Lord Shiva was away, Goddess Parvati created Ganesha from sandalwood paste to guard the door when she went for her bath. Lord Shiva returns and Ganesha doesn’t recognize Him. Shivji does not know that Parvati had created Ganesha. Ganesha does not allow Him to enter. Subsequently, a fight takes place between the two. Enraged, Lord Shiva cut off Ganesha’s head. When Goddess Parvati gets to know about this, she takes on the form or avatar of Goddess Kali. She threatens to destroy the world if her child is not brought back to life, As a result, Shankara (Lord Shiva) orders his followers to find the first baby whose mother has her back to him/her and bring his/her head. A follower found a baby elephant and brought the head to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva brought Ganesha to life.

Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration

Generally, Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations last for 10 days. A clay statue of Lord Ganesha is installed in pandals, temples and homes on the first day. These are decorated with flowers. Lord Ganesha is worshipped for 10 days and offered a variety of food. Chanting of songs(bhajans) praising Ganesha and dancing takes place. On the 11th day, with much pomp and celebration the Idol of Ganesha is submerged in the water. Followers request Him to come back soon the following year.

Why Ganesha Idol/statue is immersed in water?

It is believed that during the 10 days that He visits us, he takes all our wishes to the heavenly abode. In addition, He also takes any negative energy with Him when he is sent back to Mt Kailash, his abode. When immersed in the water, this symbolizes that the devotees are sending him back to his abode.

Importance of Ganesha in Hinduism

Hindus believe in worshipping Lord Ganesha first before starting any new work, celebrations, poojas, havans, etc. We believe that He is the remover of all obstacles. Lord Ganesha is considered the friendly God and is loved by all.

My Experience

While growing up in Nairobi, I’d not seen huge celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi. Neither did I see it when I was schooling in Mt. Abu. Much later on during our visits to India, I began to see huge celebrations. Incidentally, my first visit to a big pandal was near the ISKCON temple Juhu. Subsequently, got to witness more and more pandals coming up even in Bangalore. 2 years ago I was fortunate enough to be in Bangalore during the festival and our society had huge celebrations for 10 days.

 Ideas what to make for Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations

Some Laddoos – Ganesha’s favourite

• Oats and Nuts Laddoos
• Gur na ladwa/ Churma Laddoo
• Coconut Laddoos
• Boondi Laddoo

Modaks

• Guava Kalakand Modak, a unique recipe by Sasmita
• Khajoor/Date Modaks by Preethi

Kozhukkatai 

• Beetroot Ammini Kozhukkatai
• Paal Kozhukkatai
• Quinoa Pidi Kozhakattai by Seema
• Kara Ammini Kozhukkatai by Priya, she makes mini ones

Other Sweet Dishes

• Cherry Pineapple Kesari by Sujata
• Ladoo Kheer by Waagmi

 

Check out Poonam’s 101 Ganesh Chaturthi recipes

Panchakajjaya by Veena. Its a special preparation of 5 ingredients that is offered to Lord Ganesha.

Deciding to Ukadiche Modak

I had to try making the famous modak that Lord Ganesha loves so much for this festival. Ganesha loves Modaks and laddoos. Generally, modaks are rice dumplings with a sweet stuffing. However, there are a variety of modak recipes right from chocolates ones to the authentic ones. I searched for ideas and methods on several blogs and You Tubes.Took me a long time to shape the modaks even with the mold. But, it was definitely worth the effort. The first one was a disaster as most photos show how to stuff them but not how to seal the bottom. At the end the taste of modak was awesome so worth all the work. I shaped a few without the mold but to get nice pleated ones, it takes a lot of practice.

 

Ingredients required for Ukadiche Modak

• Rice Flour
• Water
• Milk
• Ghee – for the dough, filling and some for greasing
• Sugar
• Salt
• Jaggery Powder – gud, gur
• Coconut – for a good taste best to use freshly grated coconut
• Sesame Seeds – til, tal
• Poppy Seeds  – khus khus. If you don’t have omit this ingredient.
• Mix Nuts – a coarse powder
• Cardamom Powder – elachi powder, elaichi powder
• Nutmeg Powder – jaiphal.

Dietary Tips:

• Gluten Free
• Vegetarian
• For vegan friendly ukadiche modak replace dairy milk with any other nut milk and replace ghee with coconut oil

 

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A little request:

If you do try this recipe then please either

• add a comment below,
• send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
•  tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
• or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962