Modak - Rice dumplings stuffed with coconut

I want to play too, I kept thinking everytime I saw the Indian Cooking Challenge I wanted to join however I was concerned about whether I would be able to do the posts on time. However at the end of the day, the temptation and inspiration to cook authentic traditional dishes got the better of me. I joined in a couple of weeks back, and decided to start with Modak.

I have often looked at the descriptions of these lovely rice flour dumplings stuffed with rich and gooey coconut but never been brave enough to try them. I made them following the recipe from mints on the website completely. This itself is a challenge for me not to try and improvise. I made this is with quite a bit of trepidation, but honestly this turned out very well. The first few modaks had slightly more covering that needed, but after shaping a couple I got the hang of this. As I see the other pictures, I shall get a better idea of how to shape them. The recipe is as follows.

Modak from Mints

Ingredients Needed

For the Stuffing -2 cups freshly grated coconut (she says you can use frozen unsweetened coconut - that is what I used)

1 cup jaggery (grated)

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tsp cardamom powder

one pinch nutmeg (optional)

2 tbsp water (her mom uses milk, I did that too)

For the outer layer or Cover -

1 cup rice flour

1.25 cup water

pinch of salt

1 tbsp oil

Method for preparing the Stuffing

Roast the poppy seeds in a small skillet and let it cool down. Grind it coarsely and keep it aside. In a heavy bottom pan, take add the grated jaggary, and the milk and melt. Add in the grated coconut. Keep stirring so that it does get burnt in the bottom.In about 5 -7 mins you will see the mixture getting solid, at this stage add the cardamom powder (I did not use nutmeg).

When you see the mixture turning yellowish, more like golden and sticking to the sides, you can turn off the flame add the poppy seeds powder, mix well and set it aside to cool down.

Method for preparing the outer cover

I used a pressure cooker container for this. Start boiling water and add the salt and oil.When water starts boiling, lower the heat and slowly add rice flour. The flour needs to be added gradually however the overall process is quite speedy. The end result here is a snowy smooth mixture.

Now close the lid and take the pot off the heat. Let the covered pot cool down for 15 minutes or so. At this point the dough needs to be further kneaded, I used my hands for this, but it is soft enough to use a mixing spoon. 1-2 tablespoons of flour can be added to make this more manageable, but actually the rice flour worked fine.

Making the Modak

For making the Modak divide the dough into 20 balls and the stuffing into equal size of 20 balls. These modaks need to be shaped closer to a garlic, my look like fat macaroons. You actually get moulds for these. Shape the rice flour mixture like a kachori, and place the coconut filling inside it. Cover and seal.

They get placed in a steamer and steamed for about 15 minutes. After that they are left to settle as is for 5-10 minutes. These are traditionally eaten with ghee. I was so curious to try them, I had them immediately.