UKADICHE
MODAK/TEEPI KUDUMULU
॥ Shree
Vakratunda Mahakaya Suryakoti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryeshu Sarvada॥
Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryeshu Sarvada॥
Ganesh Chaturthi is the much awaited Hindu festival celebrated across
India in honour of the elephant-headed god, Ganesha. On this auspicious day Lord
Ganesha, the ‘vighna harta’ (one who removes obstacles) is
worshipped so that every new or on-going activity is completed successfully.
Ganesh festival is a 10 or 11 day celebration starting on ‘Chaturthi’ and comes to
an end on ‘Ananth Chaturdashi’.
Festivities take place in a very grand manner with every nook and corner
having Ganesh idols. Prayers are offered everyday with various food items being
offered to the lord and he being ‘modakpriya’, the one who loves modak,
the steamed rice flour dumplings stuffed with coconut filling form the most
important of the offerings.
Modak is also known as modakam/kudumulu
in Telugu, modaka/kadubu in Kannada,
kozhukatta in Malayalam and kozhukattai in Tamil.
Modaks have many variations like steamed modak, fried modak, khava/khoya
modak. Now a days modaks come many
different flavors like chocolate, strawberry, pan, rose, etc.
In this blogpost I have tried to explain in detail, how to make a
steamed modak/ukadichemodak/kudumulu.
The blog might seem long but when you make it you will realize that it
is indeed very easy and do not bother to go for perfection because anything
made with love and utmost devotion can never go wrong.
Preparation Time : 45 mins
Cooking Time :
30 mins
Yields : 14 modaks
Ingredients:
For
Modak Outer Covering:
·
1 cup rice flour
·
3/4th cup water
·
1/4th tsp ghee
·
A pinch of salt
For Modak Stuffing:
·
1 cup grated coconut
·
½ cup grated jaggery
·
3/4th tsp poppy seeds/khus khus
·
1/4th tsp cardamom seeds powder
·
½ tsp ghee
Method:
For the Modak Stuffing:
Heat
the ghee in a pan. Fry poppy seeds/khus khus for few seconds.
Add
grated coconut, cardamom powder and jaggery, cook on medium flame until the
moisture from jaggery almost dries out.
The mixture will further thicken after it cools down.
Cool
down the filling completely.
For Modak Covering:
Bring
water, salt and ghee to a rolling boil.
Tip
in the rice flour and mix quickly and switch off the flame.
Cover
the lid and let the rice flour mixture rest for good 10 to 15 minutes or until
its warm.
After
resting start kneading the dough until it forms a smooth ball. If the dough is dry sprinkle little warm
water and knead.
Make
dough balls as per the size of your modak mould. Cover it with a damp cloth.
Making the Modak:
(Heads
up not great quality pictures )
Using a mould:
Grease
the mould with ghee/oil. Press the dough ball into the mould.
Press
it tightly against the walls of the mould with your fingers and while keeping
the center hollow and ensuring that there are no gaps.
Place
approx. 1 tbsp or little more of stuffing inside and press it in gently.
Take
some more dough and seal the open portion.
Remove
the modak from the mould and keep it covered with a damp cloth while you prepare
the rest of them.
Making by hand:
Grease
your palms with ghee/oil. Place the
dough ball and flatten it to a smooth disc.
Keep medium thickness of the disc.
Place
1 tbsp of stuffing. Start making the
pleats by pinching the edges together.
More the pleats beautiful the modak will look but this is definitely a
matter of practice.
Now
carefully pinch together all the pleats and seal it. (Not a great looking modak
though!!!)
Steaming the modaks:
Steam
the modaks for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker just like you do it for idli.
Switch
off the flame after 10 minutes and let them rest for another 15 minutes inside
the cooker. During the resting time the
modaks will firm up.
Serving:
Drizzle
the hot ukadiche modak/teepi kudumulu
with ghee and offer to Lord Ganesh
on the auspicious day of Ganesh
Chaturthi.
Also read : Choco Coco Modak, Ashoka Halwa, Pepper Pulihora, Jackfruit Pulihora