The auspicious festival of Ganeshotsav is celebrated with a lot of devotion across the country. Many versions of Ganesha’s favorite sweet Modak are made and offered to Him during Puja. There is a tradition of offering 21 Modaks as Naivedya to the Elephant God.
Wanted to make something different to offer to Ganesha this year. My mom had come to visit me last week and had brought my favorite sweet Gulab Jamun. It was while eating this that I got the idea of making Pakatle Modak. Sharing the recipe of the same here.
Pakatle Modak (Modak covered in Sugar Syrup)
An offering made to Lord Ganesha.
Servings 21 Modaks
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Grated dry coconut You can use powdered coconut too.
- 1/2 Cup Dry Fruit Powder You can use any of your favorite dry fruits. I have used a combination of Cashew Nuts, Almonds and Pistachios.
- 1 Tbsp Raisins
- 1 Tbsp Powdered Sugar Optional
- 1/2 Tsp Cardamom Powder
- 2 Cups Maida
- 1/2 Cup Rava/Sooji/Semolina
- Salt to taste
- 3/4 Cup Milk/Water
- 2 Tbsp Warm ghee/oil
- Ghee/Oil for frying
- 1 Cup Sugar
- Water to make sugar syrup
Instructions
- Take maida and rava in a bowl and add salt and knead a soft dough. You can use either Milk or Water to knead the dough. Cover and set the dough aside for 20-25 mins.
- As the dough rests, we can make the stuffing. For this, mix the grated dry coconut, dry fruit powder, raisins, powdered sugar and cardamom powder together.
- After the rest time is over, take the dough and knead it a little to give it a uniform texture. Divide the dough into small balls. Roll each ball flat and add sufficient amount of stuffing to this.
- Give the balls the shape of a Modak.
- Fry the Modak in Oil or Ghee on medium flame until it gets a golden color. Set aside to cool.
- Take the sugar in a pan and add water just enough to cover the sugar. Boil and make a two string syrup. Coat the Modaks, one at a time, in this syrup. Set aside to cool. A light white coat will appear once the Modak cools down completely.
Notes
As the filling ingredients are dry and the modaks are dipped in Sugar Syrup, they should remain good for 3-4 days.