Recipe for Ukdiche Modak

Ingredients (makes 12 modaks)

1 cup rice flour
1¼ cup water
2 tsp ghee
¼ tsp salt
1 cup grated fresh coconut
½ cup jaggery
1 tsp cardamom powder

Filling:
In a heavy bottom pot mix coconut, jaggery and cook over slow heat covered. When the jaggery melts take off the cover and cook till it becomes soft and there is no more liquid. Now add cardamom and let it cool.

Covering:
Now take a medium size pot and add water cover it. When the water boils add salt and ghee. Now reduce the flame to minimum and add flour. Mix it very well and cover, after 2-3 minutes shut off the flame. After 10 minutes knead the dough with hands till its soft and smooth. This is called Ukad. Divide Ukad into 12 equal balls.

Putting the modak together:
Take two small bowls in one take couple of tablespoon water and the other take a tablespoon of melted ghee or oil.Smear oil and water on both hands and keep the Ukad ball in left hand and with the thumb of your right hand make indentation onto the ball. Keep on doing this, also smear water and oil on both hands as you are doing it so that the dough doesn’t crack. Now make a small bowl out of this. Add two teaspoon coconut filling in it. Now start pinching the rim all around and make it like a frilled skirt. Now a modak by sealing at the top. Keep them under a wet cloth so that they don’t dry and crack. Put these modaks in a modakpatra (a steamer) and steam it for 15 minutes.

Serve warm. You can make a small opening at the top and pour ¼ tsp of ghee and serve, it really tastes amazing.