Everybody likes chocolate dessert to go with their meal. Be it some sweet ice cream or some cheesecake; desserts help give the final touch to send off your meal on a good note. In India, the whole meal themselves hold special meaning at times of the year, but when it comes to the festive occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, no other meal comes to mind other than the modak.
The modak is revered for being the favorite food of the Indian God, Lord Ganesha, son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He is said to love them so much that the moniker modakapriya (in Sanskrit) is dedicated to him. It’s the very reason why it is seen at the forefront of the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi across the nation, especially in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Their strong beliefs in Hindu mythology are reflected by the grand celebrations they hold for all the major Hindu Festivals. Now let’s talk about modaks.
Modak, at its essence, is like a dumpling. Still, instead of the regular stuffing, the outer softer shell of the model usually made from rice. Or wheat flour mixed with some maida flour or khava is instead filled with a sweet filling, which is a mixture of freshly grated coconut and jaggery, which is the traditional cane sugar. Usually, they are served steamed, but they can be fried as well.
What we look at here, though, is a more western spin on this classic Indian dessert. The chocolate modak recipe doesn’t stray that much from the traditional way to make regular steamed modak. They raise the sweetness of the modak to a very pleasant to eat level. The chocolate you wish to use can be of the type you want, but I find the following recipe works the best for me.
The Ingredients Include:
- 1/3 cup of milk
- 1/3 cup of sweetened condensed milk
- ¾ cup of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (your choice)
- 1 ½ cup of cracker crumbs or crushed digestive biscuits
- ¼ cup of chopped pistachios
Follow The Steps Given Below:
- Take a pan and out in the milk, chocolate chips and the condensed milk
- Increase the heat and set on medium-low
- Chocolate starts melting down into a liquid. Continue stirring.
- Once the chocolate melts completely, add the cracker crumbs/crushed digestive biscuits
- Start mixing the mixture and around halfway, add the chopped pistachios
- Keep mixing, and the mixture should come together like a sort of dough. Keep it away till it gets cool enough to touch.
- Put some ghee(preferred) or oil on your finger and the mould to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Start putting the dough-like mixture into the mould and shape the modaks correctly.
- Continue shaping until the mixture is finished.
Extra Tips:
Here are some additional tips for you while making the chocolate modaks. Instead of the chocolate chips, you can use a bar of your preferred type of chocolate by chopping it into little pieces. Pistachios are also easily replaceable for the recipe. Any other dry fruit goes well with this recipe. You can use walnuts, almonds, cashew nuts, pecans, or even hazelnuts.
One of the best things about this recipe is that the stuffing and the outer covering doesn’t need to be made separately as that will increase the work required to be put in by two or three times. Not only this but since the stuffing and the outer covering are the same, no extra practice or expertise is required in the recipe or for shaping the modak while taking care of the filling inside.
The whole recipe takes around 30 minutes. The time needed to prepare is about 10 minutes, and the total cooking takes around 20 more minutes. Thus, this is a quick recipe you can pick up to get a tasty and easy-to-make recipe done to complement your meal for the day while making an exciting twist to the traditional delicacy.
