Easy & Soft No Steam Modaks

When a dish is a God’s favourite, it has got to be delicious, right?! Delicate, soft dough and a flavourful coconut filling, are what makes a modak so wonderful. I am a big fan of all such dumpling dishes from throughout India that have a rice flour based dough and have a sweet filling. The fillings vary from mawa to coconuts to sesame to flaxseeds, to name just a few. The shapes are also different, from round balls, to half moons, to ones wrapped in banana or turmeric leaves, to the unique shape of modaks.

Traditionally Ukadiche Modak are made with a rice flour dough, where the rice flour is kneaded with boiling hot water. Once the dough is ready, it is stuffed with a sweet coconut filling, shaped into modaks and then steamed. Those of you who make modaks or have attempted to make them will agree with me when I say getting the dough right is the most important part of making modaks. I have been making modaks for many years now and I still struggle with it at times.

This modak recipe is slightly different. The dough is made with rice flour but this dough uses a lot more water and the dough is cooked for longer. In this dough, the rice flour is cooked all the way through, so it doesn’t need to be steamed afterwards. Once the dough is cooked properly, it is pillowy soft and so easy to handle! The recipe for this dough is a family recipe that a dear friend of mine has shared with me. Thank you so much Sumitha, for this game changer recipe!

Here is what you will need to make these modaks:

For the Dough

Rice flour is the main ingredient for making this dough. Rice is naturally gluten free but when rice flour is mixed with hot or boiling water to form a dough, it becomes sticky and that helps with getting a soft and pliable dough to work with. Here in this recipe, rice flour is cooked completely in the dough and thus these modaks do not need to be steamed afterwards.

Tapioca flour is gluten free but starchy. Adding just a little bit of tapioca flour makes the dough easier to handle and gives it a slightly translucent look. You can however skip it if you want to. But if you have tapioca flour handy at home, I would suggest to use it.

Ghee helps in making the dough easier to handle. Just a little bit of ghee in the dough and a little bit of ghee on the palms while shaping the modak makes it a lot more manageable.

Salt in the dough helps balance the overall dish. It makes the modak cover not taste bland and it add a nice contrast with the sweet coconut filling and enhances the overall flavour.

For the Stuffing

Fresh Coconuts forms the base of a modak filling/stuffing. Finely grated fresh coconut has a beautiful texture, that works beautifully in this recipe.

Jaggery brings sweetness, a beautiful flavour and colour to the stuffing.

Nuts – A little bit of toasted nuts add to the flavour of coconut and make the stuffing even more delicious.

Cardamom has a wonderful aroma that works really well with coconut and jaggery.

Nutmeg is traditionally used in a modak filling and its beautiful aroma elevates the flavour the stuffing.

Now that we have covered all the ingredients, here is the detailed recipe for you:

Easy & Soft No Steam Modaks

Serves: 10 modaks Prep Time: 45 mins Cooking Time: 30 mins 30 mins

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

For the Stuffing -

• 1/4 cup - Cashews
• 1 tsp - Ghee
• 150g - Grated Fresh Coconut
• 1/2 cup - Jaggery
• 2 Cardamom pods
• 1/4 tsp - Grated nutmeg

For the Dough -

• 2 cups - Water
• 1 cup - Rice flour
• 2 tsp - Tapioca flour
• 1/8 tsp - Salt
• 1 tsp - Ghee

Instructions

 

For the Stuffing -

1. Place a pan on low heat and dry roast the cashews until they start to turn golden.
2. Once they cool slightly, take them in a blender jar and grind them into a coarse powder.
3. Place the pan back on low heat and add ghee followed by the grated fresh coconut. Stirring it regularly, roast the coconuts until they turn aromatic, around 5-7 mins.
4. Add the jaggery and give it a good mix until all the jaggery is evenly mixed in.
5. Place a lid on the pan and let the mixture cook on low heat for about 15 mins. Take off the cover and cook the mixture every 4-5 mins to prevent the mixture burning at the bottom.
6. Once the coconut is cooked fully and has turned soft and translucent, add in the powdered cashews, cardamom and nutmeg.
7. Give everything a good mix and take the pan off heat. Let the mixture cool completely before stuffing the modaks.

For the Dough -

1. Take water in a heavy bottom pan or non-stick pan. Non-stick pan will work better in this recipe.
2. Bring the water to a roaring boil and add the salt and ghee followed by the rice flour and tapioca flour. Start mixing this as soon as you have added the flour.
3. Turn the heat to low and stir this dough continuously. This dough has to be cooked for around 10 mins until the rice flour is cooked all the way through.
4. Stirring the dough will be difficult as the dough will thicken as it cooks. Keep stirring and mixing it continuously.
5. If you notice your dough turning too dry, you can add up to 1/4 cup more water. Be sure to add boiling hot water.
6. After around 10 minutes, dip your fingers in some cold water and tap on the surface of the dough. If the dough does not stick to your fingers, it is ready.
7. Take the dough out in a bowl and continue to stir it continuously for around 5 minutes. This will cool the dough evenly and the dough will be more pliable.
8. Divide the dough into 10 equal parts.
9. Grease your palms with some ghee. Take one piece of dough and cover the remaining.
10. Flatten the dough using your fingers into a circle or a cup shape. Add around 1.5 tbsp of the cooled coconut stuffing in the middle and slowly bring the edges of the dough together in the middle. For the dome shape. If there is extra dough, take it off from the top.
11. Once the modak is sealed properly, dip a toothpick or a skewer in some water and start the press down along all the sides, running top to bottom. Make the pattern all around the modak.
12. Form all the modaks similarly.
13. Top the modaks with some saffron soaked water. (optional)

Did You Make This Recipe?

Have you made this recipe? Tag me on Instagram at @VanillaTrails and use the hashtag #MadeWithVanillaTrails.