Modak – India’s Nutritious & Healthy Sweet Dish!

MODAK is a sweet dish prepared on the festival of shri Ganesh in India.
Moda meaning – Happiness in the mind, gives satisfaction, glory.

Etymology: मुदणीच न्वुल, मुद the word Modaka in Sanskrit

An Indian sweet popular in Maharashtra, goa and Konkan.

Other names:

• Marathi/ Konkani/ Gujrati : Modaka (मोदक)
• Kannada: Modhaka
• Tamil: Modhakam / Kozhakkatai
• Telgu: Kudumu.
• English: the sweet dumpling

Hindu mythology behind the Modaka:

मुदाकरात्तमोदकम सदा विमुक्तीसाधकम |

Who holds the divine joy in his hand as modaka (a sweetmeat) and who always strives to accomplish the liberation of his devotees towards that divine joy.
As per Hindu mythology modaka is one of the favorite food of lord Ganesha, generally 21 Modaka’s are offering to Ganesha. It is believed that lord Ganesha was fond of sweetmeats and that is one of these reasons that a wide array of sweets are offered to Vinayaka during the festival to impress him and seek his blessings

Lord Ganesha’s love for modaka has also earned him the name Modakpriya.

“गजनना: मोदकाय स्पृहयती”|

In japan, a sweet similar to modaka and known locally as “kangidan”. Is offered to god kangiten, the Japanese version of lord Ganesha.

Kangidans are made from curd, honey, and red beans paste. They are wrapped in kneaded dough made from parched flour and shaped like a bun before they are deep fried.

Types of Modaka:

1. Balances aggravated vata and pitta increases kapha.
2. Improves Agni and gives you the pleasant feeling.
3. Lubricating your gut: The ghee and jaggery makes your intestinal flora lubricating and lift you up from the constipation.
4. Consume more vitamins: The rice and wheat flour add more vitamins, thiamin, iron, niacin in your body and makes your heart healthy too.
5. Healthy bones and skin : Coconut which is highly rich in manganese essential for bone health and metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and cholesterol. Also rich in cooper and iron which helps to from red bold cells as well as selenium, an important antioxidant that helps to protect your cell.
   Also makes your skin and hair healthy and glow. The cold virya (nature) of coconut prevents you from acidity also. Makes good quality bile juices.
6. Aphrodisiac in nature.
7. Anti-ageing food: Highly reached nutritious quality food which vigor the body and stabilize the mind.
8. Good for undernourished kids.
9. Boosts your energy and build the stamina : With sweet taste gives you energy and improves your build.
10. Maintains your blood pressure : Cold compound coconut, ghee help to maintain the pressure level of the bold.
11. Nourishes the expected mother : In pregnancy this is the highly rich iron, magnesium and vitamin food. This improves the weight of the mother and gives nourishment to the infant also.
12. “त्वम मूलाधारो स्थितोसी नित्यम”|he is the lord of mooladhara chakra. In other word, he rules our material life on the earth. He is also the gatekeeper at mooladhara, the first chakra where our spiritual evolution starts by awaking kundalini. So, interestingly if we want to go for spiritual life, we need Ganesha’s grace.
13. Increases fragrance in oral cavity after chewing it.

Method of preparation :

For the shell :
i) 2 tsp ghee
ii) 1 cup rice flour/ wheat flour
iii) 1 cup of water
iv) Pinch of salt

For the filling :
i) 1cup grated coconut
ii) 1cup jaggery / sugar
iii) A pinch of nutmeg, cardamom, saffron
iv) Black Raisins

Prepare Modak :

1. Take flour add pinch salt, boil water and ghee into it add this to flour and make a dough.
2. Kept it for 15 min.to make softer and to mix well.
3. Until the time heat a pan and add some ghee + coconut, fry it until get golden brown color after add jaggery and cardamom, nutmeg, raisins & saffron mix well.
4. Now take little dough, roll into ball, flatten it well in round shape.
5. Fill it with the filling stuff at least a spoon and give a shape of flower pattern and seal nicely.
6. You can fry it in ghee or oil or the other way is to steam it for 15 minutes.

Ready to serve…..

You can experiment with the stuffing of Modak as per your liking from chocolate, nuts, khoya to dry fruits, add whatever suits your preference and enjoy it.

I hope you will enjoy the taste of Modak blogpost …don’t forget to let us know how you like it.

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