Ganesha's Goodies

Ganesh Chaturthi, apart from being a religious festival, has a number of food-based rituals wrapped around it. And sweets are an integral part of the festivities. Like Ganesha, we all enjoy the melt-in-mouth taste of modaks. The festival has given birth to numerous versions of the sweet, which in due course has become people’s absolute favourite.

Though modaks are available in sweet confectioneries throughout the year, there is something special about this time when you can find people going crazy for these sweets. Those who are not fond of the Indian sweet also do not wish to swim against the current and instead are found willing to try out at least one or two.

However, the age-old versions of the sweet have evolved with time and demand. Be it a health-concious person or a diet-concious one, there are specific types of modaks for everyone. For instance, a multigrain modak or a pistachio modak, sounds yummy right?

Whereas, if you cannot stand the look, smell or taste of these sweets, don’t worry, my boy! You’ll not be exempted from enjoying the festive sweets. There are plenty more sweet options in our bucket to satisfy your sweet tooth and make your festive days full of pleasant memories.

Pure Pistachio Modak

Ingredients
Pistachios
Powdered sugar/honey (as per your choice)
Chocolate/gulkand (as per your choice)
Coconut butter
Condensed milk

Method
Firstly, boil the pistachios overnight and let them dry. Next morning, peel off the pistachios to extract their natural green colour and keep them in a dry bowl or pan.
Grind the pistachios well so that they take a thick knead form. Now take powdered sugar or honey and add it to the condensed milk according to your taste and mix well.
Nex, for binding, either you can use the liquid extracted from the gulkand or chocolate syrup, and mix them well with the grinded pistachios.
Next, add grinded pistachio to condensed milk and mix well such that all the milk and sugar are soaked properly.
Now apply coconut butter on your hand and start making laddoo balls with the kneaded pistachio material.
The gulkand is infused into the modak to give a perfect blend of authentic smell and taste, without adding any colour or preservatives.

Chocolate multigrain modak

Ingredients
Panaplus flour    360gms
Butter                        180gms
Milk maid                   260gms
Liquid glucose             40gms
Almond flakes              100gms
Multigrain (for garnish)      100gms
Chocolate Truffle         To coat

Method
Roast panaplus and multigrain separately; keep aside till flour starts giving a roasted smell.
Mix all ingredient, make a dough and cool for 15 mins.
Cut into desired size and shape it like modak.
Finally, dip it into chocolate truffle syrup and coat with roasted multigrain.
— Recipe by Chef Shivanda Kain from Jaypee Green Golf and Spa Resort

Kesar Chocolate Modak

Ingredients
Cashew Paste     20gms
Sugar     
Dry gulkand
Khoya
Kesar (Saffron)
Belgium chocolate
Ghee
Milk

Method
The first step is to take Belgium chocolate shells and fill the liquid inside the shell.
Now, crush the saffron stands in mortar and pestle. Now, take the khoya and add kesar to it for colour and flavour.
On other hand, warm the milk in the microwave for 15 seconds.
Add the saffron into warm milk and stir.
Since the milk is warm, saffron will infuse its colour immediately. Now, take grated mawa and sugar in a pan. Turn the heat on medium. Mix and cook with stirring constantly. Sugar will melt and it becomes paste-like.
Add the saffron milk mixture to it. Mix and cook for 4-5 minutes. It comes together like a dough and fat starts to ooze out from the side; in the meantime, turn off the stove.
Remove the mixture into a plate and let it cool down so that you can touch it with your bare hands. Grease the modak mould using ghee.
While the mawa mixture is still warm, start giving the shape.
(One laddoo weighs     40gms)

Kesar Badaam

Ingredients

Murmura
Almonds
Sugar
Kesar (saffron)
Ghee
Milk

Method
First of all, roast the almonds and let them dry up.
In the meanwhile, make a sugar syrup. Take water and keep it in a stove and add sugar to it until you have a solution.
Crush the kesar and add it to the sugar syrup. Let it sit for few minutes but don’t let it cool off.
Dip the roasted almonds in the syrup and then take the almonds out. The almonds will infuse the coating of syrup onto it.
On other hand, warm up the milk in the microwave for a few seconds. Add the saffron to warm milk and stir.
Since the milk is warm, saffron will infuse its colour immediately. Turn the heat on medium.
Mix and cook. Sugar will melt and become paste-like. Add saffron milk to it. Mix and cook for 4-5 minutes. Let it take the shape of the dough.
Turn off the pan and take the dough and mould in the shape of peda, laddoo, modak, anything of your choice.

Cashew Fig Rose Laddoo

Ingredients
Anjeer (figs)
Cashew paste    
Rose petals
Dry fruits
Sugar
Ghee

Method
Soak the anjeer or figs overnight and then next morning make balls out of them.
Soak cashew overnight and grind them. While grinding, add dry fruits to the mix.  Now you have cashew paste. In the meanwhile, keep the rose petals under sunlight and let them dry up.
Now, take cashew paste and sugar in a pan. Turn the heat on medium. Mix and cook with stirring constantly.
Now, take the anjeer balls and add the cashew paste to it. This is will help to soak the mawa and then give them the shape of laddoos using your bare hands.
When the laddoos are ready and a little bit wet, add dried rose petals and let them dry up so that they get fixed to the laddoo.

— Recipes by Arpit Chawla and Anchal Sharma, Meetha Shagun