Indian cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Modak

Delicate rice-flour dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery, pleated into a teardrop shape and steamed.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 200g rice flour
• 300ml water
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 pinch salt
• 200g desiccated coconut
• 150g jaggery
• 4 cardamom pods

Instructions

1. Stir the desiccated coconut with the finely chopped jaggery in a pan over medium heat for 6–8 minutes until the jaggery melts and the filling holds together; mix in the crushed cardamom seeds and let cool.
2. Bring the water to a boil with the salt and 1 tsp ghee, tip in the rice flour all at once, stir immediately into a dough with a wooden spoon, and let it swell covered for 5 minutes.
3. While still hot, knead the dough vigorously on a ghee-greased surface for 3–4 minutes until smooth and pliable – cold dough cracks when shaped.
4. Shape the dough into 12 equal balls and press each one with greased fingers into a flat disc about 8cm across.
5. Place 1 tsp of filling in the center of each, pleat the edge into small folds, bring them together over the filling, and twist into a point at the top.
6. Steam the modak over boiling water for 10–12 minutes until the casing turns glossy, and serve warm drizzled with the remaining melted ghee.