Hello, my dear Connect friends! Hope you all are doing great, eating well and staying safe.
Being a travel bug I have always tried to visit different destinations to explore the different cultures, lifestyles and local routines; and one thing I have always loved is trying the local delicacies! Be it in my own town/country or outside India, what makes me curious is what is ‘authentic’.
This post is especially for my friends all over the world which talks about one of the mouth-watering authentic Maharashtrian delicacies- Ukdiche Modak, which is also an integral part of our upcoming festival- Ganesh Chaturthi (Birth of Lord Ganesha). Modak is one of the favourite dishes of Lord Ganesha and it is a part of the naivedyam (offering to god).
Ukadiche Modak (the Maharashtrian momos- as my friends call it) usually have a rice flour coating and are filled with a delicious mixture of grated coconut cooked in jaggery. Trust me it is beyond my ability to describe the heavenly feeling of having the steaming hot Modak with ghee. Sometimes the rice coating can be replaced by wheat flour which can also be fried. This alternative preparation is also delicious which has the same filling inside. Different states have different styles and recipes of Modak preparation but the basics remain the same! They can be prepared using the mould which is super fast and easy or just by hand (that definitely needs skill). The procedure of preparation is exactly the same as that of momos except for the ingredients.
Usually in Maharashtrians, 11 or 21 Modaks are offered to Lord Ganesha as a part of Naivedyam served on Banana leaf traditionally.
Ukadiche modak is usually not commonly available for sale in most cities in Maharashtra but these can be bought from homemade food suppliers in certain locations like Dadar, Thane, Dombivli etc. I must mention that near my home in Dombivli, we have multiple homemade Modak suppliers who provide delicious preparation on pre-orders. Such businesses usually do not have any business name, they operate at a much smaller scale and probably go unnoticed.
What is Modak called in your language? If you know of any variant of this preparation, do let me know in the comments. If you ever travel to Mumbai (or Maharashtra), do try this local delicacy!
Woww…it’s my favorite. My mouth is watering by seeing your Modak photo. The Ghee on this Modak gives immense taste and lots of enjoy. Very nice post dear @Smita_Patil thank you for sharing this with us.
Definitely @SumanBhadra , if you plan your visit to any Maharashtrian city (like Mumbai) specially during Ganesha festival, it won’t be dificult to find this sweet. Please do try!
I actually forgot to mention that there are multiple varieties of this sweet like chocolate Modak, dry fruit Modak etc. Which can be availed at any sweet shop but the authentic ones remain the Ukdiche Modak
Many thanks for going through my post and your response dear
Thank you @Gezendunyali , for your response! Yes, the shape is different but it’s almost like Ravioli, but does ravioli has egg? Modak is a vegetarian sweet dish in Maharashtrians.
