1. Take a frying pan and keep it on low flame/ low heat. Add one cup of fine (barik) rava and fry it over low flame for 2-3 minutes, taking care it is not browned.

Note: If you do not have barik rava, then you can just take the big grained rava in a grinder and pulse it a couple of times to get the fine grains.

Note 2: Standardize the cup you use. The same cup has to be used for measuring the rava and the milk.

2. Take one cup of milk (same cup size as you measured rava in). The milk should be warm if not boiling. I warmed the milk I used for about 50 seconds in the microwave before using. Now add this warm milk to the rava in the pan stirring continuously to avoid getting lumps. The flame should be on low at all times. Keep folding in the rava into the milk for about a minute or so and the milk will start getting absorbed into the rava.

3. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of warm milk to the rava and again fold everything in. Cook for a minute and when the rava becomes a sticky lump remove it it a plate. I had oiled the plate beforehand to avoid sticking the rava to the plate. Now let it cool down to room temperature before you start kneading. 

Note: I started kneading almost after 2 minutes of removing the rava. But be careful it might be hot.



4. Now comes the hardest part. Kneading the rava atta. Be ready to knead it with all your strength for about 6-8 minutes. 3 minutes into the kneading, add 1 tsp of desi ghee and keep kneading.

Tip: Desi ghee or buffalo ghee would impart a richer flavor.

Tip 2: Add a little oil to your palm when your kneading, this will prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers

Start Kneading

Add Ghee

5. At the end of 6-8 minutes you will have a near smooth dough. Now add the castor/ powdered sugar. Powdered sugar will be easy to incorporate with the dough. Again repeat the kneading process like before. The sugar will release water and make the dough sticky. So oil your palms and if required add  1 tsp of refined oil or ghee into the dough for easy kneading. Knead it until you have a nice smooth dough.

Tip: If you don't have castor sugar then take normal sugar and grind it to powder.

Note: Add sugar to the dough only if you are making a filling - less modak like me. Otherwise you can skip this step as your filling will be sweet.


6.  Now divide this sweet dough into two equal parts. First we will make the coconut-cinnamon modak as it is colorless.

Divide the dough into two equal parts

Cinnamon -Coconut Modak Recipe

7. In a skillet take the shredded coconut and dry roast for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant. No oil needs to be added to this. Coconut will release its own oils. This process is done to make the coconut more fragrant and to dry up the moisture in it. Make sure it doesn't get browned or burnt.

Dry Roast the coconut till lightly fragrant

8. Flatten the dough on the plate with fingers and add this roasted coconut to the dough portion and also add the cinnamon powder. Now knead this well to incorporate the ingredients. Add a little oil whenever you feel the dough is hard to handle and is becoming sticky.

Add the dry roasted coconut

Add the cinnamon powder

9. Now make small lemon sized balls from the dough. It will make approximately 8 small balls with this portion.

Make balls from the dough

10. Now with your oiled hands slowly pinch the top of the ball and make the top of the ball tapered like a modak. Now press the ball lightly to flatten its base. Don't worry if you don't get it in the perfect shape at the first try. Just roll it into a ball again and start over.

11. Now with a fork, start making half moon grooves on all along the side so that it starts resembling a modak. Again don't worry too much about perfection of the grooves.

Gulkand Modak Recipe

12. Now we will make the gulkand modak. Flatten the other half of the dough and add the gulkand and rose petals. Also add two drops of beetroot juice or light pink food color to the dough. Knead the dough nicely till a smooth texture is formed.

Tip: If you have rose syrup you can use 1 tsp of that instead of gulkand to give it a rosy flavour and light pink color. But still I would recommend using Gulkand as it gives a nice flavour to teh modaks

Note: You may vary the color or the amount of gulkand as per your liking.

Note 2: You can also use 1/4th tsp rose water in the dough. This is completely optional. I didn't use it.

Note 3: I have used dried rose petals. I found that these rose petals are lovely in terms of flavor and color. I have used them for making my own rose tea pre-mix also.

Add Gulkand

Add Dried Rose petals

The dough

13. Now just like the other modak, shape these too, and use to fork to make grooves into it.

Modaks Before Steaming

Steaming the Modak

14. Once you are done with the grooves sprinkle some cinnamon powder over the coconut -cinnamon modaks and now place them on the steamer stand. You can use a normal idli steamer like me. For the gulkand ones, you don't need to sprinkle anything, just place them also in the stand.

Steam them in batches for 5 minutes each.

Note: You need to keep enough gap between the modaks so don't try to shove in all at once, otherwise they may stick.

Putting the modaks in the idli steamer

15. Now open the steamer and let the modaks sit on the stand before it is a bit cooled. Then remove them onto a plate. They will cool down and take the look and feel of an authentic modak.

Garnish with cinnamon powder, fresh coconut and rose petals and enjoy!


Re-heating the Modak

The best part of these modaks is that they can be easily stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. So if you have extra modaks do not worry, just put them in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat them, just pop them into a microwave safe covered container and heat for 30 seconds. It will be as good as new.

If you do not have a microwave oven you can again steam it for 5 minutes and consume.

1. In a mixer grinder take the shredded fresh coconut, green chilly, ginger and a little salt. Add water as per preferred consistency. E.g for thick chutney add half a cup of water, for runny chutney add more.

Tip: If the coconut is not naturally sweet I like to add about 1/4 tsp of sugar while grinding. It is optional ingredient.



2. Now to prepare the tempering/ tadka. In a frying pan heat oil. When the oil is hot add the hing, mustard seeds, dry red chilli, curry leaves, Urad daal and a pinch of red chilli powder. Stir everything about a minute or two untill fragrant. Turn off the heat.

Note: The red chilli powder gives a nice reddish hue to the chutney. Its is optional, if you want a natural white color you can skip it.

3. Take tadka and por it over the ground coconut paste. Fold in everything and enjoy with you Dosas, Idlis or Uttapams.

Some Variations you can try when you are making the coconut paste in your grinder:

1. Corriander/ Mint : Throw in some corriander or mint along with the coconut when you are grinding and it will result in a nice fresh chutney.

2. Peanut - You can dry roast the peanuts and then add it to the coconuts while grinding. It will result in a peanutty flavor.

3. Sesame - Same goes for sesame as well. You can dry roast sesame to bring out their nutty flavor and add it to the grind.

4. Curry Leaves - Fry the curry leaves in a little oil and grind it with coconut. It will give a nice flavor and color.

5. Dried Red chilli - dry roast the chillies and add to the coconut for a nice lovely red color and heat.

6. Onions - Dry roast onion, till its pale pink and use it along with the coconut.