Cooking with Shail

Hey guys! Ganpati festival is celebrated with full energy and vigor in India. We bring Ganpati bappa at home or in our building societies for 1.5, 3, 5, 7 or 11 days and celebrate his presence by doing aarti everyday and the main part being the prasad which we make and give it to bappa as “bhog”. Bappa loves Modak and there are varieties of Modak made in different parts of India. The variations are all upto your your imagination, varying from stuffed coconut modaks to mawa modaks to chocolate modaks, you name it we make it for Bappa. I have made truffle modak for Bappa. Usually modak is made in modak moulds which are easily available in aluminium, steel or plastic material which give a lovely shape to them. I have made it without moulds, which are also easy to make. These modaks are very tasty and easy to make and I am sure you will enjoy not only making but also eating them. Serve with love to Bappa!!!

Ingredients:

Marie biscuits – 20 pieces

Peanuts (semi crushed) – 1 cup

Dry fruits (Walnuts, almonds, cashew nuts) (semi crushed) – 1/2 cup

Dark Chocolate – 200 grams

Fresh Cream (Amul) – 200 ml

Method:

1) In a bowl take together the dark chocolate (roughly chopped) and cream and microwave it together in intervals of 30 seconds till the the chocolate melts. Mix it well into the cream till no lumps are left. This is chocolate ganache. We need it in liquid form itself.

2) Grind the marie biscuit and form a powder. In a bowl take together the marie biscuit powder, peanut (semi crushed) and dry fruits (semi crushed) and mix it together. Now add in the chocolate ganache as prepared above and form it into a dough. You will need only 1/2 to 3/4 cup of ganache to form a dough. Store rest of the ganache in an airtight container in the fridge.

3) Once the dough is formed cover and keep in fridge for an hour so that it stiffens a bit. After an hour take out the dough and make approximately 15 balls out of it.

4) Roll the balls to form smooth surface. Make a pointy tip while rolling the ball. Using a fork or a toothpick make vertical lines along the length of the modak at equal distance. Set the modaks in the fridge for another hour. After it has set first serve to Bappa and then enjoy.