Mascarpone cheese, hazelnut, sattu, cranberry or paan modaks…Take you pick from delectable modaks this Ganeshotsav

Modak season is back. Just like every year, Ganeshotsav has brought with it a slew of luxurious, flavorful and decadent modaks. While some are healthy, there are also traditional ones, some pure desserts, and some with an international twist. After speaking to chefs, restaurateurs, health experts, we selected a few of this year’s trendy ones… Tiramisu-inspired modakGive your traditional modak an international twist this year. Chef Pradeep Singh, the Executive Chef of The Resort, Aksa Beach, came up with a unique one. He says, “This modak is inspired by the Tiramisu, the national dessert of Italy. It is rich in flavors and has a layered simplicity. I have incorporated the taste and flavour of soft mascarpone cheese, hazelnut and coffee into this modak, which is a variant of the traditional Ukadiche modak.”How to make it:To make the filling, the chef has used soft mascarpone cheese that is used in making non-baked desserts, added chopped hazelnuts, freshly grated coconut, and some coffee for flavour. This mixture is then stuffed into the rice flour dough (you could add some brown food colour or use coffee extract in it) and steamed. Dark Chocolate Fig-Date Modak“This unique modak is actually inspired by one of our customers. She had our khajur-dry fruit sweet and asked if we would do a dark chocolate coating on this. That’s how we created this modak this year for the first time,” says co-owner and chef Parvana Mistry of Parsi Dairy Farm. Are you game for XL Modaks?The large modaks are a special range that is created only for this festival. “These are 400-500 gms each and are made to be placed on the palm of the large Ganpati idols. There are three varieties of this including the traditional Motichur Modak and Kesar Modak and the newer Chocolate-date Modak,” says Parvana. Add colour to your traditional modaks “The ukadiche modaks will always remain popular. This year we have used saffron, pistachio, beetroot, and carrot to get the rice flour dough its different colours,” says Chef Pradeep. Healthy Sattu ModaksRoasted gram flour or sattu modaks are gluten-free and are getting popular this season. Nutritionist Suman Agarwal from Mishtaa says, “Sattu is rich in protein, fiber, iron, complex carbohydrates, magnesium, and B-complex vitamins. For creating these modaks I have roasted sattu to get a particular texture and flavour and added jaggery, using a little bit of pure ghee. I was born and brought up in Kolkata so I have grown up with mithai. Over the years I’ve realized that most Indian mithai are nutritious with goodness of MUFA and PUFA*, trace minerals and good fat.” Paan and Gulkand Modak“This is a new variety of modak that I have come up with for Ganesh Chaturthi. It is a unique combination and has already gained popularity,” says restaurateur and chef Anees Khan. Ingredients:Betel (Paan) Leaves - 10 pcsPure Ghee - 1 TablespoonMilk Full - 1 CupMilk Powder - 1 CupGrated Coconut - 1 CupCondensed Milk - 4 TablespoonsGreen Food Colour - OptionalGulkand - 4 TablespoonPaan Mukhwas - 2 Tablespoon OptionalColoured Candy Balls - 1 Tsp (For garnish)Method:- Chop the paan leaves and make a paste with a little water- ⁠Add ghee to hot pan. Add milk and milk powder. Cook for 1-2 minutes- ⁠Next add the desiccated coconut and condensed milk. Cook for 1-2 minutes- ⁠Add the betel (paan) paste and the green food colour and cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is thick. Cool- ⁠Prepare modaks by spooning enough cooled mixture and stuff it with Gulkhand and paan Mukhwas.- ⁠Demould the modaks from the mould and sprinkle coloured candy balls. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Healthy Modak RecipesDry fruits, moong dal and millets like ragi can give you healthy modaks and Bandu Ugalmugale, Executive Sous Chef at Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai shares two special recipes. Dry Fruit Modak IngredientsAlmonds 50gmCashew nuts 50gmDates 120gmRaisins 30gmDesiccated coconut 50gmGhee (Clarified butter) 50mlWater as requiredMethodPowder the nuts: Take almonds and cashews in the jar. Pulse it to grind coarsepowder. Add ground dry fruits. Now add dates, raisins and dry coconut. Again, pulse it tomake a coarse mixture. Pulse with ghee: Now add ghee. Again, start pulsing and it should come together likea dough. If not then you can a teaspoon of water at a time, pulse and see.Shape: Remove the mixture to plate. Grease the mould using ghee and start shapinginto modak. Usually, keep the mould close, start stuffing and pressing tightly from thebottom hole. Then smooth out the bottom surface and after that, open and unmould.Moongdal Ragi ModakIngredients: Moongdal Flour (Green Gram) 50gm Ragi Flour (Finger Millet) 50gm Water as required Sugar Cardamom Powder 10gm Dry Fruits 25gmMethod: Heat water and sugar in a pan on medium heat, stirring continuously. Add cardamomin the syrup. Keep it aside to cool. In another pan, roast the Moongdal flour and ragi flour in ghee on low flame for a fewminutes. Add the sugar syrup, milk powder and knead well to form a dough. Divide the dough into small and equal portions and shape them in the form of modakusing moulds. Garnish it with slivered nuts and serve.