Ukadiche Modak is a must do Ganesh Chaturthi special recipe. I have shared the making of ukadiche modak with step by step pictures and full video for beginners. Modak is a traditional sweet dumpling made with rice flour, coconut and jaggery offered to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi. In this post, I share two ways to make the dough (with rice flour & with soaked rice), stuffing tips, shaping method to get soft, non-cracking modak everytime.
Very popularly prepared during the Hindu festival Ganesh Chaturthi and offered as prasad.
Check out my carrot modak recipe and my Khoya modak recipe in this website.
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About Ukadiche Modak
Ukadiche modak gets its name from the Marathi word "ukad", meaning steamed. iceh is a marathi suffix meaning "of" or "made from" So Ukadiche modak literally means modak made by steaming. Soft, rice flour dough shaped into bowls and a sweet coconut jaggery filling, with cardamom flavor is stuffed inside the bowl. Then make beautiful pleats, seal and steam until glossy. Popular mainly in Maharashtra, it's the sweet offered to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi festival in India.
Modak recipes without rice flour:
- Healthy modak recipe - (healthier versions comparatively) Wheat rava kozhukattai, Khajur modak, Millet pidi kozhukattai, Upma kozhukattai with millets.
- Mawa modak
Why you will love this recipe
- Beginner friendly instructions (two methods to adapt)
- Tips to avoid cracks and rubbery texture.
- Traditional taste.
- Video guide and step-by-step pictures.
- Perfect prasad for Ganesha
Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 Festival date
This year, Ganesh Chaturthi festival 2026 is on 14th September, Monday. I have detailed post on how to celebrate the festival, do check it out.
Ukadiche Ingredients
Ingredients are pretty simple to make Ukadiche modak recipe. For stuffing, below are the ingredients needed.
- Rice flour - (good quality processed flour works best) or Idiyappam flour
- Raw rice or Basmati rice for method 2 (If you do not have good quality rice flour)
- Fresh coconut, grated- Gives the filling its juicy and moisture
- Jaggery - Recommend organic jaggery powder if you get it as it is less processed in chemicals.
- Cardamom - For flavour
- Ghee (optional) - Adds a great flavor and taste
- Saffron (Optional) - A strand placed on top of each modak for color and fragrance
Please see the recipe card below for exact quantities.
Step-by-step photos
Modak dough preparation Method 1
In this method, I have used store bought idiyappam flour as always I have been using for almost 17+ years now
1. In heavy bottom vessel, bring 1 cup water to boil firstly. After that, add required salt, sesame oil to the boiling water.
2. Then lower the flame and add ½ cup rice flour to the hot water, mixing briskly.
3. It will get cooked and for a dough quickly. So keep mixing so that all the flour is incorporated.
4. Dough is formed, furthermore mix in mashing way to incorporate all uncooked white flour while the dough is hot.
5. This is how it should be, no dry white spots of flour.
6. Keep covered until warm enough to handle.
7. Once warm enough to handle, knead again to smooth it completely.
Method 2
Thank you Shital Kanitkar for sharing this technique.
1. Take basmati rice in a bowl firstly.
2. Wash & soak 3 to 7 hours.
3. Once done, drain water completely and place in a mixie.
4. Grind silky smooth like milk. No texture should be felt.
5. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add rest of the water (½ cup), salt, sesame oil and mix.
6. Boil water in a saucepan over a stove.
7. Lower the flame. Keep the mixing bowl over it. Water should not touch the bowl. Stir continuously to avoid lumps.
8. Scrap from bottom of the bowl. Hold the bowl with tongs.
Once dough is formed, take off the heat.
9. Mix in mashing way using the spatula itself.
Keep covered and set aside for 5 minutes.
10. Keep covered and set aside for 5 minutes.
After that, once warm enough to handle, knead to a smooth & soft dough.
12. Dough ready! You can take small portions of the dough as small pieces, roll smoothly as balls and keep it covered in a bowl.
Coconut Jaggery Filling
1. Take jaggery in a pan and heat it with ¼ cup water in medium flame.
2. No need for syrup consistency, just dissolve it.
Once the jaggery melts, filter it.
3. After that, wash the pan and return the syrup to it with grated coconut, cardamom powder.
4. Cook furthermore for few mins in medium heat until the liquid is absorbed. Do not overcook or do it in high flame. It should slightly look moist with syrup so that later as it cools down, it will be right texture.
5. Add a teaspoon of ghee lastly and set aside to cool down. You can make equal sized balls for easily filling the modak.
6. Do not over cook. Switch off when there is still some moisture.
How to shape modak
1. Grease you hands with sesame oil firstly. After that, take a dough ball from the above prepared rice mixture and knead again to smooth it. Dip your hands in water if it is too dry or stiff.
2. Then, start thinning the edges resembling a flying saucer.
3. With your thumb above and other fingers below for support, press in the middle portion furthermore to shape as bowl. Make sure to even out the thickness.
4. You will get a bowl like this.
5. Keep around 1 or 2 teaspoon of coconut filling inside. Then make pleats in the outer side. These ridges gives a beautiful unique look to the modak.
6. Use your thumb and middle finger to make pleats.
7. After that converge these pleats on top and shape the modak.
8. Then seal on top making tip pointed. Repeat to finish all similar way. Keep the finished modak covered.
9. Grease the steamer plate. Then arrange modaks over it. You can place a saffron strand (as such or soaked in milk/ water) on each modak for flavor, decoration.
10. Meanwhile, bring 1 to 1 & ½ cup of water to boil in a steamer pot. Keep the modak inside.
11. Steam for 7-10 minutes. You will notice a slight color change and shiny outer layer once it is done.
12. Finally, take out and repeat in batches to finish. Ukadiche modak is ready!
Both ways, the ukadiche modak stays soft if you use good quality flour and rice. Offer God, distribute and enjoy yourself! Ganpati Bappa Morya
Substitutions
- Idiyappam flour - Use homemade rice flour (slightly roast without changing color) or any good quality fine processed flour. Puttu flour or Thai rice flours (not glutinous ones, regular rice flours) works too if you can reach.
- Basmati rice - use sona masuri or ponni raw rice.
- Jaggery - Palm sugar, brown sugar can be replaced. But use just ½ cup for 1 cup coconut.
Equipment
Use a mighty strong tongs to hold the bowl in method 2 while double boiler method.
Also make sure to use a sauce pan with water that does not touch the bowl above.
Steamer - You can use idli pot with greased idli plate or a steamer you have. I used my clip on pressure cooker with glass lid and IKEA steamer insert basket.
Don't have steamer? Just take a large kadai and fill it with ¼th water. Place a bowl inside in the middle to use like trivet, or place a trivet.
Over that, place a greased plate (perforated if you have one) with modak arranged in it. Cover with a lid and steam cook.
Storage
Modak stays good for 12 hours in room temperature. You can refrigerate and re steam to heat and consume for 3 days.
Top tip
- Keep the dough always covered, irrespective of method you follow.
- Also, after rolling into balls and shaping into modak, keep covered. You can use a lid or well wrung wet clean kitchen towel for covering.
- I have made without modak mold, but you can make the same modak with moulds.
- Use tongs to avoid steam ending up in your hands.
- Do the dough preparation in low flame in both methods.
- Place the modak inside steamer only after water boils in the steamer.
FAQ
Keep the modak dough covered all times. Make sure to cook the dough well atleast 90 percent while making dough process.
After shaping do not let it sit for long time. Keep covered and steams as soon as possible. Keep the modak inside only after water boils in the steamer.
Use only good quality rice flour. Processed and finest in texture works best as it gets cooked easily while making dough itself.
Make sure to cook the rice dough well while making the dough. Adding a teaspoon of ghee or sesame oil while preparing the dough gives soft, moist results.
Take out the modak as soon as it's done and keep it covered to avoid dry texture.
Recipe card
Modak Recipe | Ukadiche Modak Recipe
Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)
Ingredients
Method 1
- 1 cup Idiyappam flour Or good quality processed rice flour
- 2 cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- Salt
Method 2
- 1 cup Basmati rice or raw rice
- 1 cup Water Ice cold
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- Salt
For stuffing
- 1 cup Grated coconut
- ¾ cup Jaggery roughly crushed
- 1 Cardamom powdered
- 1 tsp ghee
Others
- 1 pinch Saffron optional
Instructions
Method 1
- In this method, I have used store bought idiyappam flour as always I have been using for almost 17+ years now
- In heavy bottom vessel, bring 1 cup water to boil firstly. After that, add required salt, sesame oil to the boiling water.
- Then lower the flame and add ½ cup rice flour to it mixing briskly.
- It will get cooked and for a dough quickly. So keep mixing so that all the flour is incorporated.
- Dough is formed, furthermore mix in mashing way to incorporate all uncooked white flour while the dough is hot.
- This is how it should be, no dry white spots of flour.
- Keep covered until warm enough to handle.
- Once warm enough to handle, knead again to smooth it completely.
Method 2
- Thank you Shital Kanitkar for sharing this technique.
- Take basmati rice in a bowl firstly.
- Wash & soak 3 to 7 hours.
- Once done, drain water completely and place in a mixie.
- Grind silky smooth like milk. No texture should be felt.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add rest of the water (½ cup), salt, sesame oil and mix.
- Boil water in a saucepan.
- Lower the flame. Keep the mixing bowl over it. Water should not touch the bowl. Stir continuously to avoid lumps.
- Scrap from bottom of the bowl. Hold the bowl with tongs. Once dough is formed, take off the heat.
- Mix in mashing way using the spatula itself. Keep covered and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Keep covered and set aside for 5 minutes. After that, once warm enough to handle, knead to a smooth dough.
- Dough ready!
Sweet stuffing for modak
- Take jaggery in a pan and heat it with ¼ cup water in medium flame.
- Once the jaggery melts, filter it.
- After that, wash the pan and return the syrup to it with grated coconut, cardamom.
- Cook furthermore in medium heat until the liquid is absorbed. Do not overcook or do it in high flame. It should slightly look moist with syrup so that later as it cools down, it will be right texture.
- Add a teaspoon of ghee lastly and set aside to cool down. You can make equal sized balls for easily filling the modak.
How to shape ukadiche modak
- Grease you hands with sesame oil firstly. Then, take a ball of dough from the above prepared rice mixture and knead again to smooth it. Dip your hands in water if it is too dry or stiff.
- Start thinning the edges resembling a flying saucer.
- With your thumb above and other fingers below for support, press in the middle portion for bowl shape. Make sure to even out the thickness.
- Place the stuffing in middle.
- Make pleats in the outer side. These ridges gives a beautiful unique look to the modak.
- Then converge these pleats on top and shape the modak.
- Repeat to finish all similar way. Keep the finished modak covered.
Steam modak
- Meanwhile bring water to boil in a steamer. Grease the steamer insert/ plate. Arrange modaks over it.
- You can place a saffron strand (as such or soaked in milk/ water) on each modak for flavor, decoration. Steam for 7-10 minutes.
- You will notice a slight color change and shiny outer layer once it is done. Take out and repeat in batches to finish. Ukadiche modak is ready!
Video
Notes
- Keep the dough always covered, irrespective of method you follow.
- Also, after rolling into balls and shaping into modak, keep covered.
- You can use a lid or well wrung wet clean kitchen towel for covering.
- Use tongs to avoid steam ending up in your hands.
- Do the dough preparation in low flame in both methods.
- Place the modak inside steamer only after water boils in the steamer.
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