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Sharmis Passions

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Mothagam recipe | Modakam recipe | How to make modak

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Mothagam

Mothagam recipe with step by step photos. I had already posted mothagam recipe with coconut filling earlier but wanted to try it with chana dal filling using the mould so last week made it and clicked to post it here for vinayagar chathurthi special.  Though making modaks using mould is time consuming, the end result looks pretty especially for the clicks 🙂 Check out the savoury urad dhal kozhukattai here.

Mothagam Recipe

This is my fav anytime and as a kid I’ve enjoyed it as a teatime snack many times so try this for your kids am sure they will enjoy it too.

Modakam Recipe

Mothagam Recipe – Ingredients

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 10 modaks
Recipe Category: Snack | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

 

For the outer covering:

Rice Flour(Idiyappam flour) – 1 cup
Water – 1 and 1/4 cup(adjust as needed)
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste

For the pooranam:

Channa Dal – 3/4 cup
Coconut – 3 tbsp
Powdered Jaggery – 1 cup
Cardamom powder – a pinch

Method:

  1. Take jaggery in a sauce pan add water, mix well with a laddle for the jaggery to dissolve.
    How to make modakam - Step1
  2. Filter to remove impurities.Then pour it back to the pan and heat it up to thicken a bit.
    How to make modakam - Step2
  3. Pressure cook channa dal for 4 whistles and mash it with a laddle or masher.Then add this to jaggery syrup.
    How to make modakam - Step3
  4. Cook till it thickens.The more the water you add to jaggery it will take more time to get thicken, so be careful while adding water.
    How to modakam - Step4
  5. At one stage the mixture will become thick leaving the sides of the pan.
    How to make modakam - Step5
  6. This is the right stage, add cardamom powder,mix well and switch off.When it is still warm, roll them into small balls.Keep aside.
    How to make modakam - Step6
  7. Add salt to rice flour,Mix it once.Boil water until it bubbles up,switch off then add it to rice flour.
    How to make Peanut Kozhukattai Recipe - Step6
  8. Mix with a laddle,once it starts to come together,Set aside for few mins until it is warm enough to handle with hand.Now bring everything together to form a smooth dough without any cracks.
    How to make Peanut Kozhukattai Recipe - Step7
  9. Now the stuffing and the outer dough is ready.Take your mould, grease it with oil,grease your hands too.Now close the mould and take a dough shape it as a ball and stuff it from the bottom side.
    How to make modakam - Step8
  10. Nicely press it along the sides in the inner part,leaving a center hole for the stuffing.Now carefully insert the stuffing in the center hole,press it.Then seal it with little dough as shown.
    How to make modakam - Step9
  11. Then open carefully to take out the modaks. Grease the mould with oil when it starts sticking. Repeat the process till the entire dough finishes.
    How to make modakam - Step10
  12. If you don’t have mould you can shape modaks like this(for detailed steps check below).Then arrange all the modaks it in idli / idiyapam steamer and steam it for 8-10 mins. When the outer layer turns shiny then your modaks are done.
    How to make modakam - Step11

Method to make mothagam without mould:

  1. Always make the poornam ready first then make the outer dough so that the outer dough doesnt get dried up. Once the pooranams are ready you can relax, watch ur favourite tv program and do the kozhukattai 🙂 Grease ur hands with oil.Make lemon sized small balls with the prepared dough and flatten them as thin as possible like a small cup.Now keep the coconut pooranum stuffed ball and keep in middle of the cup as shown below.Pull around the edges and bring it to center over the top of the filling. Bring it together to form the modak shape.Now follow the procedure for the remaining dough too.
    How to make mothagam- Step4
  2. Arrange the modaks in a steaming plate and steam it for 10mins.After 10-12 mins check if the kozhukottais are done, the outer layer will be a bit shiny.Now carefully transfer them in a bowl and ur kozhukattais are ready!
    How to make mothagam - Step5

Modakam - Chana Dal Pooranam

Video showing how to shape modakam without mould

Check out thengai poorna kozhukattai recipe that I posted a year back.

Mothagam
There are varieties of filling ideas like :

  • Only coconut
  • Channa Dal and coconut
  • Sesame seeds and coconut
  • Peanuts and coconut
  • Urad dhal for savoury etc

Modakam Recipe

My Notes:

  • Water should be very hot, only then the flour will get cooked well and the dough will be less sticky.Use laddle while mixing and when it turns warm use your hands to bring it together to form a dough.
  • Do not add the full 1 and 1/4 cups of water to the flour at a stretch. Add it little by little.
  • Grease your hands / mould while making the modaks to avoid sticking.
  • Make sure to keep the unused dough covered with a wet cloth to avoid it from drying.
  • I used readymade idiyappam flour this time, sieve it once atleast even for homemade flour(if its not sieved previously)

Sweet Kozhukattai Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Madhu Pravin says

    I remember, on Vinayaga Chathurthi, my mom wakes me up at 4 am n pushes me to bathe n help her with filling the pooranam. It tempts me so much. Sadly, she won't let me eat before offering to Lord Ganesha 🙂 Pics are amazing and the last one makes me drool 🙂 Wil try on Vinayaga Chathurthi 🙂

    Reply

  8. Priya R says

    Wow they look so yummy and love their shape. Sharmi I made a birthday cake for my husband using your easy vanilla sponge recipe, will be posting it soon in my blog. Its so yummy I just cant describe, I did a vanilla butter cream frosting and thank you for the wonderful recipe, I read each of your 200 comments to get more tips and am so happy to follow you here.

    Love your recipes dear, do visit me when you can

    Priya
    Cook like Priya

    Reply

  60. M D says

    When I initially saw the recipe I thought this were store bought. I couldnt believe seeing those beautiful treats. This is such a family favorite of ours. Beautiful!

    Reply

  72. dhivya says

    Hi
    I live in germany and here its difficult to get jaggrey. So which fulling will taste good when made with sugar. Usually sugar fillings do not taste as good as those with jaggrey..
    Planning to make the pidi kolzhukattai.. So want to make a sweet one as well..

    Reply

  78. jenn-o says

    Can anyone suggest an online source to purchase the mould? I'd really like to make these and I know I could do it without the mould but they are just so pretty when pressed into that shape!

    Reply

  102. Akshaya Prabhu says

    HI sharmi! Thanks for posting the recipes here.I tried it out for the first time and it was waow! We are just using your efforts effortlrssly! thanks for your time.Keep up the good work.

    Reply

  106. varnasi79 says

    Hi Sharmi,

    Thank you for sharing the modak recipe. I tried it today. No crack and it was very easy to prepare. The filling is coconut jaggery. Thank you so much again. God bless.

    Reply

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