Measure jaggery and add it in a pan, add water and dissolve it well.
Heat it up for few mins just for the jaggery to get dissolved. Strain to remove impurities.
Dry roast green gram dal until golden, pressure cook for about 4 whistles.
It should not be too mushy as we need whole bits for salt version. Divide into 2 portions for sweet and salt.
Heat oil in a pan - add the items listed under 'to temper'. Let it splutter. Add green gram dal saute for a minute.
Break it roughly, add required salt and red chilli powder.
Mix well, finally add grated coconut. Mix it well. Switch off, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Now in another pan heat jaggery syrup, when it starts to bubble add another portion of cooked green gram dal.
Mash it with a masher like shown.
Keep cooking in low flame until it becomes a mass. It will be thick and not sticky. At this stage add coconut.
Now prepare the outer dough. Measure and take rice flour in a mixing bowl, add salt.
Mix it once. Boil water until it bubbles up, switch off then add it to rice flour.
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.Keep covered with a wet cloth until use.
Mix well and set aside. Make small balls with the sweet pooranam. Now both sweet and salt pooranams are ready, the rice flour dough is also ready.
Grease your hands with oil. Make lemon sized small balls with the prepared dough and flatten them as thin as possible make it like a small cup. Now keep the sweet pooranam in the 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. Now for the salt version flatten a lemon sized ball, make it thin.
Add the stuffing in the center. Pull the left side and seal it. Press inwards to get this shape.
Repeat to finish the dough. Prepare the steamer, grease the steaming plate with few drops of oil. Steam cook for 10 mins in low medium flame or until the Modaks are not sticky. They will turn shiny. Steam in batches.
Serve Green Gram Modak hot!