This is exciting flavour of traditional Modak with feeling of Gulkand to it. Though mainly Talniche(fried) Modak(recipe here) are mainly loved at my home, this time we made this special Modak for Ganpati Bappa and they were loved by all!
Since I strictly avoid food colours in my recipes, for this modak also I gave the tint of pink using beetroot juice..
Prepared stuffing looks like below. As I have used homemade Gulkand it is slightly dry, if you use store bought, it may have sugar syrup to it, you can remove it before using Gulkand for stuffing.
Before starting keep the beetroot piece in around half cup water. It will start releasing nice pink colour to water.
1. Heat remaining water in a pan.
Ukad ready before kneading will look like this. You can get darker pink color by using concentrated beetroot juice.
You can make Modak with hand or with the help of a mould for beginners it is good to use a mould. As I was running short of time I prepared all modak with the help of mould.
Grease the mould with ghee from inside. Take a small ball of the rice mixture and press it in the mould. Wet your hand with water and with the help of a finger press the rice mixture around the sides of the mould, making a hollow at the centre. Add around a tablespoon of gulkand stuffing to the and with help of a small piece of rice mixture cover the mould from bottom. The pictures below.
Gently open the mould and take out the Modak. Make all the modak like this.
If you want to shape it without mould, make a small ball of rice mixture and shape it like a small bowl gently and then pinch with two fingers. Add stuffing and close the modak.
Heat a steamer and place the modak on the steamer payment for another 7 to 10 minutes.