[ad_1]
Modak, the glistening, translucent, and sweet dumpling that has been called ‘the pure food of the gods’ and is considered a favourite of Ganesha, is fairly simple to prepare. But it doesn’t taste the same when it is prepared outside the home. No matter how strictly you follow the formula of preparation, it takes what is called the mother’s touch. Yet it is one of the oldest sweetmeats in India’s culinary heritage.
That’s why Vivek Garge of Bombae Tapri has always relied on his mother to prepare modaks the way they should be. With a cloud kitchen in Greater Noida, he prepares authentic home-style Maharashtrian food for customers across the National Capital Region (NCR) and reserves modaks only for the Ganesh Utsav.
Garge’s only outlet happens to be in Dilli Haat at INA, simply called the Maharashtra Food Stall, which for a long time was run by his mother and became a solace for Maharashtrians in Delhi seeking the comforts and familiarity of home.
Bite-sized energy ball
Garge says modaks have always been tied to the lay of the land and that there are two varieties—steamed and fried.
“The steamed ones are prepared along the Konkan coast and are made of rice flour, which is then turned into a dough with milk. Local sticky rice called ambemohur is used. It is then rolled out as a wrapping film, which is moulded and stuffed with a filling of fresh coconut, jaggery, khus, nutmeg, and cardamom. As the modak travelled into northern India, people started including cashews, raisins and dry fruits in the stuffing. Also, the steamed modaks are eaten hot with a dribble of homemade ghee on the top. On the ghats or inland areas, locals fry their modaks, which are made of wheat flour, sugar or khand and dried coconut powder along with cardamom. The fried modaks made for great travellers’ food as they didn’t use fruits or milk but were entirely made with dry and storable ingredients like rice, dal, sesame seed, and coconut,” says Garge.
Nutritionally, modaks were bite-sized energy balls that would keep the traveller going if he didn’t find any inns or an eatery on his long journeys. “The rice flour gives you the required carbohydrates, the coconut is full of micro-nutrients and fibres while the jaggery gives iron. It is a complete food,” says Garge.
It emerged as a healing food of the wise Ganesha, says food historian Madhulika Dash. “If you read Charak Samhita, you would understand that the modak was seen as balancing your mind and body. What is rice but glutamate that is good for your mental well-being and aligning your circadian rhythms. It is malleable and can be digested easily. This is the time for seasonal change, flu, and indigestion. Then there are planetary changes and the modak helps the body adjust to these changes. When you sanctify it as Ganesha’s favourite, as the temple priests did to ritualise food discipline, everybody will have it,” says Dash.
History of modaks
Tracing the modak’s journey, Dash says, “You would see Ganesha sculptures with modaks as early as the sixth century Common Era (CE), in the Ellora caves and during the reign of the Yadavas (1187-1317). The 13th century Cholas, who were maritime traders, took the Ganesha iconography with the modak to southeast Asia. Further, Ganesha was considered the patron God of the Ganas, or the warrior-counsellors to kingdoms. Gautam Buddha’s father was one such Gana and that’s the reason why a young Siddhartha developed a liking for modaks. It is still offered to the idols of Buddha as his favourite food.”
In fact, the spread of Buddhism to the Far East, South and Southeast Asia is the reason that the modak transformed into an Asian dessert and travelled all the way to Japan. “Who knows, there could be common links between modaks, dumplings, and bao buns,” says Dr Ashish Chopra, another food historian.
Of course, there’s a reason why modak acquired a pan-Indian relatability. As Dash says, “Ganesha is considered the most democratic of Gods and a mascot of diversity with his potbelly and elephant head. The modak became a food that broke barriers, particularly those of casteism, and came to be considered as a peace offering.”
Even political history has shaped the relevance of the sweet dumpling. Ganesha became a patron God of Pune in the 17th century with Chhatrapati Shivaji and then the Peshwas. But it was not until Bal Gangadhar Tilak who started Ganeshotsav as a community celebration that the modak acquired its relevance. Seen as a tacit assertion of the Indic identity against the British Raj, the puja became a public affair and a reason to unite people. “That’s when the modak became the common man’s indulgence and was prepared lovingly in every home,” adds Dash.
Shivaji always carried his own food and took the modak across the country, be it in the north or south, where he had reached as far as Thanjavur. Of course, in North India, the authentic version was coopted as another version of khoya barfi.
Many versions of modaks
Garge recreates the authentic version only on order. This exclusivity continues in the Maharashtra Sadan and Maharashtrian communities across the Capital. “There are home chefs in Gurgaon, Dwarka, and Paschim Vihar who also make modaks on order only at this time of the year,” he says.
But then there’s always room for experimentation. So, try out the fusion and variants with ragi flour and chocolate made by artisanal brands like Gur Chini, which has branches in Defence Colony, Punjabi Bagh, and M G Road. There’s the Chanakyapuri-based luxury brand called Khoya Mithai which is offering the most exotic fusion boxes at The Chanakya and the Oberoi Patisserie. Do try out Kamala Sweets in Chittaranjan Park for at least approximating the authentic variety.
The lord of wisdom would surely appreciate his food being kept alive and relevant.
[ad_2]
Source link