Happy Ganesh Chaturthi | Kesar Peda Modak
Ganapati is personification of extraordinary intelligence. An intelligence that can break through all obstacles of life and hence he is Vighneshwara. – Sadhguru
Wishing you blissfully beautiful beginnings, and inspiring days ahead.
These modaks are made using the same recipe that I use for Peda, which I have blogged about a couple of times, here and here with couple of different variations. For making modaks, only thing I changed from that recipe was, I used a modak mould, which is easily available in any Indian grocery store or on Amazon.
Kesar Peda Modak
Modaks are Indian desserts especially made during Ganesh Chaturthi. These can be made with a variety of different ingredients. I have made this one using the kesar peda recipe.
Print Pin RecipeServings (slide to adjust): 75 pieces
Ingredients
- 32 ounce Ricotta cheese
- 2 cups Milk powder (also called Dry Milk)
- 4 tablespoons Condensed milk
- 4 tablespoons Ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 ½ cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 2 tablespoons Pistachio, finely chopped
- 3-4 drops Rosewater (optional)
- 2 tablespoons Milk
- a pinch Saffron strands (Kesar)
- 1 leaf Edibel silver leaf foil (chandi varkh)
Instructions
- Warm 2 tablespoons of milk, and soak a pinch of saffron, keeping some aside for garnish later. Keep aside. Please note that the saffron needs to be soaked for at least an hour. In case it has not been done, the Peda wouldn’t have the desired yellow/saffron color.
- Heat ghee in a in a vessel. Non-stick vessel is highly preferred. Keep the flame on medium throughout the cooking process.
- Add ricotta cheese and stir. Make sure you constantly stir the cheese, such as it doesn’t stick to the vessel. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the moisture evaporates.
- Add sugar. The quantity of sugar I have mentioned gives medium sweetness. If you want it more on the sweeter side, use more sugar, as desired. Make sure you are continuously stirring the ingredients.
- Add the condensed milk as well as milk powder and cook until the moisture starts leaving the sides of the vessel. Also, add the soaked saffron, along with the milk. This should take about 20 minutes. Do not overcook, or it might become dry. The mixture will become bit stiffer once it cools down. So make a judgement call as to when to stop cooking it further. Turn off the heat. Add cardamom powder and rose water, mix well.
- Let the mixture cool down a bit, and start making the pedas when you can handle the mixture with your bare palms. The way you make pedas is, apply ghee to your palms, and knead the mixture like a dough to make it really smooth. Use any modak mold to form it in modak shape, fill it in, press it and open the mould, and modaks are ready. Apply edible silver foil (optional) and chopped pistachios on top. Garnish with the remaining saffron.
Offer it to Ganapati Bappa and then enjoy 🙂
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