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.
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.