Motichoor Modak | Easy motichoor modak recipe

Motichoor Modak – Modaks made using sweet boondis (tiny balls of gram flour).

Laddoo is one of the common Indian sweets and there are various types of laddoos one can make. Every region of India has its own version of laddoos. Some of the common ones are besan laddoo, rava laddoo, churma laddoo, til laddoo, motichoor laddoo etc.

Motichoor laddoo is a popular Indian sweet made with gram flour (besan). Traditionally, Motichoor laddoos are made by frying tiny drops of besan flour, mixing with sugar syrup and then shaping them into round balls. The tiny drops of besan (boondi)  is made by passing thin flowing besan batter through a laddoo jhara. Jhara is a metal ladle with fine holes in it.  Making of these boondis can be quite daunting and one needs to have sufficient practice to get it right.  But there is another way of making these laddoos which does not involve making boondis. The laddoos are made using chana dal (split Bengal gram), is relatively simple and tastes exactly like the laddoos made with besan flour.  Today, instead of motichoor laddoos, we are making motichoor modaks using chana dal.

Ganesh Chaturthi is round the corner. Everyone tries to make Ganpati Bappas favourite sweet, modak as offering to him. Modaks can be made in number of ways. For eg, ukadiche modak, mawa modak, rava modak, chocolate modak and so on. Today, I have made motichoor modak using chana dal. The recipe to make these modaks is very simple. Let us have a look at the recipe.

Step by step recipe:

Soak saffron in warm water and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Wash and soak chana dal for 5 to6 hours.

Drain the water and transfer chana dal to a mixer jar.

Blend chana dal using pulse mode to a coarse powder.

Shape the ground chana dal into flat vadas.

Heat oil and deep fry these vadas till they turn light golden in colour.

Allow these vadas to cool completely.

Once cooled, break the vadas into tiny pieces.

Tarnsfer to a mixer jar.

Blend to a coarse powder using the pulse mode. This coarse powder is our boondi.

Now heat a pan. Add sugar and water.

Allow the sugar to melt completely and bring the solution to a boil.

The sugar solution should turn sticky. Add the saffron mixture, cardamom powder  and mix well.  Add a tiny pinch of salt and mix.

Add lemon juice to avoid crystallisation.

Now, add the boondis to this sugar solution and mix well.

Cover the pan and keep aside for 20 minutes.

The boondis will absorb the sugar syrup.

Now, grease a modak mould using ghee. Take a portion of the boondi and press it into the modak mould  and spread it evenly on all sides of the mould. Close the mould tightly. Demould the modak from the mould.

Repeat this for all the modaks.

Motichoor modak is ready to be served.

Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup split bengal gram (chana dal)
½ cup sugar
few strands of saffron
½ tsp cardamom powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Oil for frying chana dal vadas
Ghee to grease the modak mould

Method

• Wash and soak chana dal for 5 to 6 hours.
• Soak saffron in 2 tbsp warm water and keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Drain chana dal and transfer to a mixer jar. Blend on pulse mode to a coarse powder.
• Make medium sized balls and shape them into flat vadas.
• Heat oil and deep fry the vadas on slow to medium flame till they turn light golden in colour.
• Allow the fried vadas to cool completely.
• Break the vadas into tiny pieces.
• Transfer this to a mixer jar. Blend to a coarse powder. This is the boondi which will be used to make modaks. Keep aside.
• Heat a pan. Add sugar and ¼ cup water.
• Allow the sugar to melt completely.
• Bring the mixture to a boil. Add cardamom powder, saffron mixture, salt and mix well.
• The sugar solution should turn sticky.
• Add around ¼ tsp of lemon juice to avoid crystallisation. Now turn off the heat.
• Add the boondis to the sugar syrup and mix well.
• Now turn on the flame and cook the mixture for a minute on low flame.
• Turn off the flame and close the lid of the pan.
• Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, grease a modak mould using ghee.
• Take a portion of the boondi mixture and press it into the modak mould  and spread it evenly on all sides of the mould.
• Close the mould tightly.
• Demould the modak from the mould.
• Repeat this for all the modaks.
• Motichoor modak is  ready to be served.

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