Lord Ganesha and the Modak

Aditi Panda

India has a plethora of traditions and cultures. Every festival is celebrated with a tinge of difference, but the basic rituals are more or less the same. With Ganpati bappa on his way home, every devotee is sprucing and cleaning their homes decorating it as per their taste, likes and pockets.

Traditionally Bappa is brought home in style with the music of Dhol-Lezhim reverberating in the background. A special decorated seat is kept ready for his stay and he is worshipped with the sacred Hibiscus flowers and durva, the auspicious grass tied in bunches of 21 as per the custom.

Bappa gets pampered by his devotes who lovingly lay out an array of delicious dishes to suit his palate and please him. Ideally laddoos are offered to him and every state has its own list of recipes to please him. But the Modak tops the list and is famous all over the world as Ganapati bappa and Modak are synonymous.

Sunita Chetty shares traditional recipes that she has been feeding the lord since last 60 years. Modak is the most loved sweet of Ganpati bappa. Similar to momos in looks, Modak is steamed dish with the coating made of rice flour. The sweet filling inside modak is made of fresh grated coconut and jaggery, while the soft shell/coating is made from rice flour.

Now-a-days even white chocolate coconut modak, Kesar stuffed modak and dark chocolate dry fruit modak are available in packs of 11 from ₹150- ₹250/- at sweet shops.

Go ahead and try these new but customary recipes to reach Ganesha through his stomach and surprise him and your family.

(Aditi is a freelance writer and pursues interest in the area of social issues)