You float and float in a
dream world, until all the helium is exhausted and you hit the ground with a
loud thud….. Aaaaaaaa…… Congratulations to the newly wedded couple. That’s where it all begins ;-).
I had this absolutely over-the-top
amusing notion that I would never cook in my life. And then? I got married!
It so happened that we relocated
to London after marriage, just the two of us. The biggest difference between
the East and the West my dear friends is this - On the east side of the world
you are pampered downright to the extent of being spoilt, cooks, drivers,
cleaners. In the wild wild West, it is generally only in the rich and famous homes
where you would stumble upon these noble souls.
So there I was, Alice in
wonderland, the utensils and cooking pots mocking me and murmuring behind my
back! After a series of hiccups in the form of rock solid chapatis, bland
curries and burnt veggies, which I treated (sorry, tortured) Mr A with, I
slowly and steadily began to get a hang of the art called cooking. Mamma’s
instructions over the phone and a treasure of her recipes in the form of a
notebook saved Mr A from gastric trouble.
After my teething phase
ended, Mr A didn’t have to pray before taking the first bite :-). He began enjoying what I would present on the table. And
no, thats not cos he had no other choice. Apart from being a foodie he’s also a
brutally honest critic. And believe it or not, but not even the wife is spared. Barring a few
accidents here and there, I do manage to feed him well now!
As if one wasn’t enough, life
presented me with another food critic in the form of Master A. Any slight
deviation from the standard, and that is it. So say, when a little more water in Upma changes its
texture, it is very politely declined.
You know how God just keeps giving, and so
the merciless brother Mr Y made an entry on the scene in Singapore. Had seen mom’s
plight for years on end, but hadn’t felt the actual impact until it happened to
me. Even the facial expressions shall speak for themselves! This burden
thankfully was later shared by his better half.
Such is my saga….phewww.
One of these days, the
father-son duo sat at the dining table and started beating their plates with
spoons, asking for their plates to be piled up with breakfast, on a terribly
busy morning. “Mamma khana do” sounded more like ‘Calendar khana do’ to my ears.
Remember that iconic line from Mr India?
Cooking is not my passion as
it is for some women. But I like to see my family well-fed and quenched, which
drives me to cook, both regular and experimental stuff.
So on Ganeshotsav I made one
regular sweet with a twist. What you see in the sweet shops as Modaks are the simple
Mawa versions of the sweet. The real Modak is a steamed dumpling with a
coconut-jaggery filling, and you will find it in Maharashtrian homes. I
combined the two, so basically I used mawa in the stuffing! The visuals are not
very attractive. You can close your eyes but I assure you the taste is yum :-). Here goes the
recipe.
Ingredients:
3.5 small bowls rice flour
5 small bowls water
2.5 small bowls coconut
1 small bowl mawa (khoya/milk solids)
1.25 small bowls grated jaggery
1 tablespoon ghee
Salt as per taste
Method:
In a vessel, mix the ghee, coconut with jaggery and fry. This is the
stuffing for the Modaks. If you want the authentic version, you stop right
here! But if you are in the mood to experiment, go ahead and add Mawa. (Don’t
worry, you won’t regret it!) Ensure that the stuffing is dry.
Now the cover. Heat the water, add salt and ghee. Once boiled, add the
rice flour and switch off the gas. Mix immediately and remove from gas. Leave
to rest for ten minutes. Keep water and oil handy, and using it knead the dough
when lukewarm. Make balls, flatten with your hand, and stuff them. Try (and
try, and try some more) to give them the shape of a Modak. (Or be satisfied
with what you’ve managed, like I was ;-)).
Once done, steam them. If you have a steamer, nothing like it. If you
don’t, no worries! Use a pressure cooker without the whistle, tada! Before steaming
do dip them in water.
Makes 11.
I absolutely love the
traditional authentic version and so would you. But when in the mood for a
change, these are good as well :-).
Try these out, don’t wait for another year!
Imp Note: If you've also been blessed with reviewers
in your family, make the announcement of the recipe modification beforehand.
;-)
PS. This post is a tribute to
all the Calendars, in my life, in your life, to all those Calendars who’ve always
been striving for the satiated smile of their families :-).
40 comments:
How can you not mention my tips and recipes. Hahahaha kidding. But indeed cooking for me is a great stress buster. And cooking to me does reflect my state of mind at that moment.
excellent recipe.Cooking has been a wonderful experimental job so far, hopefully my husband enjoys being the guinea pig ;) Hoping, I ace it in the years to come! Reading your work was excellent.
It's a wow recipe! But I liked the prelude to the recipe, too and it resembles my tryst with cooking a lot :-D “Mamma khana do” sounded more like ‘Calendar khana do’-exactly my feeling and I often remember this epic line when the duo in my house shout in unison :-D :-D
When can i come and taste?
Having tasted your food I must say you do a good job!!
Sincere apologies dear Sumeet! When I shall make a list of people who I have to thank for my cooking, you shall be one of the toppers on it :-)
Thanks for your compliment Amruta! Husbands don't really have a choice, do they? ;-)
Thanks Maniparna! Haha, so we sailing in the same boat, eh :-)
Saloni dear, you being kind :-)
We can surely plan that meal soon!
Hah! You're amazing! Love your writing style and brownie points for bringing back memories of calendar. Boy was he adorable :-)
I seriously contemplated making modaks this time, but by the time it came to execution, the kids had different plans that involved a seriously pissed of mommy and microwave dinner. Skip the details shall we? ;-)
Thanks a ton for those lovely words Mamta.. means a lot!
As for the situation your kids landed you in, lets just say ditto ditto :-). At times, even the planning to the minutest detail can go for a toss, thanks to our bundles of joy! But never mind, foodies don't really need a specific day to eat something special, do we? ;-) Just pick up one quiet day, and go for it :-)
Hey so next time u come here I wud love to taste ur new version of ukdiche modak... I too make those authentic ones but my son doesn't like it he doesn't like coconut but my hubby loves them. B t m gona try ur version too next time....
Do give it a shot Sonal! And i know that predicament, when one of them prefers one version and the other one prefers another :-)
Looks so sumptuous Leena. A yum recipe, I am sure to ask mom to try out. Thanks for sharing! :)
You are welcome dear!
Yummy!! :)
Thanks Vinitha!
Want to taste it.Looks yummy.:)
Cheers,
Sriram & Krithiga
From Alice in Wonderland to mawa modak is quite a transition! It looks good as well. Congratulations Leena. :)
Thanks Sriram & Krithiga.. I'm sure you'll be able to replicate the taste if you give it a shot :-)
Hehe..thanks Somali! Yes it has been quite a transition indeed, and thankfully a good one :-)
LOL!! You definitely do have a passion for cooking! The modaks look yum!
Thanks Roshni! But I so wish what you said was true :-)
Hi I see that you have joined IB recently. Great to be at your blog. :)
And this was a good post. I am not an expert cook either and some of your experiences matched mine. :)
Thanks Indrani! Glad to see you here! And hope to keep bumping into you often :-)
So our Alice is making ukdiche modaks in wonderland....what a makeover....fantastic. Next time pls do share a spicy version too....humare jaise figure concious log meetha nahi khattey..heheheheee.
I shall try Ashu dear! I can never beat your cooking skills though, I'm just an amateur player in the kitchen :-)
The story was vivid depicting what was on your mind before the actual recipe...liked it :)
Thanks Uma! Glad you did :-)
I think all should try this.. :) looks fantastic..
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True! True! Marriage changes a lot of thing. And, yes, those girl who never cooked before have to start cooking in most of the cases. That was kind of a touchy but funny story. And, of course the recipe was a bonus. Calendar, Khana Do!
So you are doing great now...i am sure the duo are getting pampered :P
Looks too yummy to wait...but I will need a calandar to do that for me...
Thanks UK! And job's done :)
thanks for those sweet words Kishor! Glad you liked it :)
Haha Alok, I've got to drag Mr A to the laptop now to show your comment. He just never admits it :)
Doc, everyone has a calendar in their life, you shall too :)
Welcome to my blog!
nice read and a delicious recipe
Thank you so much Cifar!
You reminded me of my early days of cooking. Thankfully he found my khana better than the hostel food he had grown eating. So all was well with me. :P :)
Hostel food!! I'm sure he would've found even your novice cooking better than that :)
I'd tasted the food at the IIM Calcutta campus when I was visiting my hubby (way back before marriage when he was a student there). And I know exactly what you mean!
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