In Pune, pizza modaks add pizzazz to mandatory Ganpati sweet

Talking about his Pizza modaks, chef Sarvesh Jadhav said, “There is a proper way of eating this savoury modak, there are three sauces which go with it”.

Rangeelo by Darpan Chordia, an eggless dessert based cloud kitchen has come up with white chocolate modaks that have kesar-pistachio and jaggery-coconut fillings.

“It is an attempt to discover a traditional flavour with a modern touch,” Chordia said.

Pastry Chef, Lujain Mohammed, has been making modaks with raw cane sugar fillings, which she calls a healthier alternative.

She has also explored fusion modaks like paan flavoured chocolate modaks, rose and pistachio fusion modaks, etc.

Chinmay Damle, a food enthusiast, has linked the rise of these trends to the increase in people’s disposable income.

“Earlier, these dishes were consumed only a few times a year. It was a novelty. Today, there are stalls of ukadiche modaks in the weekly market near Gandhi Bhavan, Kothrud. Since people are eating these every now and then, they want some novelty, which gives rise to these trends.” said Damle.

Shruti Kharade, Nutritionist from OMFIT said, “Hundred years ago, modaks, like other festive sweets, were consumed occasionally as a luxury and in smaller quantities. Out of the 365 days, we celebrated around 40 with sweets, which is less than 12 per cent. Now people have the option to go out and consume sugary and processed food everyday…”

She links this to the steep rise in conditions like T2 diabetes and PCOS in India, that happen primarily due to insulin resistance.

Damle explains that the word modak means any sweet or something which gives you happiness.

Elaborating on the history of modaks, Damle said, “We don’t know exactly when ukadiche modak came to Maharashtra. But we find them mentioned in texts from 150 to 200 years ago. Ksemakutuhal, an ayurvedic text from the 16th century refers to a dish called Amrutphal, which looks like a modak. In the 12th century, the text Manasollasa by Chalukya king Someshvara III refers to a dish called Varshopalagolak. In the name, Varsha means rain, upala means hailstones, and golak means round. It means a dish that looks like hailstones.”

Damle said that ukdiche modak were always made in Mumbai and Pune at home since the 19th century.

As the spending power increased and people didn’t want to cook at home, they have been more widely available in shops and restaurants in the last 15 to 20 years.