Modak Operandi

The city is flooded with new and exciting variations of modak,the holy offering.

The city is flooded with new and exciting variations of modak,the holy offering. Traditionally the favourite food of Ganesha,modak is an Indian sweet dumpling of coconut and jaggery,steamed in rice flour or fried in wheat flour.

Apart from the original steamed version,ukdiche modak,which are mostly provided by the city sweetmarts on prior order basis,shops such as Joshi Sweets and Kaka Halwai have been leading the are now providing variants like mango,chocolate,cashew and khava modaks that are priced between Rs 150 and Rs 350 per kilogram.

What is exciting,though,is how these new modak avatars have been accepted so willingly,even enthusiastically. Our chocolate modaks are stuffed with coconut,and theyre in great demand. They fly off the shelves, says Madhav Rao Chitale, the owner of Chitale Bandhu. Costing around Rs 110 for a box of 21,the kaju modak from Kaka Halwai has also been doing the rounds in Punes modak-appreciating circles this year,and has earned some good repute.

The khava modak has gained even more ground in Punes market,with every shop making them in portions ranging from small to fist-sized. These modaks are often flavoured,and depending on the shop,youre likely to encounter rose,mango or even fig flavours,or any combination of these. Flavoured khava modaks can be found at National Sweets at the SNDT crossing and at other innumerable sweet shops across Pune. Usually khava modaks are priced around Rs 120 per kilogram.

In some shops,such as at Strawberry near the University flyover,you might even come across a sugar free version of your favourite mithai,although flavour pickings are slim.

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