It is that time of the year when people gear up to welcome into their homes 'Bappa', the elephant God during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
No festival is complete without food and sweets, for Ganesh Chaturthi too devotees prepare a variety of lip-smacking delicacies to offer to the benevolent God.
This year the Ganpati festival will start from August 22. So making modak is a must. But these modak have a twist. Have you ever tried making 'Kaju Modak'. This is a very easy and simple recipe. You can make these modak in advance and gift them to your relatives too.
The 10-day annual festival, which marks the birthday of Lord Ganesha is celebrated with much fervour across western and southern India. This year, Ganesh Chaturthi falls on August 22 and Visarjan will take place on September 1.
Check out the recipe for 'Kaju Modak' below:
Ingredients:• 1 cup Cashew nuts• 100 grams icing Sugar• 1/4 cup Milk powder• 2 tsp Water• 2 drops Rose essence
Method:
For Kaju Modak• Take cashew nuts into a blender jar and blend it into powder. • You can use roasted and peeled peanuts in place of cashew nuts. • Don’t blend continuously. Pulse and turn off. You can strain the powder if you want. • Heat up a pan until a little warm. • Turn off the gas and transfer the cashew nuts powder into the warm pan. • Add icing sugar, milk powder and mix well. • You can blend sugar in mixer and strain it with suji sieve. You can use this sugar in place of icing sugar. • Turn on the gas and fry the mixture on very low heat for just 2 minutes. • Turn off the gas after 1 minute. Sugar should not release the moisture. • Turn off the gas and let the mixture cool down. • Take water in a bowl and add rose essence. You can use rose water in place of this water. • Mix well and add a little to the cashew nuts mixture. • Mix well and check if it has got binding. Add a little water at a time. • When mixture comes together like dough, fill it in the modak mould. • Press it gently and open the mould. • Take the modak out and Kaju Modak is all ready.