Modak (), Modakam (), or Modaka (), also referred to as Koḻukattai () in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

, and Kozhukkatta () in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, jilledukayalu in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

() is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

sweet dish popular in many Indian states and cultures. According to

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

beliefs, it is one of the favourite dishes of

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

and

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

and is therefore used in prayers. The sweet filling inside a modak consists of freshly grated

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

and

jaggery Jaggery is a List of unrefined sweeteners, traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of Sugarcane juice, cane jui ...

, while the outer soft shell is made from

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of common wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ...

mixed with khowa or

maida flour Maida, ''maida flour'', or ''maida mavu'' is a type of wheat flour originated from the Indian subcontinent. It is a super-refined wheat flour used in Indian cuisine to make pastries and other bakery items like breads and biscuits. Some maida may ...

. There are two distinct varieties of Modakam, fried and steamed. The steamed version (called ''Ukadiche Modakam'') is often served hot with

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by ...

History

According to culinary historian

Darra Goldstein Darra Goldstein (born April 28, 1951) is an American author and food scholar who is the Willcox B. and Harriet M. Adsit Professor of Russian, emerita at Williams College. She is the founding editor of ''Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Cultu ...

, modaka is an ancient sweet that dates back to around 200 BCE.The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets - Page 82, Darra Goldstein · 2015 Early mentions of modaka are found in

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

and

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

where it is described as a dumpling confectionery with sweet stuffing. Sangam literature similarly mentions modakas as rice dumplings filled with sweet stuffing that were also sold by street vendors in the ancient city of

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

. The medieval Manasollasa culinary text explains that modakas, as prepared with rice flour and a sweet stuffing with aromatic spices such as

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

and

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

, were called ''Varsopalagolakas'' because they looked like

hailstone Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

s. Fried modakas are made with wheat flour, while steamed modakas are made from rice flour. In a

context, the word 'modaka' is explained as being derived from the words ''"Moda"'' and ''"Pramoda"'', meaning ''joy'', ''happiness'', ''delight;'' modakas being gifts that

, the god of good luck, bestows on his devotees. The shape of modaka is also said to represent a bag of money. Thus, it is also used to symbolize wealth, and all the sweet pleasures that wealth gives to humans. In a Tantric context, its shape is seen to symbolise an upward pointing triangle, which in Tantric art represents

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, i.e. spiritual reality, in contrast to the downward pointing triangle, which represents

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

, material reality.

Religious significance

Hinduism

Modak is considered to be the favourite sweet of the

deity,

. From it, he gets the moniker modakapriya (one who likes modak) in Sanskrit. The word modak means "small part of bliss" and it symbolises spiritual knowledge. During

Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi () or Vinayaka Chavithi () or Vinayagar Chaturthi (), is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Ganesh. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's ''m ...

, the puja usually concludes with an offering of 21 or 101 modaks to Ganesha. Modaks made with rice flour shells are often preferred for this purpose, although wheat shell versions are also used. Local businesses outside Ganesh temples across India usually sell pre-packed/ready-made versions of modaks.

Buddhism

Modak is also considered to be the favourite sweet of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

. During

Buddha's Birthday Buddha's Birthday or Buddha Day (also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, and Buddha Pournami) is a primarily Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast and East Asia, commemorating the bir ...

, modaks are offered to the Buddha.

Similar dishes

India

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, modak has a lot of ingrained historical and cultural significance, with variations all over the country. It is known by different names by different linguistic communities, such as ''modak'' in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

(मोदक), ''nevri'' in

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

(), ''mandaa'' in Odia (), ''kadubu'' in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

(ಕಡುಬು), ''kozhukattai'' in Tamil (கொழுக்கட்டை), ''kozhukatta'' in

(കൊഴുക്കട്ട), ''jilledukayalu'' in

().

Cambodia

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, ''num kom'' () is similar to modak. However, the wrapping is much different as num kom does not use rice flour.

Japan

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, a sweet similar to modak that replaced

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

with cardamom and known locally as , is offered to both the god

Kangiten Kangiten or Kankiten (, "god of bliss"; Sanskrit (IAST): ), also known as Binayaka (毘那夜迦; Skt. ), Ganabachi (誐那鉢底, alternatively Ganahachi or Ganahattei; Skt. ), or more commonly, Shōten or Shōden (聖天, lit. "sacred god" or ...

, the Japanese equivalent of

Ganesh Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

. Kangidans are made from curds, honey, and red bean paste. They are wrapped in kneaded dough made from parched flour and shaped like a bun before they are deep fried. However, as the majority of Japanese are non-religious, it can be eaten on any occasion such as Shōgatsu,

Culture Day is a public holiday in Japan held annually on November 3 to promote culture, the arts, and academic endeavour. Festivities typically include art exhibitions, parades, and award ceremonies for distinguished artists and scholars. History Cultu ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

, birthdays and retirement parties.

Laos

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, modaks are known as ''kanom nab'' ().

Malay world

In the

Malay world The Malay world or Malay realm (Indonesian language, Indonesian/Malay language, Malay: or ) is a concept or an expression that has been used by different authors and groups over time to denote several different notions, derived from varied in ...

, modaks are known as kuih modak (in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

) or kue modak (in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

). There are also similar types of modak such as ''

klepon ''Klepon'' () or ''kelepon'' or ''kalalapun'', also known outside Java as ''onde-onde'' and ''buah melaka'', is a sweet rice cake ball filled with molten palm sugar and coated in grated coconut. Of Javanese origin, the green-coloured glutinous ...

'' and ''

cenil ''Cenil'', sometimes also called as ''cendil'' or ''cetil'' is a traditional snack made from tapioca dough and sugar, usually added with food colouring, and shaped into small balls or cubes, coated and consumed with grated coconut. Cenil is a ...

''.

Myanmar

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, modaks are known as ''

mont lone yay baw Mont lone yay baw (; ; also spelt mont lone yay paw) is a traditional Burmese dessert commonly associated with the Burmese New Year, Thingyan season. The dessert plays an important role in Burmese history as it is a traditional snack served during ...

'' and are eaten during

Thingyan Thingyan (/sɛŋkəmɑ/ ; , Old Mon language, Old Mon: သင်ကြာန် ), also known as the Myanmar New Year, is a festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan marks the transition from the old year to the new one, based on ...

Thailand

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, ''Khanom tom'' and ''

khanom kho Khanom tom (, ) and khanom kho (, ) are closely related traditional Thai desserts. Khanom tom is used in Central Thailand, while khanom kho comes from Southern Thailand. Khanom kho are boiled glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with a palmyra palm ...

'' are said to be the close cousins of modaks due to their similarities. However, they come in other colours and are covered in coconuts shreds.

Vietnam

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, modaks are known as ''bánh ít nhân dừa''.

Varieties

References

External links

Ukdiche Modak
{{Vietnamese cuisine Dumplings Buddhist symbols Burmese desserts and snacks Bruneian snack foods Cambodian desserts Indian desserts Laotian desserts Maharashtrian cuisine Goan cuisine Konkani cuisine Kue Hindu symbols Japanese desserts and sweets Malaysian snack foods Singaporean snack foods Sri Lankan desserts and sweets Vietnamese pastries Coconut desserts Ganesha Gautama Buddha Indonesian Indian cuisine