Ganapati Special Prasad: Kesar Mawa Modak

Growing up Ganesh Chaturthi meant Churma na laadoo. But in recent years, these modaks have been a favorite of my little one. They are simple to make, the only effort is making the mawa / khoya from scratch. In case you do not want to make khoya at home, you can use ready made - 1 cup is 200 grams. In that case, soak the saffron in two tablespoons of milk and heat the mawa along with this saffron milk. Stir on low heat till the milk evaporates and the saffron is well mixed into the mawa.

Ingredients:

1 litre Milk
2 Pinches Saffron
3 1/2 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Cardamom
Few strands of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp water for garnish

Heat milk in a thick bottomed wok / kadhai. Bring it to a boil and stir occasionally. Add the saffron now and lower heat to medium and keep cooking the milk till it reduces significantly and you can see grainy texture of milk solids. Milk will also be a deep golden yellow because of the saffron. Now constantly keep stirring the milk taking care to not let the milk stick to the bottom. After about 50-55 of cooking the milk, it will be in a solid form in a lump, smooth and with a little shine to it. Now your kesar mawa is ready. It will harden as it cools. 

When the mawa has cooled, add the sugar and cardamom and knead it well. This quantity of sugar makes mildly sweet modaks. If you like them sweeter, add 1/2 tablespoon more sugar. Now press the mixture in to mould to form modaks. Decorate the modaks with a drop of the saffron water along with a strand of saffron. 

Enjoy!