Come Ganpati, come modak. As Bappa makes his way into homes across Delhi, the team is making around 1,000 modaks a day at the Maharashtra Stall in Dilli Haat INA, while home chefs and Maharashtrian food businesses are taking bulk orders for the festive sweet.The modak rushVaishali Chiplunkar, co-owner of the Maharashtra Stall says, “Every year, we hire about five to six extra people just to make the modaks, as our regular staff is always engaged in running the restaurant. On some customers’ demand, we are also doing khoya modaks. We don’t usually sell this because it is very common and you might get it anywhere.”
Making an ukadiche modak is a skill-intensive process, with the rice-flour dough kneaded while hot to develop the elasticity needed to shape the covering
Nishit Dalal, founder of Bombay Boy, a Maharashtrian snack outlet in Malviya Nagar, says, “Last year, we did around 150 kgs (roughly 2,400 modaks), and we expect a similar response or more this year. The usual customer base is people who are getting Ganpati at home for the next couple of days. Apart from them, people hailing from Maharashtra buy ukadiche modak to get the feel of home.”
The usual customer base is people who are getting Ganpati at home for the next couple of days.
For chef Bharati Sanghi, director, Life Artisanal Food, the demand has translated into around 60-65 orders this year, with most coming in for the evening of sthapana and for chaturthi. “I make traditional ukadiche modaks every year, but this time I received relatively fewer orders for them compared to the fruit-filled variants. Most of the orders are to be delivered in Gurgaon, Golf Links, Swami Nagar, GK 1 and GK 2,” she says. Malti Vig of Malti’s Kitchen, a home chef based in Gurgaon, has also received bulk orders. “This year, a Noida resident ordered 100 boxes, while someone from Vasant Kunj ordered 50.”‘Familiar in shape but contemporary in taste’Traditionally made with rice flour and filled with coconut and jaggery, the modak has now become a canvas for experimentation. Bharati is doing an apple-filled variant. “I am experimenting with the filling while still retaining the traditional modak form. I am also doing blueberry and cranberry variants. The idea was to give people something familiar in shape and festive in spirit, but unexpected and contemporary in taste,” she says. Malti, too, makes the steamed variety, alongside the khoya ones in flavours including paan and strawberry.Going beyond the sweetsThe Ganpati spread goes beyond the sweet, with Maharashtrian savouries also finding their way into festive orders, family gatherings and bhog.
A festive spread beyond modaks: Vada pav, misal pav, dabeli, thalipeeth, kothimbir vadi, sabudana vada, chakli and other Maharashtrian savouries add to the Ganpati feast
Dr Bhagyeshwari of Gurgaon-based Dr B’s Theplas & Dhoklas says, “There are three important things which people are ordering this Bappa’s season — modaks, puran poli and churma laddu. We have made special arrangements in terms of our team to cater to the festive orders. Apart from modaks, puran poli and shakarpara, we also have snacks such as chakli and vada pav, and we do get orders for these as well. If there is a Ganpati gathering at somebody’s place, they give us party orders for these snacks.”At the Maharashtra Sadan, the savoury spread includes kothimbir vadi, alu, misal, vada pav, sabudana vada, pudachi vadi
