When chocolate comes together with a handful of yummy ingredients you get a delicious Chocolate Modak recipe for Ganesha.
This recipe is easy to make, needs a handful of ingredients and yet addictive!
The festival of Ganesha is one of the most popular one in Mumbai. We celebrate the festival with the arrival of clay Ganesha and worship of the Lord through 10 days; from Chaturthi to Chaturdashi.
This festival comes with so many things from worship and celebration to bidding the God farewell. And in between the arrival and departure, there is a lot of delicious food for sure. Like all Indian festivals this one has a few favorites too. Churma ladoos and modak are the most popular recipes to make during the Ganesha festival. And the savory dishes includes masale bhaat and varan bhaat.
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What is Modak
Modak is a traditional Indian sweet made from various ingredients. A must-have for the festival of Ganesha; this has a peculiar overturned cone shape. It is mostly made in Western India, popular especially in Maharashtra.
There are different versions of modak available. There is steamed modak made from rice flour and coconut, air fried modaks made using similar ingredients and multiple variations made using mawa, milk, coconut and a ton of other ingredients like this rava modak.
Using Ricotta Cheese
Apart from the traditional fried and steamed modak; mawa modaks are the most popular. These can be made from scratch using mawa or can simply be made with ricotta cheese to shorten the cook time and yet not compromise on the taste.
Ricotta cheese essentially has milk. It has no sugar or salt making it a plain canvas for so many recipes. In its original form it is great to top over pizzas and pastas and use as a filling in these Pumpkin Ricotta Shells.
It makes a great ingredient to make Gulab Jamuns too. And when cooked down to remove all the moisture; it makes a great substitute for mawa.
To use this in Indian sweets, just cook the cheese down to remove all the moisture and then proceed as you would with mawa. The consistency is perfect and is super creamy and delicious too. Moreover, it quickly takes up the flavor of the add-ins like chocolate in this recipe.
Why this recipe works
- It needs only a handful of ingredients; ricotta cheese and three other ingredients.
- This is a perfect melt in the mouth treat!
- We can make these modaks pretty quickly and easily.
- These are full of chocolate; making them favorite for kids.
- The recipe is a no-fail one and works perfectly for beginners.
- These chocolate modak are easy to make before hand and serve over the next few days.
- These are easy to shape using a modak mold.
- However, these modaks are easy to make without a mold as well.
- We can add in a lot of fillings or simply leave these plain.
- It is easy to scale the recipe up or down with ease.
- This is Ganesha's favorite sweet and loved by everyone else too!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Ricotta Cheese: Full fat ricotta cheese is the best for the recipe. However, we can use skim milk ricotta cheese too. This is the easiest way to make mawa in minutes.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Chocolate modak needs chocolate. I like to use unsweetened cocoa powder for the recipe. However, melted chocolate chips will work as well.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: The easiest way to make chocolate modak quickly is to use condensed milk. It makes the mixture sweet and creamy very easily. Sugar can be added too, it just will not be as creamy as condensed milk.
- Ghee: A little ghee helps get an amazing gloss for the modaks. Moreover, we need some to grease the modak mold as well.
- Adding some extras like nuts, chocolate chips, shredded coconut etc. are great too.
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.
How to make this recipe
1- In a bowl add unsweetened cocoa powder and milk.
2- Mix well till it forms a paste and all the cocoa powder mixes in. Then set aside.
3- In a heavy bottom pan add the ricotta cheese and set it on medium flame.
4- Cook the cheese for about 25-30 minutes, stirring intermittently.
5- Cook till all the water evaporates and you are left with a crumbly cheese similar to Indian Mawa.
Pro Tip: Alternatively, place a bowl of ricotta cheese in the microwave for 4 minutes. Remove, mix and repeat the process 3-4 more times till the water evaporates.
6- Then add sweetened condensed milk, milk and cocoa powder to the cheese.
7- Mix well and let the mixture cook on medium flame for about 15 minutes.
8- To test, remove a teaspoon of the mixture on a plate and let it cool. If the mixture feels dry, it is the right consistency. Then remove from flame.
9- Transfer the mixture to a plate and let it cool for some time, till you can handle it with your hands.
10- Once cool, knead it a little to remove any particulate matter.
11- Divide the mixture into equal size balls.
12- Grease a modak mold with ghee on the inside.
13- Place a ricotta cheese ball in it.
14- Close the mold and shape the modak. Remove the chocolate modak and store in the refrigerator and enjoy for up to a week.
Expert Tips and Notes
- Cooking the ricotta cheese: We cook the ricotta cheese completely to remove all the moisture. That way it gets the texture we are looking for.
- Making these without condensed milk: If you do not have condensed milk or want to make the modaks without them, stick to sugar. Simply add the sugar in place of condensed milk and cook well. The texture will vary as condensed milk adds a lot of creaminess, but still works fine.
- Using a non-stick pan: While the ricotta cheese is still cooking, it tends to stick to the base of the pan. Using a non-stick pan helps eliminate all the sticking.
- Using chocolate chips: I like to make the modaks plain. However, if you like; add some chocolate chips to the mix once it is cooked and make the modaks with chips. The same goes for nuts or coconut flakes as well.
- Making them without a mold: Though we are making these with a mold, these are easy to shape simply with palms too. Else shape them into ladoos or pedas. The recipe works just as fine.
Storage
Given that we use a host of dairy ingredients in making modak, we need to refrigerate them.
Simply pop into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week. They can be enjoyed straight of the refrigerator or brought to room temperature before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Certainly. I like to use unsweetened cocoa powder but using chocolate syrup is an option too. Simply add it directly to the cooked ricotta and proceed as described.
If the ricotta and condensed milk mixture is not cooked till dry, the modaks tend to be wobbly and fall off when shaped. Simply cook the mixture for a few more minutes before shaping.
Yes for sure. Either shape them with the palms or simply roll these into pedas or ladoos. The taste is still great though the shape is different.
We believe that Modak originated in the state of Maharashtra. These are known by many names throughout India; mothagam or kozhukattai in Tamil, modhaka or kadubu in Kannada, and kudumu in Telugu.
Using grated mawa or even grated paneer is perfect for the recipe. This is a perfect substitute for ricotta cheese in the recipe.
No; as we use a host of dairy products making them Vegan is difficult. However, if you can find a Vegan substitute for ricotta, it will work.
More recipes using Ricotta Cheese
More Delicious Modak Recipes to try
Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments whilst you are there, thanks!
Chocolate Modak
Ingredients
- 32 oz Ricotta cheese
- 14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 tablespoon Milk
Instructions
- In a bowl add unsweetened cocoa powder and milk.¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 2 tablespoon Milk
- Mix well till it forms a paste and all the cocoa powder mixes in. Then set aside.
- In a heavy bottom pan add the ricotta cheese and set it on medium flame.32 oz Ricotta cheese
- Cook the cheese for about 25-30 minutes, stirring intermittently.
- Cook till all the water evaporates and you are left with a crumbly cheese similar to Indian Mawa.
- Then add sweetened condensed milk, milk and cocoa powder to the cheese.14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Mix well and let the mixture cook on medium flame for about 15 minutes.
- To test, remove a teaspoon of the mixture on a plate and let it cool. If the mixture feels dry, it is the right consistency. Then remove from flame.
- Transfer the mixture to a plate and let it cool for some time, till you can handle it with your hands.
- Once cool, knead it a little to remove any particulate matter.
- Divide the mixture into equal size balls.
- Grease a modak mold with ghee on the inside.
- Place a ricotta cheese ball in it.
- Close the mold and shape the modak. Remove and store in the refrigerator and enjoy for up to a week.
Video
Notes
- Cooking the ricotta cheese: We cook the ricotta cheese completely to remove all the moisture. That way it gets the texture we are looking for.
- Making these without condensed milk: If you do not have condensed milk or want to make the modaks without them, stick to sugar. Simply add the sugar in place of condensed milk and cook well. The texture will vary as condensed milk adds a lot of creaminess, but still works fine.
- Using a non-stick pan: While the ricotta cheese is still cooking, it tends to stick to the base of the pan. Using a non-stick pan helps eliminate all the sticking.
- Using chocolate chips: I like to make the modaks plain. However, if you like; add some chocolate chips to the mix once it is cooked and make the modaks with chips. The same goes for nuts or coconut flakes as well.
- Making them without a mold: Though we are making these with a mold, these are easy to shape simply with palms too. Else shape them into ladoos or pedas. The recipe works just as fine.
- Cooking the ricotta in the microwave: Place the bowl of ricotta cheese in the microwave for 4 minutes. Remove, mix and repeat the process 3-4 more times till the water evaporates.
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