Ingredients
Makes 16 modaks. Scale using the Modak Calculator. Tap any ingredient to tick it off.
Method
Prepare the sweet batter
To the ready idli batter, add grated jaggery, coconut, cardamom, mashed banana if using, and a pinch of salt. Mix well. The jaggery will melt into the batter and make it slightly more liquid — this is correct. The batter should be pourable but not watery.
Heat the appe pan
Place an appe pan (paniyaram pan) over medium heat. Add a small drop of ghee or coconut oil in each cavity.
Fill and cover
Pour batter into each cavity — fill to about ¾ full (the batter rises slightly). Cover with a lid and cook on medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes until the base is golden and set.
Turn and finish
Using a wooden skewer or the tool that comes with the pan, turn each appe to the other side. Cook uncovered for 2–3 minutes until golden all over and cooked through.
Serve warm
Appe modak is best served warm — within 10–15 minutes of making. The crispy exterior softens as it cools. Serve immediately after cooking. The slight fermented tang pairs beautifully with the sweet coconut-jaggery filling in the batter.
Tips & Variations
There is no substitute for the appe pan (also called paniyaram pan or aebleskiver pan). It creates the characteristic dome shape with a crispy exterior and soft interior. Available in any South Indian or Indian kitchen shop for under ₹500.
Ready idli batter from a store works perfectly. The fermentation has already happened. Fresh batter fermented overnight at home gives a deeper, more complex tang — worth the effort if you plan ahead.
Appe modak is the only modak in this collection that achieves its shape not through hand-forming or moulding but through the cooking vessel itself. It is technically a fried/pan-cooked preparation rather than steamed or set — which gives it the unique combination of crispy exterior and soft interior that no other variety has.
About This Recipe
Appe modak comes from the South Indian paniyaram tradition — small, fermented rice-lentil dumplings cooked in a special dimpled pan. In their standard savoury form, paniyaram (or appe in Marathi) are a breakfast food across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and coastal Maharashtra. In their sweet festival form, they become a modak that is unlike any other in the collection: pan-cooked rather than steamed, slightly tangy from fermentation, crispy outside and soft inside.
The appe pan itself is a marvel of South Indian kitchen engineering — the hemispherical cavities create a shape that would be impossible to achieve by hand. It is the one modak where the tool creates the form.