Ingredients
Makes 12 modaks. Scale using the Modak Calculator. Tap any ingredient to tick it off.
Method
Source quality chikki
The recipe depends entirely on the base. Use chikki from a good Maharashtra shop — peanuts golden-roasted, jaggery syrup correctly set, smells of caramelised jaggery. Lonavala or Pune market chikki is the benchmark.
Crush to rough crumble
Break chikki and pulse in food processor 3–4 times until roughly crumbled — a mix of powder and small pieces. Add cardamom, sesame, and coconut if using.
Test binding
Press a portion firmly between your palms — it should hold shape. If it crumbles, add 1 tbsp jaggery powder dissolved in 1 tsp warm water and mix well.
Shape with maximum pressure
30g portions. Very well-oiled hands. Press FIRMLY into mould — more pressure than any other no-cook modak. Hold for 10 seconds before releasing.
Rest at room temperature
20 minutes on parchment. The jaggery sets as it cools. No refrigeration needed. Serve at room temperature — the peanut oils and jaggery flavour are best at room temp.
Tips & Variations
15 minutes from start to shaped modak with good chikki. The emergency prasad when Sankashti Chaturthi arrives and nothing is prepared.
Dry-roast 250g peanuts until golden. Melt 200g jaggery with 1 tbsp water to hard-ball stage. Add peanuts, stir, pour onto greased surface, cool, break. Then proceed with the recipe.
Replace peanut chikki with sesame (til) chikki for a completely different flavour. Til chikki modak is particularly appropriate for Sankranti.
About This Recipe
Chikki modak is Maharashtra's most spontaneous sweet — made from the state's most beloved street snack, reshaped in 15 minutes. Chikki itself is so embedded in Maharashtra food culture that it needs no introduction. Every long-distance bus journey, every school lunch, every market. In modak form, it becomes prasad without losing any of its populist energy — possibly the only modak that doubles as a children's favourite and a devout offering simultaneously.