Ingredients
Makes 12 modaks. Scale using the Modak Calculator. Tap any ingredient to tick it off.
Method
Make the ganache
Chop dark chocolate finely and place in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream until just simmering — do not boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate. Let sit 2 minutes. Stir gently from the centre outward until completely smooth. Add butter and stir until glossy.
Add cardamom and cool
Stir in cardamom powder and sea salt. Let the ganache cool at room temperature until it reaches the consistency of thick peanut butter — about 20–25 minutes. It should hold a shape when scooped.
Fill the mould
Lightly grease a silicone or plastic modak mould with a neutral oil. Fill each cavity completely with ganache, pressing down firmly to eliminate air pockets. Smooth the top flat with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
Set in refrigerator
Refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour until completely firm. For a faster set, freeze for 20 minutes.
Unmould and finish
Unmould carefully by pressing gently from behind the silicone. For plastic moulds, open both halves. If they stick, refrigerate 10 more minutes. Optional: drizzle with melted white chocolate for a decorative finish.
Serve or offer
Serve at cool room temperature for the best texture and flavour. Straight from the fridge the chocolate is too firm. Offer to Ganesha as part of the prasad tray — the chocolate modak always draws the most attention.
Tips & Variations
Cream was too hot, or water got into the chocolate. Start again — melt the seized ganache over a double boiler with a splash more cream and stir gently.
Mould was not greased, or ganache was not fully set. Return to freezer for 15 minutes and try again. Silicone moulds release much more easily than plastic.
Replace 60g dark chocolate with 60g white chocolate and add 2 tbsp desiccated coconut and 1 tsp coconut extract. This gives a bounty-bar style modak that is enormously popular.
Chocolate modak lasts 5–7 days refrigerated in an airtight container. Best eaten within 3 days. Do not leave at room temperature for more than 4 hours — especially in summer.
About This Recipe
Chocolate modak is the most democratic of all modak varieties — beloved by children who do not yet appreciate jaggery, by those unfamiliar with Indian sweets, and by experienced modak lovers who see the logic of marrying the world's most seductive food with India's most sacred one.
The addition of cardamom is not optional. It is what elevates chocolate modak from a novelty to something genuinely worth making year after year — the spice bridges the gap between the chocolate's bitterness and the warmth of the Indian festival tradition. One taste and you understand why the combination works.
Technically, chocolate modak requires no cooking skill whatsoever. The ganache technique — pouring hot cream over chopped chocolate — is foolproof when the proportions are right. It is the ideal first modak for a child learning to make prasad, or for a diaspora household that wants to participate in Ganesh Chaturthi without the complexity of rice flour dough.