Ingredients
Makes 12 modaks. Scale using the Modak Calculator. Tap any ingredient to tick it off.
Method
Make green water
Blend spinach with 120ml water until completely smooth. Strain through fine mesh, pressing firmly — vivid green liquid only, no pulp. Top up with plain water to total 240ml.
Make the filling
Standard: melt jaggery, add coconut, cook 8 minutes until dry, add cardamom and nutmeg off heat. Cool completely.
Make the green dough
Bring spinach water to rolling boil with salt and ghee. Add all rice flour at once, stir vigorously, rest 5 minutes. Knead 2–3 min. Dough will be deep, vivid green.
Shape immediately
Green dough oxidises faster than plain dough — work quickly. Cover unused dough tightly. Standard 4–5 pleat shaping. 25g portions.
Steam 10–12 minutes
On banana leaf. The green domes in the steamer are beautiful. Remove when shells are translucent-green and firm.
Tips & Variations
Despite the spinach, properly made hirve modak does not taste of spinach. The pulp is strained out and the remaining flavour is completely masked by rice flour and coconut. Children are often surprised.
Keshar (gold) and hirve (green) modaks on the same plate — one of the most beautiful festival presentations imaginable.
About This Recipe
Hirve modak is a modern innovation that does what the modak tradition has always done: adapt to new ideas while maintaining the sacred form. The spinach-coloured shell does not appear in ancient texts but represents the living tradition continuing to evolve. Visually, hirve modak is among the most striking: the vivid green against the warm cream of a standard offering plate is immediately dramatic.