Oats Modak - Healthy and delicious modaks made with oats, nuts, jaggery and cardamom. These modaks offer a guilt-free indulgence that's perfect for festive occasions or as a nutritious snack.
What is oats modak?
Oats Modak is a modern and nutritious variation of the traditional Indian sweet called "Modak". It is a popular sweet snack in India, especially during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival season.
Oats Jaggery Modak is a one of the easy modak recipes and perfect for those looking for a guilt-free indulgence. Its preparation is quick and straightforward, involving basic steps of toasting the ingredients, blending them, and shaping them into modak.
Why you'll love this recipe:
It is a versatile recipe. Can be shaped into laddus or modaks.
Perfect for festivals such as ganesh chaturthi, rakhi and diwali.
Super nutritious and delicious!
Requires just a handful of ingredients and 15 minutes to make!
Ingredients & Substitutions:
Oats - I recommend using instant or quick oats in this recipe because they require less roasting time, making it suitable even for novice cooks. While you can also use rolled oats, please note that they will need a longer roasting time.
Jaggery - You can get jaggery from any Indian stores or online. It can be replaced with powdered jaggery, coconut sugar or palm sugar.
Nuts - I have added almonds, cashews and pistachios in this recipe. You can use any of your favorite nuts. They give a wonderful taste and richness to the modaks.
Cardamom - Do not skip adding cardamom. I have added cardamom seeds, you could use ground cardamom. It give a lovely aroma to the sweet. If you don't like cardamom, replace it with cinnamon or nutmeg.
Ghee - It helps bind the mixture and adds richness and flavor. You can reduce the quantity by half and substitute it with milk. If you are looking for a vegan alternative, replace it with the same quantity of coconut oil.
Serving suggestions:
Serve it as a prasad / naivedyam (offering) to Lord Ganesha during Vinayaka Chaturthi festival.
It makes a perfect edible gift for special occasions such as diwali parties, birthdays and gatherings.
You can also serve them as a healthy sweet snack with a cup of tea or coffee.
These are wonderful in your kids lunchbox as well.
Storage suggestions:
I haven't used any milk in this recipe so they will stay fresh at room temperature for 7-10 days if stored properly.
If you want to store them for longer period of time, refrigerate them.
You can also freeze them in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Tips & Notes:
Make sure you are using fresh and high quality ingredients for the best flavor and taste.
Always roast the nuts and oats over a low-medium flame to avoid burning.
You can increase the nuts quantity in this recipe but you may add more jaggery in that case.
Always add warm/hot ghee little by little until the mixture holds its shape. You may need more or less ghee.
Grease your hand and modak mould with ghee. This prevents the mixture from sticking to your hands and makes it easier to shape them into laddus or modaks.
To add a festive touch, decorate the shaped modaks with edible silver or gold foil.
Variations:
Nut-Free Modak - Omit the nuts altogether for a nut-free option.
Chocolate Oats Modak - Add 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the mixture for chocolatey twist.
Spiced Modak - Experiment with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger for a spiced variation.
Coconut Oats Modak - Roast some desiccated coconut and add it the modak mixture for a different variation.
FAQs:
Yes, you will need to roast them for a little longer though.
To make it vegan, replace ghee with coconut oil or vegan butter.
Yes! You can use saffron or cinnamon flavored oats.
No! You can make this recipe nut-free by omitting the nuts altogether. The modaks will still be delicious without them. Replace them with same quantity of oats or reduce the jaggery.
Absolutely! you can prepare Oats Jaggery Modak a day or two in advance for festivals or special occasions. Store them in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Yes! These are naturally gluten-free!
Step by step instructions:
Dry roast almonds and cashews for 2-3 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown.
Take them out of the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, add oats and roast them on a low flame for 2-3 minutes or until it turns slightly golden and emits nutty aroma.
Remove from the flame and let it cool completely.
Combine the roasted nuts, roasted oats and cardamom seeds in a mixie or blender jar.
Grind everything to a little bit coarse powder.
Add jaggery to the ground oats mixture and blend it again until smooth and well combined.
If you feel the sweetness is not enough, add more jaggery and blend it again at this stage.
Transfer the ground mixture to a mixing bowl.
Add chopped pistachios and mix well.
Add 2 tablespoons of warm/hot ghee over it and mix well.
Add one more tablespoon of ghee if needed. You should be able to roll the mixture into balls.
Grease a modak mould with ghee and stuff the mould with oats jaggery mixture.
Close the mould and remove any excess mixture.
Press and push gently at the bottom.
Gently unmold the modaks and repeat the same process with the remaining mixture.
More ganesh chaturthi recipes on the blog:
- Chocolate Modak
- Malai Modak
- Sweet Ammini Kozhukattai
- Bellam Thalikalu
- Dry Fruit Fried Modak
- Undrallu
- Pala Undrallu
- Rava Kudumulu
- Poornam Kudumulu
How to make oats modak recipe video below:
Oats Modak Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅛ Cup Cashews
- ⅛ Cup Almonds
- 1 Cup Instant Oats
- 3 Cardamom Pods
- ½ Cup Jaggery
- 4 Tablespoons Chopped Pistachios
- 3 Tablespoons Ghee
Instructions
- Dry roast almonds and cashews for 2-3 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown.
- Take them out of the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add oats and roast them on a low flame for 2-3 minutes or until it turns slightly golden and emits nutty aroma.
- Remove from the flame and let it cool completely.
- Combine the roasted nuts, roasted oats and cardamom seeds in a mixie or blender jar.
- Grind everything to a little bit coarse powder.
- Add jaggery to the ground oats mixture and blend it again until smooth and well combined.
- If you feel the sweetness is not enough, add more jaggery and blend it again at this stage.
- Transfer the ground mixture to a mixing bowl.
- Add chopped pistachios and mix well.
- Add 2 tablespoons of warm/hot ghee over it and mix well.
- Add one more tablespoon of ghee if needed. You should be able to roll the mixture into balls.
- Grease a modak mould with ghee and stuff the mould with oats jaggery mixture.
- Close the mould and remove any excess mixture.
- Press and push gently at the bottom.
- Gently unmold the modaks and repeat the same process with the remaining mixture.
