Ganesh’s favourite food is a hit with Puneites too

Even as Ganeshotsav celebrations are on in full swing in the city, Lord Ganesh’s favourite food, the modak, remains a favourite with foodies. Most centres who prepare modaks in the city have their hands full.

The 75-year-old restaurant on Laxmi Road, Poona Guest House (PGH), is one such eating place. PGH partner Kishore Sarpotdar told DNA on Tuesday that his restaurant was offering not just the traditional ukdiche modak this year, but also a variant with the Alphonso mango.

According to Sarpotdar, his restaurant had requisitioned a team of women from the Konkan to prepare ukdiche modak. Sarpotdar said, “Making these modaks is not an easy task. The outer covering, which is made of hard-boiled rice, needs to be rolled in the shape of the modak while it is still very hot to get a good 12 to 13 pleats. This requires a lot of craftsmanship.’’

Sarpotdar said that the regular ukdiche modak was priced at Rs15 a piece and the mango modak at Rs20 a piece.
Mulchand Sweets on Centre Street (Camp) has the traditional mawa modak in different flavours, including mango, rose and malai. The mango and rose mawa modak varieties are priced at Rs300 per kg. They also have the ukdiche modak (Rs15 a piece) and the fried modak with coconut filling, priced at Rs200 per kg.

Dipesh Sethia of Mulchand Sweets said, “We also have chocolate modaks which are made of pure chocolate. An interesting flavour introduced this year is the orange-flavoured chocolate modaks containing almonds. These are priced at Rs120 per piece,’’ Sethia said.

Amoretto Chocolates is one other store that offers modaks made of dark and white chocolate. These sometimes contain dry fruits and spices, depending on the demands of the customer. They are available in the range of Rs200 to Rs750 per kg.