Almost everybody loves desserts, however not everybody loves what desserts do to them. I'm not talking here about the amazing expanding waistline, larger pants size problem. I talking about gluten intolerance. There are a lot of desserts that involve wheat flour and there's the rub. It's the gluten in the wheat that makes desserts off limits for so many. Fortunately there are a lot of products out there for those who have to steer clear of wheat and even more do-it-yourself recipes out there for people who love dessert, even when dessert doesn't love them.
When I posted a recipe for dhoklas, the delicious fermented Gujarati bread made from chickpea flour, I was surprised at how many people I heard from who were interested in yet another gluten free dish. How great would it be if I could find some gluten free desserts? Turns out there are quite a few in the Indian kitchen.
Modaks are a traditional sweet served all over Western and South India for the festival of Lord Ganesha.
These delicious, coconut stuffed sweets are sometimes made using wheat flour. Sometimes the dumplings are deep fried, sometimes they are steamed. In the south of India however, the dumplings are steamed and made of rice flour. Gluten free rice flour!
These little treats first came to my attention when I ran across them at the blog Niyas'World. They looked so tempting I just had to have some. I did my research and studied every madok recipe I could find. Most of them were pretty similar. I had all the fixings at home and since I was curious to explore more gluten free recipes, I thought why not give them a try? So I did.
And here's how I did it.