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Vashi2Panvel.Com: Navi Mumbai: August 26:Festive season is always an occasion of sweet joys and wonderful memories. While the city gears up for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, we meet up with a few woman entrepreneurs who get active during the Ganpati festive season! Lord’s favourite sweet is modak and these seasonal entrepreneurs bank on this fact. They take orders from their neighbourhood and sell home-made pure and delicious modaks at take-away prices!

“I make 12 different varieties of modaks both of rice flour and wheat flour. The basic difference between the two is the stuffing which can be of various kinds,” says Kavita Mhatre, a Nerul resident who ventured into the business this year. “The variety includes stuffing like Mango, Dry Fruit, Kesar, Coconut, Mava and Gud. So, people get a wide range to choose from,” she adds. The price of these homemade modaks depends upon the kind of stuffing inside the outer covering. “Generally, it ranges between Rs 30 for 10 modaks if made of dry-fruit stuffing if it’s made of rice flour and Rs 35 for wheat flour,” says Rohini Choudhary, who runs this business in Panvel.

These women have different reasons for starting up a seasonal business like this. “I wanted to do something which can be done from home and also is not much tiring. I enjoy cooking and making variety of sweet dishes, so thought of this idea,” says Rohini Choudhary, one of the Panvel residents who also supplies modaks during this festival.

The orders generally start at least one week before the festival so that the customers get their offerings on time. “I used to make the sweets for my home so I thought why not make it in a larger quality so that even the others can have them,” says Kavita Mhatre.

There are others who wanted to do something instead of simply sitting idel at home. “Working from home is a convenient option as you have your own comfortable area. I started this when a group of friends asked me to make for them and then I thought to make it a business as I enjoyed making in huge quantities” expresses Devika Bains, a Panvel resident.

Dry Fruit Modak:

Ingredient: Rice Flour, Sugar, dry fruits, cardomom,

Method:
1) Boil an appropriate quantity of water and make it as a dough.
2) Roll it and fill it up with the stuffing made out of the dry fruits.
3) Press it and form the shape of the modak.
4) Keep it in a plate above the boiling water, so that it is properly cooked with steam.

For the stuffing:
1)Cut the dry fruits into small pieces.
2)Mix them with jaggery or sugar.