This is Piper Nigrum - black pepper - and it changed our world.

The ancient Egyptians knew of this spice, and so did the ancient Greeks. Romans coveted it and spent inordinate amounts of sesterces to procure it. The rise of the Islamic empire blocked Europe’s access to it. The hunger for a easier route to this “king of spices” kicked off the age of exploration, the discovery of the Americas, changed history, and is responsible for the world we now live in.

This is that story. A story of food, history, botany, the age of exploration, the making of the modern world - but mostly a story of food. Our story starts on the Malabar coast of India, goes westward to Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Levant, the New worlds and their wondrous new foods, and then comes back to India and the Far East. The spices that started their journey from Malabar ended up flavoring the rest of the world; but the foods from the rest of the world came here too. This too, is that story.

Starting anything new in India is often accompanied by a invocation to Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles.

As I start this exploration of my twin passions - food and history - it is appropriate to do the same. Any mention of Ganesha would, of course, not be complete without a nod to his favorite sweet treat—the modak, a steamed dumpling made from rice flour and filled with a delightful mixture of coconut and jaggery.

While mentions of modak or something similar dates back multiple millennia (the culinary historian Darra Goldstein dates it to at least 200 BC), the earliest extant recipe we have is from the Mānasollāsa, a 12 century Sanskrit text from the region that is now in the Indian state of Karnataka.

The following is a modern rendition of the modak, but not very far from its 12th century cousin in either the technique or ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice flour, finely ground

• 1 cup water

• A pinch of salt

• 2 1/2 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)

• 1 1/2 cups grated coconut

• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

• 3/4 cup jaggery, broken up into small pieces or grated

Steps

• Prepare the dough:

  • In a heavy-bottomed pan, add 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon ghee, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

  • Slowly add the rice flour to the boiling water while stirring continuously to avoid lumps.

  • Once the rice flour absorbs all the water and forms a dough, remove from heat and knead the dough until smooth.

• Prepare the filling:

  • Heat 2 teaspoons of ghee in a pan over medium-low heat.

  • Add the grated coconut and roast for a minute until fragrant.

  • Add the jaggery and cook on low heat until the jaggery melts and the mixture becomes soft and sticky.

  • Sprinkle in the cardamom powder and mix well. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.

• Shape the modaks:

  • Divide the dough into small balls, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

  • Flatten each ball into a small disc, place a spoonful of the filling in the center, and gather the edges to form the traditional tear-drop shape of the modak.

• Steam the modaks:

  • Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Place a sieve or steamer basket on top of the pot.

  • Arrange the modaks in a single layer on the sieve, cover with a lid, and steam for about 12 minutes.

Enjoy your modaks!