The aroma of incense, the chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’, and kitchens buzzing with the sound of steaming modaks, Ganesh Chaturthi brings it all! For Maharashtrians, Ukadiche Modak isn’t just a sweet dumpling, it’s literally tradition wrapped in rice flour, stuffed with coconut and jaggery, and always served with a generous drizzle of ghee. This year, the humble sweet found itself in the spotlight when a video of an American man tasting an Ukadiche Modak for the very first time went viral.
American Man Tastes Ukadiche Modak
The clip, uploaded by Instagram creator Disha Pansuriya (@dishakpanduriya), dropped right as the 11-day Ganesh festival kicked off on August 27. The celebrations will culminate with visarjan on September 6, but until then, homes and pandals are overflowing with food, music, and devotion. And now, one short reel has added a surprising twist to the festivities, which is the joy of watching someone unfamiliar with the dish fall in love with it instantly.
In the video, the American man holds up a plate stacked with modaks, takes a bite, and without hesitation, he says, “Oh my god, these are amazing.” Pansuriya captioned it simply: “Ganpati Bappa Morya,” and the internet did the rest.
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Internet Is Charmed
The comments section of the viral post turned into a digital pandal of its own. One person urged him to eat them “with lots of tup (ghee),” while another left a cheeky comparison: “It tastes like a first kiss.” Someone else, leaning into festival humour, wrote, “He looks like Ganesha.”
There were emojis everywhere, with hearts, folded hands, fire and applause, each one a small stamp of approval.
Not all comments were playful, some carried pride as well. “Kha vo raha hai but as an Indian, proud mujhe feel ho raha hai,” one user wrote, expressing the secondhand joy of seeing a cultural favourite appreciated. Another user recalled discovering Pansuriya’s content during Ganpati last year and praised her for carrying Maharashtrian culture across oceans: “You are doing a great job spreading our traditions in the USA.”
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The reel might be just a few seconds long, but its impact stretched far beyond a kitchen table. In one bite, an American stranger tasted not just jaggery and coconut, but a tradition that’s centuries old. And in sharing that moment, the internet reminded itself of a truth we often forget: sometimes the fastest way to connect cultures is through food.
Cover Image Courtesy: dishakpansuriya/Instagram