Heat up water in a medium sized pan
Add milk, salt and ghee and bring it to a boil
Once it starts boiling, turn off the gas and add the rice flour
Mix it well with a spatula till everything is combined well
Keep it covered for 10 minutes or till you are done preparing the filling
Heat up another pan on medium heat and add in the poppy seeds
Dry roast the poppy seeds for about 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure you don't burn them!
Add in the shredded coconut and dry roast till its about slightly brown in color.
Add in the jaggery and keep roasting it for 5 to 7 minutes
Add 1 tbsp of water in between to make the filling slightly wet
Let the filling cool down
Take the dough into a clean plate and start kneading it for 7 to 8 minutes
If the dough is too sticky, rub some ghee on your hands for kneading
Divide the dough into three equal portions, one for each color
Add orange gel food color into one of the portions and knead it till the color is mixed in well
Repeat the above with green gel food color with the 2nd portion of the dough
Leave the third portion as it is. Now you have three colors
Start making smaller 1 inch size balls from each of the dough portions. You should get around 7 to 8 balls for each color
Take one ball of each color and press them together as shown in video, with no gaps in between any of the three different balls. This step will require some practice so make sure you check out the video
Once the dough is somewhat pressed out flat and thin, fold and pinch along the edges to make a form of dip in the center.
Add in the filling and close up the dough by pinching the top of the folds to the center
Now the modak is ready to be steam cooked
Bunch up some aluminum foil into three small balls and place it in a deep pan. The foil balls are kept to give some clearance between the bottom of the pan and the modak
Add in an inch of water to the pan
Grease a plate with ghee and place the modaks on it. Place this on the aluminum foil. If you want, you can improvise a steamer like what I did by poking holes on aluminum foil, wrapped around an Instant Pot wire roasting rack, and placing the modak on it
Close the pan with a lid and steam the modak on medium heat for 20 minutes. Do not steam at high heat
After 20 minutes, take the modaks out. Drizzle some ghee on it and serve it hot.