Thursday 22 October 2015

Puran poli : Dussehra special

Happy Dussehra to everyone reading this :))) Last year i had posted the recipe of Coconut Barfis (Naaralachya vadya - click on the link to read more about the festival) and today, i am posting that of Puran poli. Yes, it had to be a sweets-post since it's festival time, and how can the celebration be complete without making or eating sweet :) Some of the combinations are all-time favourites in a Maharashtrian home like Shrikhand- puri, Basundi-puri or Puran poli-kataachi amti etc. 



Puran poli is basically a flat-bread stuffed with a sweet filling of skinned split bengal gram and jaggery. The best part about Puran poli is, it tastes good even when it's cold ( or even a day old :)) . Usually eaten with a generous amount of tup (ghee) on top, it can also be eaten dipped in milk or with Kataachi Amti. As we say, the food and water changes every 10 kms in India, the same way - the method of preparation and ingredients vary in different regions in Maharashtra. Some add grated coconut to the sweet filling, some make the filling with sugar or a mix of jaggery and sugar both. For the covering, some make it with wheat flour and some with maida (all purpose flour) or a mix of both. Recently, one of my sister in law told me that in her village, the covering is made of suji (rawa). For flavouring, nutmeg and/or cardamom powder is added.

So, the recipe is actually quite easy- less ingredients and not much of cooking time. But the tough part is to roll the polis (breads) without letting the filling come out. If the filling comes out (which surely will, the first time you make it), it will burn while cooking the roti. So, to avoid it, just dust a little flour on the filling, and roll again.



You can fry the rotis with oil or ghee as per your liking, but ghee of course adds the flavour. So, diet conscious people, let the dieting stay away during festivities, what say? :) Also, you can make Puran one day prior and keep in the refrigerator. Puran(the filling) stays good in an air tight container in refirgerator for even a week. You can also eat Puran as it is with a plain roti adding little ghee on top... Tastes absolutely divine :)

Preparation time : 35-40 minutes
Cooking time : 20-25 minutes
Serves : 2-3 people
Recipe type: Indian flatbread

Ingredients:

Chana daal (Skinned split bengal gram) - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup 

(The right amount of sweetness is always to take equal quantity of lentil and jaggery)

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Oil - 5 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Ghee - to fry the polis



Recipe:

Wash the chana daal well. Pressure cook the washed chana daal along with 2 n half cups of water for 4-5 whistles. Switch off the flame, let the pressure subside. Now drain the daal and remove water thoroughly.

Use this water to make Kataachi Amti.

Sift the all purpose flour and wheat flour together. Add in 5 tbsp oil and mix well.

You can also add a little of turmeric powder for colour. 

Now, add water little by little and knead into a nice elastic dough. Put the dough in a bowl, cover and let it rest.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadhai, and add the cooked chana daal. Add in the jaggery and mix well. The mixture will turn to a thin consistency as the jaggery will melt. Let it cook till the mixture forms a nice thick ball. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning or sticking to the kadhai. Lastly add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder and mix well.

Now traditonally this mixture used to be put through the Puran Yantra (Puran Maker) for a very thin soft puran, but since i didn't have that, i just mashed it with a masher and it was fine. I tool the idea of mashing the puran from here.

Now, make equal sized balls of the puran and the dough both.

Make sure the filling in each dough-ball is good enough for the taste to come.

Roll the dough in a small puri-shape and add the filling in the centre. Now with your fingertips, gently close the sides of the dough in the centre to cover the stuffing. Now roll this into a roti. You can use all purpose flour or rice flour to roll the roti.

Heat a tawa. Place the roti on the tawa and fry on both sides till golden in colour adding ghee on top. 

Puran polis are ready. Don't forget to enjoy one served hot right from the tava with ghee on top. 



Happy Cooking :)






18 comments:

  1. I love the dhal filling but not the flour. Lovely sweet and one which mum used to make those days.

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    1. Yes the daal filling ( puran) can be eaten as it is :) Glad this brought back your memories :)

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  2. Happy Dussehra to you too dear! I love puran poli. And this one is making me drool for sure! Wish I could have 2-3 of these right now! :)

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    1. Awww, thanks Anu..wish i could send some to you :)

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  3. It is definitely universal that the hard part is the unruly filling. Thanks so much for dropping by my new writing blog. I'm having so much fun writing my novel and now posting about it on The Chorus of the Crows.

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    1. Super news absolutely excited about it dear :)

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  4. I can die for puran poli..it's my all time favourite!!....I'm totally drooling over here!!..Btw belated dussehra wishes to you dear:)

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    1. Thanks dear, well, i guess we share the same feelings when it comes to puran polis :)

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  5. It looks so yummy and mouth watering too

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    1. Thanks a lot Jayanthi, so happy that you liked it :)

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  6. Love these sweets and yours are gorgeous Gowri ...Happy festivals ahead

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    1. Thanks Jayashree, so happy to hear about your kind words :)

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  7. What a neat tradition. I just read something about putting teas leaves out in the moonlight to cure.

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    1. Oh thats awesome, the moon definitely has a lot of medicinal benefits :) Thanks for appreciating

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  8. Puran poli is one sweet I can't say no.... it just melts down the trout with a dollop of ghee. Typing this makes me hungry, imagine what will happen if it's in front of me. Nice post hope you had great dussehra and my wishes for very happy diwali!

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    1. Haha, i can imagine that :) Wish you the best for the festival and always dear :)

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  9. totally loved it :) Very good recipe, will surely try

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    1. Thanks Shweta, let me know how it turns out for you :)

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Appreciate your comments, Thank you so much for for dropping by :)!!!