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 :)