Puran Poli

Wheat flatbread (poli) filled with a sweet aromatic lentil filling (puran). A Maharashtrian delicacy made specially for the festival of Holi (popular for playing with colors).

Puran poli is one of the most-loved desserts (or a main dish, rather) of Maharashtra. It is best enjoyed with irrational amounts of ghee (clarified butter). I remember, many years ago, we had a religious ceremony at home and we had made Puran polis for lunch. The ghee was served out of a big cooking pot with a ladle into bowls in plates, and the guests dipped each bite of the poli generously in the bowl of ghee 😛

This, I have to admit, is by far one of the most complicated dishes I have tried making. But then again, some people find it rather simple and think, making modaks is the toughest thing, which for me is a piece of cake! So, if you are curious to test your cooking skills for yourslef, here is your cheat sheet – the most simplified and fool proof recipe you will find!

Ingredients:

For dough:

1.5 cups whole wheat flour (strained – fine)

1.5 cups maida / All purpose flour

you can also use 3 cups whole wheat flour instead. But you will get the thin skinned puran poli only if you add some maida. Some people even make it with a 100% maida. I personally like the blend, because whole wheat flour tastes better and the maida helps rolling out the polis thin without breaking.

1-1.5 cups water – depends on the weather and the ratio of flours you use.

1/4-1/2 a cup of oil

For the filling (Puran):

1 cup Chana dal

2.5 cups water

1 cup powdered sugar (you can also use one cup grated jaggery or a mixture of 1:1 jaggery and sugar). I used 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup jaggery.

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder + 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (again, you can either add only cardamom OR only nutmeg powder OR a combination of the two; and adjust the quantity as per your taste. The puran should taste and smell like when your grandmom made it)

Method:

For Puran:

• Wash the chana dal well
• Add 2 1/2 cups water to the dal water and soak it for 3-4 hours.
• Without starining or adding extra water, cook the dal and water mixture in a pressure cooker (5-6 whistles)

• Once the dal is cooked, drain the excess water  (this is the water that is used for making katachi amti, I am not a big fan of the amti, but its a general favorite in marathi households! so if you like it, do not discard this water)
• Mash the cooked dal with potato masher and strain it through a stainless steel stariner (as shown in the picture). You will get a smooth gooey mashed dal. The idea is to pulverize the dal beforehand, when the volume is less and manageable and avoid the cumbersome procedure to strain it after adding sugar.

• Transfer the mashed dal into a nonstick pan and add the powdered sugar. Start cooking this mixture on low flame.
• As the mixture cooks, it gets very thin, dont be scared! Cook until it boils and bubbles and turn off the heat.

• Keep the cooked mixture aside, until it cools completely. Once cooled, it thickens up to a dough-like consistency. It should not be chalky or sticky. Undercooked puran will turn out sticky, overcooked puran will become chalky. Cook time will vary on the quantity and your cooking range. I cooked mine for about 7 minutes.
• To the cooled Puran add the cardamom powder and mix well. The Puran is ready for use.

For Dough:

• Knead the dough in a bowl. Mix the two flours and salt to taste – a little more than you usually add in your chapati dough.
• Add water – little at a time and make soft dough – much softer and thinner than your regular chapati dough.
• Once the dough is ready (it will be a little sticky) start incorporating the oil, half a spoon at a time, until the dough becomes smooth, soft, elastic and does not stick to your fingers. Cover the dough in a bowl with seran wrap and let it stand for at least an hour.

For making the poli:

• Take a medium sized ball of dough and flatten it with your hands a little.
• Take a bigger sized ball of the puran (filling) than the dough – see picture for comparison and stuff it in the flattened dough. Seal the edges and make a stuffed dumpling.

• Dust the ball with all purpose flour and start flattening it with a rolling pin.
• Heat a pan on medium heat.
• Roll the poli until its as thin as it can get without tearing, or the filling coming out. Use more flour to dust if needed.
• transfer the poli to the heated pan/ griddle.
• Toast on one side until bubbles appear (see picture). Once that happens, add oil on this surface as well as the sides of the poli. and flip.
• Toast on both sides with generous sprinkling of oil until golden-brown spots appear on both sides. When flipped, a well rolled poli should puff completely, creating a pocket throughout the entire poli – as seen in the picture.

• Fold in half and take off from the griddle and lay down on paper. Do not put in a closed container until cold, or the steam gets trapped and the layers will stick.
• Serve warm with lots of ghee over the poli or on the side.
• Puran poli can also be served with milk. For this – warm some milk and add a little sugar, cardamom, nutmeg and saffron to it (as per taste). Serve on the sode as a dip for your delicious Puran Poli.