Puran Poli

Coming back to traditional maharashtrian recipe after a long time. Puran poli is made in maharashtrian homes during holi festival. It is a roti stuffed with sweet mixture of chana dal and jaggery , roasted on a pan. The mixture of chana dal and jaggery can be eaten like 'Halwa' also, which is called as "Puran" in marathi.

Same puran is used in other two recipes namely 'Dinda' and 'Kadbu' . When it is wrapped in dough and steamed it is called 'Dinda' and when deep fried, it is called 'Kadbu' (shape is similar to Karanji or Gujiya)

The recipe given below solely belongs to my mom. Generally, 'all purpose flour' or 'maida' is used to make the outer covering or dough. But as per my mom, the outer cover made up of wheat flour enhances the taste of puran poli. But it takes long time to knead it. It took  approximately 45 minutes to knead the dough. 

Lastly, just wanted to tell that these puran polis are joint efforts of my mom and Manasi (my wife). It was an impossible task without their guidance and constant help.

And lastly, this has won a runner-up prize in the MasterChef India 2 contest!

Ingredients :

For Puran
500 gm Chana dal
500 gm grated Jaggery + 1 cup more
2 tspns nutmeg powder (Jaifal)
2 tspns cardamom powder

For dough
500 gm wheat flour + flour for dusting
2 cups oil
A pinch of salt

Water as required

Preparation :


To make Puran
Wash chana dal
Soak it in water for 3 hours
Remove earlier water
Add 2 and half times quantity of fresh water to Chana Dal
Cook dal in pressure cooker till 7-8 whistles
Remove the chana dal from cooker
Place dal in a strainer to remove the excess water
Ensure that not a single drop is left in dal
Now transfer chana dal into a kadai
Add grated jaggery to it
Cook the mixture over medium flame for 30-40 minutes
Stir it continuously during the cooking process
At the end, add nutmeg powder and cardamom powder.
When the puran is ready, transfer it into "Puran Yantra" (machine to grind puran) to grind it into fine paste.
The process of grinding has to be done when it is hot.
Keep it aside for cooling

To make dough :
Sift the wheat flour
Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup oil
Then add water as required
knead the dough into medium consistency (A bit hard consistency)
Set it aside for 2-3 hours
Just before making "Puran Poli", take 1 cup oil and 1 and 1/2 cup water in a bowl
Keep on adding the mixture of oil and water to the dough and knead it
Kneading should be done till the entire water and oil is absorbed by the dough
Knead the dough till it becomes elastic in nature
Use more oil and water if required
Dough should be very smooth and elastic
After kneading, pour balance oil over the dough so that it remains moist

To make Puran Poli :
Place flat tawa on medium heat
Take lemon sized ball of dough on a roller
Roll a small sized puri of it
Take twice the quantity of Puran (the chana dal & jaggery mixture)
Make small ball of it
Place it in the centre of rolled roti
Cover it with the dough
Roll it into a roti
Lift the roti with the help of roller
Place it over tawa
Roast both the sides of roti
Serve hot with milk and home-made ghee

Notes :
1. In order to check that puran is completely cooked, there is a 'Spatula Test'. Hold the spatula in the centre of  puran. If it stands straight, then puran is ready.
2. While kneading the dough, if more oil is used, then smoothness of poli is affected, hence use oil and water proportionately
3. If puran yantra (machine for grinding the mixture) is not available, it can be done with the help of grinder. But ensure that water is not used to grind the puran.
4.Puran poli can be stored for a week outside refrigerator
5. At the time of serving, roast it again for 1 minute on tava with little ghee. Place dollop of ghee on it and serve it with masala milk.
6. Traditional way to eat puran poli is to scramble it, add ghee, milk and eat it like rice.
7. The above ingredients make approx 35 puran polis.

Stepwise pictures :

Sending this entry to Gayathri Kumar's Event - Walk Through Memory Lane