Step by step recipe to make Puran Poli
Step 1 - Start by making the Puran or the sweet filling: Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Minstry of Curry
Holi - the festival of color, the celebration of the victory of good over evil, marks the arrival of spring. Holi, is a popular Hindu festival celebrated over 2-5 days in India. On the evening of the first day, public bonfires are made, called Holika Dahan. On the next day (or 5th day in some states) people play with colors. My memories of Holi are of the bonfires and my friends and family gathering around them to pray. The fifth day known as “Rang Panchami” is the most colorful day when we shower our friends, family and even those we don’t know with vibrant colors both powder and liquid. Even after the holiday passes the streets of India look like a Monet covered in a sea of color. Diwali- which translates to a row of lights, is the main Hindu festival celebrated in autumn. In Maharashtra, where I grew up, it is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. Check out how my family celebrates Diwali in the USA! Bail Pola - celebrated in the monsoon season, on this day farmers pay respect to bullocks and cows as cattle are their main source of livelihood. ‘Bail’ in Marathi means ‘Bull.’ On this day, cattle are bathed, and adorned with various ornaments and clothes. Their horns are given a fresh coat of paint and then the animals are taken around the village in processions accompanied by music.
Years later, after moving to the US, I learned to make Puran Poli with my mom’s precise instructions. After many attempts and improvements, I finally mastered this authentic Maharashtrian dish. Now, I’m thrilled to make it several times a year, as both my children and husband love it. Poli - Flatbread usually made with whole wheat flour Puran Poli is a sweet flatbread where the Puran is stuffed inside the whole wheat dough and rolled to form a thin flatbread. It is then cooked on a hot griddle with a generous amount of ghee until both sides are cooked with golden brown spots.
Wash the chana daal 2-3 times. Drain all the water and then add 5 cups of filter water along with the daal in a heavy-bottomed pot. Let the daal cook on medium-low heat for at least an hour, stirring a few times. If you see white foam rise up from the lentils, gently discard the foam with a spatula. The daal should be cooked very soft, test them by pressing between thumb and index finger and it should be very soft and mushy.
Note: Cooking time may vary, I usually let mine cook for a couple of hours on medium-low heat. If you can stay near the stove while it is cooking you may want to cook it at medium-high, stirring more frequently, in which case the daal will be fully cooked in 45 mins.
Drain all the water using a strainer (save the water to make Katachi Aamti, see the recipe below). Put the daal back in the pot. Add jaggery, sugar, nutmeg, cardamom powder, dry ginger, and saffron to the lentils. Mix well, and cook stirring frequently for 20 mins on medium heat. Let the above mixture cool down for a few minutes and then blend it to a smooth consistency in a food processor. Tip - Make sure to blend while it is warm. This is our sweet stuffing and it should have a soft consistency like the picture below.
Step 2 - Knead the outer dough:
Knead soft dough with whole wheat flour, salt, saffron, and oil. This dough should be softer than the normal roti/paratha dough to get soft and flaky Puran Poli. Let this dough rest for at least half an hour at room temperature.
Step 3 - Rolling and cooking Poli:
Make lemon-sized balls from the dough and the Puran. Preheat a pan on medium-high heat. Roll the dough by using a little bit of dry wheat flour. Make a 4-5 inch diameter circle. Put the Puran ball in the middle of the rolled dough Make pleats on the side of the dough to enclose the Puran.
Close the pleats together tightly and press down the excess dough to make a flat disc Roll the Poli softly using some dry flour. You can roll this thin or keep it a little thicker. I roll mine thin to about 8-10 inches in diameter.
Gently put the rolled Poli on the heated pan. Cook evenly on both sides to a perfect golden brown color. Add a little ghee to both sides and cook until both sides are golden brown.
Apply a little more ghee on both sides and serve hot.
Serving
These Puran Poli are so flavorful that they can be eaten by themselves or traditionally they are served with hot milk that is flavored with cardamom and saffron. Here is a picture of the full traditional meal, which includes Puran Poli, saffron, and cardamom flavored milk, crunchy millet papads, crispy onion fritters, potato fritters, steamed rice, and spicy curry made with onions, coconut, and reserved water from the cooked chana daal. Yummy!
Storing
Rolled and cooked polis can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. They also freeze well, individually lined on parchment paper. To reheat simply place the, on a heated pan, apply ghee, and cook on both sides until heated through.
Recipe
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How to fix runny Puran/filling - Place the filling in a nonstick pan and cook on low-medium heat, stirring often for 5 to 10 mins. This will allow excess liquids to evaporate and the filing will become dryer. How to fix dry Puran/filling - Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of warm milk to the Puran and mix it in. Add more milk as required until you get it to the desired consistency
Ingredients
3 cups water reserved from cooked and strained daal 3 tablespoon oil, divided 1 medium red onion, roughly chopped ⅓ cup dry shredded or sliced coconut 1-inch ginger 6 garlic cloves 2 teaspoons red chili powder 1 to 2 teaspoons Goda masala or garam masala 2 teaspoons oil 1 teaspoon ground coriander ¼ teaspoon ground cumin powder ¼ teaspoon turmeric 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
