Saturday, February 20, 2010

Puran Poli

Everyone loves the festival of HOLI. The festival of colours. It is celebrated by all irrespective of caste and creed, young & old with equal enthusiasm. Holi begins with lighting bonfire at night and praying to the bonfire. We make puran poli on the same day, offer it to bonfire while praying. After that apply gulal (red holi colour) to friends, thus begins the festival of colours. Next day morning everyone is in festive mood putting colour, throwing colour water balloons on each other. When friends come home on that day we give them puran polis to eat.

Puran poli is a sweet made using channa dal (yellow gram) also called Bengal Gram dal . It is one of the sweets I like most. It time consuming and requires lots of patience to make the puran poly soft and thin (melting in the mouth). It is a delicate item to make as it breaks easily. But all the hard work is worth it when you see your family enjoying the mouth watering. Puran poli is a Indian bread with sweet filling. In Karnataka puran poli is called hoolige.


Recipe for Puran Poli , the way I make it. I have experimented many times so at last I have a perfect method (without filling coming out) to make soft puran poli.


Ingredients


For Outer Cover
1 ¼ cup Maida ( all purpose flour)

½ cup wheat flour

2 tbsp rava
1 pinch Turmeric Powder
1 pinch Salt
2 tsp hot Ghee
Water enough to make dough
3 tbsp warm Oil
Oil / Ghee for frying

 

Inner Filling
1 1/4 cup Jaggery
1 1/4 cup Bengal Gram Dal (channa dal)
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder/nutmeg powder (I prefer nutmeg powder)

 

I start a night before I have to make puran poli.

First thing I do is soak channa dal with enough water so it becomes soft (at least you should soak for 4-5 hours). Next day pressure cook the channa dal (3 whistles). Now let it cool.

 

Meanwhile start preparing the outer dough.

Take maida, wheat flour, rava, turmeric powder, salt, hot ghee together add sufficient water.

knead to make smooth dough. Keep aside for 45 minutes wrapped with thin wet white cloth (small pancha).

After 45 minutes take the dough, take warm oil little by little and knead dough again well so it sucks all the oil.

Keep aside for 3 hours covered with pancha, so the dough will rise.

 

By now the channa dal must have cooled down, we can make inner filling.

Sieve the channa dal and remove all water from it.

Make paste out of channa dal by passing through puran yantra (available in market), almond grater or in the mixture (It is bit difficult to do in mixture, you need to add water).

Add jiggery pieces, put the mixture into heavy bottom vessel (kadai/ saucepan) and cook till soft lump is formed (extra water should evaporate).

Add the nutmeg powder just before switching off the gas.

Nutmeg powder is added last so the aroma does not vanish while cooking.

 

We have both the things dough and filling ready we can start by making puran polis.

  1. Make small balls of filling, same size balls of dough.
  2. Take one ball of dough flatten, cover with maida, then roll it into 4 inches round.
  3. Place filling ball into center, cover and seal up the filling (just like modak) .
  4. Flatten it cover with maida (keep the sealed side downward while rolling) roll again to make poli (as thin possible).
  5. Roast on hot griddle (tawa) on both the sides( be careful while turning the sides) till golden brown (I don't put ghee, if you want you can).
  6. Repeat the process with balance dough balls to make mouth watering puran polis.