APRIL 2016: Puran Poli (Roti stuffed w/ sweet dal)

photoed by A. Rajan

As I was struggling with the sudden flu... there appears Holi-- my favorite festival of colors. Bonfire and eating sweets along with glassfuls of Thandai. Indian festivals pack a punch of adrenaline in your system to do away with your laziness and old habits, and embrace the new with letting go of the past. Just thinking about it made me get out of my bed, and make this Holi delicacy from Maharashtra, and eat it with my sweetheart as he loves Puran Poli.

So I made life a little simpler by keeping things minimal in quantity and less tiring.

So here is my recipe :-)

Stuffing:

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1 c (cup) split chick peas (dal)
some water

1 c  Punjabi Gur Shakkar (jaggery made easy-- no more grating) 

1 tsp (teaspoon) dried ginger powder

1/4 tsp powdered nutmeg

1/2 tsp powdered cardamom

How to prepare stuffing:

*First, wash your dal and then soak it for few hours - makes it easy to digest.

*Now, just cover your dal with double quantity of water and pressure cook for 5-6 whistles -- you know your cooker. Mine is a piece of work; it wants to work double time. Customize what works best for you.

* Once the pressure is off, remove the dal and put it under the strainer to let out excess water from the dal -- this ensures lighter rotis.

* Now, heat a thick bottomed pan and mix dal and jaggery together. As you do it, the jaggery would start to melt, you got to keep stirring till the mixture becomes dry. The stuffing dough will come together eventually... Don't worry, it's not a rocket science.

* Now, you can wait for it to cool and use it as is for stuffing or use a potato masher for finer stuffing.

* Stuffing is ready. Let's roll with the next step now. :-) 

Roti:

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1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c water (or a little more to make soft dough)

a little oil

There are variations in these... some people do half & half with 1/2 all purpose flour with 1/2 wheat flour. I stick with whole wheat version; I cook instinctively.

* So in your flour, add water little by little as you mix these two to make the dough. I would think about a 1/2 cup of water depending on how the flour is.

* I let the dough rest for about half hour (30 minutes) and then start kneading it by applying little oil to it.

How to assemble dal stuffing into roti:

* Next, you take small table tennis ball size flour dough, (and roll it flat with your rolling pin)

photoed by A. Rajan

add dal stuffing inside it - little less than dough. 

photoed by A. Rajan

photoed by A. Rajan

Now close the sides to make sure the stuffing will stay inside 

when we start shaping the round flat roti with rolling pin.

photoed by A. Rajan

* Dusting a little flour on my clean kitchen counter top, I roll the stuffed rotis carefully flat, ensuring that stuffing isn't breaking out, and the shape remains round. It's a task for me sometimes... LOL

* Now on a hot flat pan, just cook your flat roti. 

photoed by A. Rajan

Once you start seeing bubbles forming on top, flip it to the other side. Let it cook and fluff. Apply ghee or butter on it.

Enjoy as is or with a glass of milk.

photoed by A. Rajan

This did not take much time for me... forgetting the soaking part... all it took is an hour. Grating the jaggery in more quantities will make you tired before you even get to it.

My Puran Poli may not be perfect. By experimenting with smaller quantities and small baby steps, I will eventually nail it like the pros!

Happy Holi. Enjoy!

--A.R.