Puran Poli -Stuffed Pancake with coconut &lentil filling

Puran Poli (Stuffed Pancake with coconut &lentil filling)

This is one of my favorite sweet. Puran Poli (also known as Obbattu, Baksham , poli in tamil) is a traditional Indian Bread prepared in Maharashtra, Gujrath & South India. Mostly this Poli is served during auspicious occasions and important festivals. There are different variations according to region.

In Tamilnadu poli is prepared on festival days. Avani Avittam,Tamilnew year, Saraswathi pujai and Bhogi Pandigai. I prepare this poli for Avani avittam.You can prepare using Kadalai paruppu (channa dal) , Toor dal or a combination of both. I have used channa dal.In my home all are fond of sweet dish. Instead of jaggery I always use sugar & coconut and it gives different taste. Polis are my all-time favorite ones. I can eat this anytime, all days. . It was quite different and it tasted great too!

Ingredients

For Filling Poornam

1 cup Bengal gram dal (cleaned & washed )

1 coconut (grated)

1/4 cup ghee

10 pods cardamom (powdered)

2 cups sugar or jaggery (powdered)

Ingredients for the dough

Maida or plain flour – 1 to 1 ½ cups

Turmeric powder- 1 pinch

Salt – 1 pinch

Cooking oil or Seasame oil– 1/2 cup

Method

Take a vessel seive maida with salt and turmeric, sprinkle warm water little by little and make like a chappathi dough. make a hole in the middle, pour the sesame oil cover it with the same dough and close the vessel and keep aside for 2 hours.

Pressure cook dal with little turmeric with enough water for 3 to 4whistle. Once it is cool drain the water completely.Grind it in a mixie with the sugar into a fine paste.

Take a pan, add 1 tbls of ghee, add the grated coconut saute for few mts then add the ground dal, elachi and cook until the dal is done and it is thick. cool the dal.

Make small balls of maida into flat chappathies.Make lemon size balls of the poornam. Make lemon size balls of the batter. Expand the batter with a rolling pin to about the size of a 5 inch diameter circle.

Put the stuffing ball in this and now, bring the ends of the batter together to as to cover the poornam.

At the top where you join all the ends, there may be some extra batter, remove it and seal the stuffing well into the batter.

Now, Grease a banana leaf and your fingers too.Place the prepared ball on the leaf and pat it evenly on the leaf giving it a round shape as thin as possible. You may use your finger tips to expand the stuffed batter disc, or you may use the rolling pin. .

(You can also flatten over a polythene sheet greasing with oil or plantain leaf Whichever convenient to you and then place over the tava. )

Heat a tava and invert the banana leaf on it, peel out the raw poli on to the tava / pan.

Heat a pan and apply some ghee/oil to it. Put the poli on the pan and turn and cook until done. Apply ghee and toast on both the sides.

Poli is ready to serve. Serve hot.

Pal Poli (Milk Poli)

"Pal poli is one of our traditional sweets famous for its own taste. Pal poli is one of the sweets I love. In tamil for milk we say pal. Pal poli puris soaked in sweetened reduced milk. There are many ways to prepare this sweet poli – with rava (semolina), maida or mixed one Very delicious and easy to prepare. You will enjoy its rich taste.The taste is divine…

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp oil or ghee

2-3 drops yellow food colouring

Water to make dough

For the milk syrup:

5 cups milk

1 cup sugar

8-10 cardamom pods

1/2 tsp saffron strands

Oil for frying

Thinly sliced almonds/pistachios, for garnish

Method:

Make a elastic dough with the flour, ghee and water and use 2-3 drops yellow food colouring Cover and set aside

Boil the milk and sugar in a heavy saucepan, Continue stirring the milk on a low simmer until it thickens and reduces to about a third in volume.

Meanwhile Divide into 10 equal parts and shape them into balls make small size of puris from the dough.

Heat the oil in a pan and deep-fry the puris.

Drain the oil well and Dip each puri in the hot thickened milk.

Soak the fried polis in the milk and then arrange them on a plate. If there is excess milk, you can always pour it over the polis and sprinkle with the toasted almonds/pistachios. Serve warm or chilled.

The longer it soaks in milk, the better taste you will get.