Puran Poli

Puran poli is a soft and flaky sweet flatbread. It is a very popular Maharashtrian delicacy made with jaggery and lentil stuffing. The sweet lentil stuffing is called puran and poli means flatbread. It’s prepared during the festivals like Holi, Gudi Padwa, and Gauri Ganapati.

Puran poli is prepared in every Maharashtrian home during Holi. Holi is a festival of colors and celebrates the arrival of spring. Puran poli is offered to Gods when the holi bonfire is lit. Next day, it is served among the family members with some clarified ghee and warm milk. 

Puran is made with a special equipment called “Puran Yantra” to sieve the cooked chana dal and jaggery mixture into a smooth stuffing. When I first travelled to the USA, I didn’t have the puran yantra. I tried to grind the puran with a grinder but was not satisfied with the texture of the puran. On my trip to India, I made sure to bring a puran yantra with me.

I tried my best to try making puran in different ways without using puran yantra and finally found a solution. Many of you might not have puran yantra with you, so I am sharing my tips and tricks to make soft and flaky authentic puran poli without using a puran yantra.

My husband’s grandmother was one of the best in the art of making puran poli. To support her family and raise 4 kids, she started selling them. Her puran poli became so popular that it turned into a big business. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to taste it but my mother-in-law shared a few tips and tricks of grandma with me. 

Ingredients

For Puran:

• Chana dal/Split chickpeas 
• Jaggery
• Sugar 
• Nutmeg powder
• Cardamom powder
• Saffron
• Salt
• Oil

For Dough:

• Maida/All purpose flour 
• Wheat flour
• Rice flour
• Salt
• Oil

Puran Poli Step By Step Recipe

For Puran/Stuffing

Triple wash and soak the chana dal in 1.5 cup of water for 2 hours. 

In a pressure cooker, add soaked chana dal with the same water by adding 1-2 drops of oil and cook it for 3 whistles. Lower the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Once the pressure is released, transfer the dal to a strainer to drain the water. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.

In a pan, add dal, jaggery, and sugar. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes on a medium heat stirring constantly. 

Add nutmeg powder, cardamom powder, saffron stands, and a pinch of salt. Let the mixture cook for 2-3 minutes and lower the heat. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is a little dry. Another way to check the puran is to insert the spatula in the center and check if it is standing vertically without falling.

Transfer the puran little at a time in a strainer and keep one large bowl beneath it. Press the dal mixture with a serving spoon to get a soft and mashed puran. Separate the coarse dal. 

Mix all the soft puran mixture to form a dough. Cover and set it aside.

For Dough/Cover 

In a large bowl, add maida, wheat flour, salt, and mix well. Now slowly add 3.5 tbsp water and 1 tsp oil and knead the dough. Add ½ tbsp water and 1 tsp oil and keep kneading the dough for 2 minutes. The dough will be sticky.

Once you form the dough, transfer it on a clean platform or use a wide and big plate. Add 1 tsp water and 1 tsp oil and keep on kneading the dough. Repeat the same process by adding another 1 tsp of each water and oil. The more the dough is mixed, the more gluten is developed. It helps the dough to become elastic and stretchy. You may wait for 1-2 minutes if you can not handle kneading the dough.

Knead the dough by stretching and pushing. Keep adding some oil while kneading. Keep on kneading the dough for a total of 12 minutes.

Take a small portion from the dough and spread it with your fingers – it should be without tearing in the middle, soft, and stretchy.

Once you form a dough, add leftover oil and cover it. Keep it aside for 2 hours.

Making Puran Poli 

Knead the dough for 30 seconds, make 8 equal balls, and keep them aside. Make 8 equal balls of puran as well.

Take a dough ball, spread it with your fingers, and stuff the puran. Slide the dough upwards and keep pushing the puran slowly inside the dough with your fingers. Completely cover the puran with a dough and pinch the edge to seal. 

Meanwhile, preheat a non stick flat griddle on medium heat. 

Line a few papers on a countertop for transferring the cooked roti. 

Sprinkle some rice flour on a work surface, flatten the stuffed dough gently, and sprinkle some flour on the top. Flatten the dough with your fingers carefully. It should be around 3-4 inches in circumference. This helps the puran reach the edges while rolling the poli. 

Roll out a dough into a thin roti with a rolling pin around 7-8 inches in circumference. You can dust some rice flour if required. 

Lift the roti slightly and carefully roll it over a rolling pin halfway. Slowly transfer it on a hot griddle. It helps to transfer the roti easily without breaking apart.

Let the roti cook until you see small bubbles on the top. Next, flip it to the other side and let it cook till you see light brown spots.

Flip the roti again and cook for another minute, remove it from the griddle, and transfer it on a paper.

Roll the rest of the rotis and cook them in the same manner. Keep space between the cooked puran poli and let them cool down completely. 

Stack up the puran polis one over another or fold them into half in an airtight container. 

Tips For Making Puran Poli

• Make sure not to cook the puran too dry – it will not spread till the ends of the roti when you roll it.
• Prepare a very soft and stretchable dough. It is very important to make a perfect dough for making soft puran poli. 
• Make sure to add enough oil as recommended to achieve a perfectly soft and flaky puran poli.
• You can make the dough when you are cooking the dal to save some time as it needs to be rested for 2 hours.
• Be careful while rolling the puran poli as it will be too delicate to handle. If you make a perfect puran and the dough, you will be able to handle it better.

Variations 

• You can soak the chana dal in some warm water for 1 hour to speed up the soaking process.
• Once the dal is cooked and drained, you can press the cooked dal with a serving spoon to get a soft and mashed dal. After that, cook it with jaggery and sugar for not more than 9-10 minutes on a medium heat. Transfer it to a bowl and make sure you are not scraping the pan. The puran should be soft and lump free. Let the mixture cool down at room temperature before making puran poli.
• You can take half wheat flour and half all purpose flour as well while making the dough. Don’t completely skip the maida as it will create more elasticity in the dough which is very important while making a perfect puran poli.
• If you don’t want to add sugar in the recipe, you can add 1 cup of jaggery or ½ jaggery and ½ sugar as well. Adding jaggery gives very good color and taste.

How To Store Puran Poli?

Puran polis can be stored easily in an airtight container for 6 days at room temperature. 

You can keep them in the refrigerator for 15 days as well. Take them out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving. You may warm the puran poli on a hot griddle.

Make puran ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for upto 6-8 days. Let it come to a room temperature before rolling a puran poli. You can store the puran for 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw the puran on a countertop until it reaches at room temperature.

How To Serve Puran Poli?

You can serve hot puran poli along with some clarified ghee right out of the griddle.

Puran can be consumed on its own as well by adding some clarified ghee. Make sure not to have too much at a time – it’s hard to digest.

The classic way to serve puran poli is with some clarified ghee on the top of poli and warm milk. Dip the puran poli in warm milk and enjoy. I like to break the poli, add a very little warm milk, and a lot of ghee…Yummy!

Serve puran poli with katachi amti, varan bhaat, and dry potato curry. 

You can serve masale bhaat and some fried papad along with puran poli as well.

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