Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli

Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli, a flatbread filled with sweet lentil filling. This is a very famous festival recipe and perfect for the coming Pongal / Makar Sankranti festival.

Starting the New Year and beginning the year full of festivals and celebrations. My theme for this week’s BM is Festival recipes and my first recipe under the theme is this Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli. Poli is an essential festival recipe for many festivals and especially for Pongal / Makar Sankranti.

Pongal / Makar Sankranti is 3 days long celebrations in almost all the states of India. In Tamil Nadu, the day before pongal is Boghi festival. This is the day when we make Poli as a part of the festival platter. There are two different kind of poli that I regularly make. Paal Poli is our most preferred one and the one that I make often. Puranam poli is the other one and is quite similar to this particular Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli. The difference is that this Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli is made with whole wheat flour and the other one is made with all purpose flour / maida. Both the poli’s have their own unique flavor.

I had bookmarked this recipe from Varada’s blog a long time back and also made it, but never got a chance to blog about it. Now with Pongal / Makar Sankranti festival next week, it is the perfect time to post the recipe. I loved how flaky and lite these Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli was. It was so simple to roll and had just the right amount of sweetness. My boys loved it with a good dollop of ghee on top.

Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 60 minutes
Difficulty level – Intermediate
Recipe adapted from – Varada’s Kitchen

Ingredients to make Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli – makes 8 to 10

For the filling –

• Chana dal / Kadalai paruppu – 3/4 cup
• Jaggery – 1 cup
• Sugar – 1/4 cup
• Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
• Nutmeg powder – a pinch

For the outer covering –

• Whole wheat flour – 1 1/2 cups
• All Purpose flour / Maida – 1/4 cup
• Oil – 2 TBSP plus more to grease the poli
• Salt – 1 tsp

Procedure to make Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli –

To make the filling –

• Wash the chana dal well under running water and cook it in pressure cooker or stove top until the lentils are well cooked but not mushy. Chana dal is the easiest as it does not mush up as quickly as the other lentils. Once the lentils are cooked, drain them in a colander. Save this drained water to make the dough for the outer covering. The perfect texture is when we can easily crush the dal between our fingers.

• Mash the cooked chana dal well and add it to a heavy bottom pan along with the jaggery and sugar. Keep it on low heat and mix well. The jaggery and sugar will melt and the whole mixture will liquefy. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens.
• The perfect consistency is when the mixture is hard enough to hold a spoon standing. Add the cardamom powder and the nutmeg powder and mix well.

• Let the filling / puran cool completely. You will notice that the puran solidifies further when cooling.

To make the dough –

• Combine the flours and salt in a wide bowl. Add the oil and mix it well with the flour. Slowly add water as needed to make a soft dough.
• Add a little more oil at the end and let the dough rest for 1 to 2 hours.

To shape and cook the Puran Poli –

• Divide the dough and the filling into 8 to 10 balls, depending on what size you want the poli to be.
• Roll the dough to about 4 inch circle and place a ball of filling in the center. Form a pouch and seal the edges well.
• Flatten and dust the dough with some flour and roll it into a thin circle. Keep dusting more flour as you go to prevent sticking.
• Cook the poli on a hot pan. Drizzle some oil as both the sides and cook until brown spots appear on both the sides.

• Remove it on a tray and keep it covered with a kitchen cloth until ready to serve.
• Repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Serve warm with a dollop of ghee.

5 from 5 votes

Print

Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli

Maharashtrian Style Puran Poli, a flatbread filled with sweet lentil filling. This is a very famous festival recipe and perfect for the coming Pongal / Makar Sankranti festival. 

Course Dessert, Festival Recipes, Flatbread, sweets

Cuisine Indian, Maharashtrian

Keyword chana dal, festival recipes, flatbread, kadalai paruppu, poli, Puranam poli, Sweet flatbread, sweet poli

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Resting time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 10 serving

Instructions

To make the filling -

1. Wash the chana dal well under running water and cook it in pressure cooker or stove top until the lentils are well cooked but not mushy. Chana dal is the easiest as it does not mush up as quickly as the other lentils. Once the lentils are cooked, drain them in a colander. Save this drained water to make the dough for the outer covering. The perfect texture is when we can easily crush the dal between our fingers.
2. Mash the cooked chana dal well and add it to a heavy bottom pan along with the jaggery and sugar. Keep it on low heat and mix well. The jaggery and sugar will melt and the whole mixture will liquefy. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens.
3. The perfect consistency is when the mixture is hard enough to hold a spoon standing. Add the cardamom powder and the nutmeg powder and mix well.
4. Let the filling / puran cool completely. You will notice that the puran solidifies further when cooling.

To make the dough -

1. Combine the flours and salt in a wide bowl. Add the oil and mix it well with the flour. Slowly add water as needed to make a soft dough.
2. Add a little more oil at the end and let the dough rest for 1 to 2 hours.
3. To shape and cook the Puran Poli -
4. Divide the dough and the filling into 8 to 10 balls, depending on what size you want the poli to be.
5. Roll the dough to about 4 inch circle and place a ball of filling in the center. Form a pouch and seal the edges well.
6. Flatten and dust the dough with some flour and roll it into a thin circle. Keep dusting more flour as you go to prevent sticking.
7. Cook the poli on a hot pan. Drizzle some oil as both the sides and cook until brown spots appear on both the sides.
8. Remove it on a tray and keep it covered with a kitchen cloth until ready to serve.
9. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
10. Serve warm with a dollop of ghee.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#96