Puran poli, the Maharashtrian flatbread filled with chana dal and gul
पुरणपोळी
A soft, thin flatbread wrapped around a smooth filling of chana dal and jaggery. The festive bread of Maharashtra, written out with the two rules the puran depends on.
Holi, Gudi Padwa and Ganesh Chaturthi · Prep 30 min · Cook 1 hr · Total 2 hr 30 min · Makes 10 puran poli · Maharashtrian dessert
Puran is chana dal cooked soft and then cooked again with jaggery until it is thick enough to hold a spoon upright. Poli is the bread. Put one inside the other, roll it as thin as it will go, and you have the dish Maharashtra makes for Holi and Gudi Padwa. Karnataka calls it holige or obbattu, and Gujarat has its own version.
It takes an afternoon. None of it is difficult, and most of it is waiting.
Two rules for the puran
The dal must be completely soft before the jaggery goes in, because jaggery stops it from softening any further. And the puran must be cooked dry. A loose filling tears through the dough on the board. A dry one rolls out like a single sheet.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (about 200 g) Chana dal
- 2½ cups Water
- 1 cup (about 200 g) ShuddhGaon jaggery powder
- ½ tsp Cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg, grated
- 1 cup (about 130 g) Whole wheat flour (atta)
- ½ cup (about 65 g) Maida
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- A pinch Salt
- 3 tbsp Oil
- About ⅔ cup Water
- As needed Rice flour, for dusting
- For the tawa and for serving Ghee
Method
- Make the dough first Mix the atta, maida, turmeric, salt and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add water until you have a very soft, slightly sticky dough and knead it for 8 to 10 minutes, until it stretches without tearing. Rub the last tablespoon of oil over it, cover it and rest it for an hour.
- Cook the dal Wash the chana dal and pressure cook it with the 2½ cups of water for 4 to 5 whistles, until a grain mashes easily between your fingers. Drain it well in a sieve. Keep the water: it makes katachi amti.
- Cook the puran Put the drained dal and the jaggery powder in a heavy pan on a medium flame. The mixture loosens as the gur melts, then slowly thickens. Stir for 12 to 15 minutes, until a spoon stood in the middle stays upright.
- Grind it smooth Stir in the cardamom and nutmeg. While the mixture is still warm, pass it through a puran sieve or grind it in a mixie without any water. Let it cool completely.
- Divide Make 10 balls of puran and 10 slightly smaller balls of dough.
- Fill Flatten a ball of dough on an oiled palm, set a ball of puran on it, draw the dough up around the filling and pinch it shut.
- Roll Dust the board well with rice flour. Roll gently from the centre outwards to about 7 inches, as thin as it will go without tearing.
- Cook on a medium tawa Cook the poli on a medium tawa until golden spots appear, turn it and cook the other side. Brush it with ghee.
- Serve warm With more ghee, a bowl of warm milk or katachi amti.
With our jaggery
In Marathi jaggery is gul, and puran poli is where it matters most. Powder melts into the hot dal at once and needs no grating, which a block of gul always does. Use the same weight of jaggery as of dal. The colour of the puran follows the colour of the pack: with our unbleached gur it will be a deep golden brown rather than yellow.
Tips from our kitchen
- If the puran is loose Put it back on a low flame and cook it longer, stirring. It thickens further as it cools.
- If the poli tears The dough is too stiff or has not rested. It should be softer than roti dough, soft enough to feel wrong.
- Make the puran ahead Puran keeps for three days in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before you fill the poli.
Questions people ask
- What is the ratio of chana dal to jaggery for puran poli?
- One to one, by cup or by weight: 1 cup (200 g) of chana dal to 1 cup (200 g) of jaggery powder makes ten poli.
- Why does my puran poli break while rolling?
- Either the puran is too wet or the dough is too stiff. Cook the puran until a spoon stands upright in it, and keep the dough very soft and well rested.
- Can I use jaggery powder for puran poli?
- Yes. It melts into the hot dal immediately and saves grating a block. Use the same weight the recipe gives for gul.
Worth reading alongside this
The jaggery this recipe is made with
- ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder Pouch — The same fine gud powder in resealable 500 g and 1 kg zip pouches
- ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder — Fine gur shakkar that melts into tea, coffee and milk
- ShuddhGaon Jaggery Combo — Cubes for the cup, powder for the kitchen