Indian festivals revolve around food. We have specific recipes that we make for every festival. Puran Poli or Puranam Boli is made not only during the wedding, but also on other festivals like Aavani Aavittam, Tamil New year and karthigai deepam. This Paruppu Boli requires a little bit of practice to make and hence for a very long I have been skipping this recipe. I usually make Paal poli instead of Puran Poli. But once I got a hang of making the softest paruppu boli, there was no turning back.
Ingredients Needed for Puran Poli
For the dough We need Maida or plain flour (all-purpose flour). Apart from this, we need a few strands of saffron soaked in water or orange food coloring. A pinch of salt and oil. For the filling We need the lentil for filling. In this case, we use the Chana dal called Kadalai Paruppu in Tamil. Freshly grated coconut. I use the frozen grated coconut that is thawed. We could use desiccated coconut if fresh is not available. The Indian brown sugar or Jaggery is called Gur / Gud in Hindi. Need oil to cook the poli and cardamom/elaichi powder for flavoring.
Step-by-Step Process
To make the dough Add the flour and salt to a bowl. (step 1) Dissolve the saffron in a couple of tablespoons of water. (step 2) Add it to the flour (and more water, if needed) and make a very soft dough. (step 3) Add the oil to the dough and press into it. (step 4) Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. To make the chana dal filling Fry the kadalai paruppu / channa dal in a pan without any oil until it is golden brown. (step 1) Then wash the dal and cook it with enough water in a pressure cooker or stove top until the dal is cooked, but not too mushy. (step 2) Drain the dal and keep it aside. (step 3) Picture for reference on how soft to cook the dal. (step 4) Add the drained lentil, jaggery, coconut, and cardamom powder in a blender or a food processor. (step 5) Grind it until well incorporated and smooth. (step 6) Transfer this mixture to a nonstick pan and cook it over medium-low heat until it becomes thick. (step 7) Once the filling cools down enough, you should be able to make small balls out of this. (step 8) To make the poli Take a piece of banana leaf (In my case I used Aluminum foil) and apply some oil on the surface. place a piece of dough in the center. (step 1) Spread the dough a little with your fingers. (step 2) Place a piece of lentil filling inside it close it with the dough all around and pinch the seams. (step 3) With the heel of your palm, slowly apply pressure to the poli and make it even bigger. Take care that you do not press it too hard to make the filling come out. Also, try not to use your fingers much as that leaves an impression on the poli and it will not appear smooth. (step 4) In the meantime, heat a non-stick or a cast iron tawa/griddle on medium-high heat. Once the poli is spread, transfer the poli with the aluminum foil (or banana leaf) onto the tawa, face side down. (step 5) Wait for about 30 seconds and then slowly peel the foil from the poli. (step 6) Apply oil and cook the poli on both sides until golden brown. (step 7) Repeat the same procedure with the rest of the poli. I usually have 2 sets of foil and work on the other when one is cooking, so I always have one ready to go.
Expert Tips
The longer the Puranam boli dough sits, the easier it stretches when making the poli. I generally do this as the first step and let the dough rest for a couple of hours.
Do not use ghee when cooking the poli as it becomes harder when cooled. Always cook it with oil and then serve it with a good smear of ghee on top.
Use a banana leaf or a well-smeared aluminum foil to shape the Puranam Boli. Greasing well is the key as it allows for easy peeling.
Using food coloring is optional. We can use a pinch of saffron for the color as well or skip it altogether.
Applying even pressure when shaping the paruppu poli ensures that the filling remains inside and does not ooze out.
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