Recipe
Puran Poli
The Story
Puran poli’s roots run deep across the Indian subcontinent, not just Maharashtra. The same dish appears under different names in different regions: obbattu or holige in Karnataka, bobbatlu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and puran poli in Maharashtra and Gujarat, all built on the same core idea of a jaggery-and-lentil filling encased in a thin wheat dough. References to similar stuffed sweet flatbreads appear in old Marathi and Kannada literary and culinary texts, suggesting the dish has been part of festival cooking across the Deccan for centuries. In Maharashtra specifically, it’s strongly associated with Holi and Gudi Padwa, and it’s a fixture at most major family celebrations, often served alongside katachi amti, the thin dal broth left over from cooking the filling, which is treated as a dish in its own right rather than a byproduct.
- Chana dal (split Bengal gram) 1 cup
- Jaggery, grated 1 cup
- Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp
- Nutmeg powder a pinch
- Water for cooking dal 3 cups
- All-purpose flour (maida) 2 cups
- Water for dough as needed
- Oil 3 tbsp
- Turmeric powder a pinch
- Salt a pinch
- Ghee for cooking as needed
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1
Pressure cook the chana dal with 3 cups water until completely soft, about 3 to 4 whistles.
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2
Drain the dal well, keeping the leftover liquid aside for katachi amti if you want to make it.
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3
Mash the drained dal until smooth.
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4
Cook the mashed dal with jaggery on low heat, stirring often, until it thickens and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan.
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5
Stir in cardamom and nutmeg, then cool the puran completely and divide into 12 smooth balls.
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6
Make the dough by combining flour, salt, and turmeric, rubbing in the oil, then adding water gradually to form a soft, pliable dough.
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7
Coat the dough with extra oil, cover, and rest for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 to 4 hours.
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8
Divide the dough into 12 balls, slightly smaller than the puran balls.
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9
Flatten a dough ball, place a puran ball in the center, and gather the edges up to seal completely.
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10
Gently flatten the stuffed ball, dust lightly with flour, and roll out evenly into a thin circle using light, even pressure.
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11
Cook on a medium-hot tawa until bubbles appear, flip, add a little ghee, and cook until golden spots appear on both sides.
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12
Serve warm with a spoon of ghee.
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