Puran Poli | Sweet Lentil Flatbreads

Puran Poli is an Indian delicacy made by stuffing soft whole wheat dough with soft-cooked yellow lentils, jaggery/brown sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, and saffron. It is then rolled thin and cooked on a pan with lots of ghee to make it into a crisp golden brown, flavorful, and aromatic flatbread. Served with a few savory side dishes this heavenly Indian vegetarian Thali is a must-try!

Jump to:

• Festive Food
• Memories
• What is Puran Poli?
• What is Jaggery?
• Types
• Tips make perfect Puran Poli
• How to make Puran in the Instant Pot
• Step by step recipe to make Puran Poli
• Serving
• Storing
• Troubleshooting
• Katachi Aamti
• Recipe

Festive Food

Puran Poli is a Traditional Maharashtrian delicacy and is specially made on few auspicious festivals:

• Holi - the festival of color, the celebration of the victory of good over evil, marks the arrival of spring. Holi, is a popular Hindu festival celebrated over 2-5 days in India. On the evening of the first day, public bonfires are made, called Holika Dahan. On the next day (or 5th day in some states) people play with colors. My memories of Holi are of the bonfires and my friends and family gathering around them to pray. The fifth day known as "Raang Panchami" is the most colorful day where we shower our friends, family and even those we don't know with vibrant colors both powder and liquid. Even after the holiday passes the streets of India look like a Monet covered in a sea of color.
• Diwali- which translates to a row of lights, is the main Hindu festival celebrated in autumn. In Maharashtra, where I grew up, it is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. Check out how my family celebrates Diwali in the USA!
• Bail Pola - celebrated in the monsoon season, on this day farmers pay respect to bullocks and cows as cattle is their main source of livelihood. 'Bail' in Marathi means 'Bull.' On this day, cattle are bathed, adorned with various ornaments and clothes. Their horns are given a fresh coat of paint and then the animals are taken around the village in processions accompanied by music.

Memories

I have vivid memories of my grandmother, making piles of these golden soft-cooked Poli for our large extended family of uncles, aunts, and cousins. The best part of these elaborate meals was everyone helping out in the kitchen with various chores while having fun preparing the meal. The ghee-laden Poli’s are served with saffron and cardamom-infused milk along with other mouthwatering sides.

Years later, after I moved to the US, with my mom's precise instructions, I learned how to make the Puran Poli. After making it several times, slowly improving each time, I finally mastered the art of making authentic Maharashtrian Puran Poli. I am so glad now I can make them several times a year as both my children and my husband love them.

What is Puran Poli?

Puran - Sweet filling made with chana daal, jaggery, cardamom, saffron & nutmeg

Poli - Flatbread usually made with whole wheat flour

Puran Poli is a sweet flatbread where the Puran is stuffed inside the whole wheat dough and rolled to form a thin flatbread. It is then cooked on a hot griddle with a generous amount of ghee until both sides are cooked with golden brown spots.

What is Jaggery?

• Jaggery (pronounced jag-uh-reey) is an unrefined sugar that is used commonly in India. Jaggery is made by boiling and reducing down sugar cane juice. 

Types

• Maharashtrian Puran Poli - Thin flatbread usually made with chana daal and jaggery
• Gujarati Puran Poli - Thick flatbread usually made with toovar/toor daal and jaggery
• Andhra Bobbattu - Thin flatbread usually made with chana daal and jaggery, the filling can also have nuts 
• Kerala Boli - Thin flatbread made with chana daal and jaggery with the outer dough is made of rice flour and has a hint of turmeric
• Kannada Holige - Thin flatbread usually made with chana daal and jaggery 
• Tamil Poli - Hand patted flatbread with a coarse filling of chana daal, jaggery, and coconut

Tips make perfect Puran Poli

• Rinse the chana daal a couple of times and drain well
• Use filtered water to cook the daal. Hard water can cause the lentils to not cook properly or to take a longer time
• Old daal or organic daal can also take a longer time to cook
• Add a pinch of saffron for beautiful golden color to the filling
• Adding dry ginger powder to the filling helps with digestion but can be optional

How to make Puran in the Instant Pot

For years I used stovetop to cook the Puran. I now like the convenience of the Instant Pot to cook the Chana Daal for the Puran. Here is how:

1. Rinse and drain the lentils.
2. Add lentils with 2.5 cups of filter water and Pressure Cook(Hi) for 10 minutes followed by natural pressure release.
3. Strain the liquids from the lentils using a mesh strainer and reserve the liquids.
4. Return the lentils to the Instant Pot. Add jaggery, sugar, nutmeg, cardamom powder, dry ginger, and saffron. Mix well and cook stirring frequently until the Puran starts to thicken up. If sautéing in the Instant Pot, cook on sauté(normal) mode to avoid splatters. 
5. Let the cooked lentils cool down for a few mins and then blend it to a smooth consistency in a food processor.  Make sure the lentils are not completely cold, they need to be blended while they are warm.

Step by step recipe to make Puran Poli

Step 1 - Start by making the Puran or the sweet filling:

• Wash the chana daal 2-3 times. Drain all the water and then add 5 cups of filter water along with the daal in a heavy-bottomed pot. Let the daal cook on medium-low heat for at least an hour, stirring a few times.
• If you see white foam rises up from the lentils, gently discard the foam with a spatula. The daal should be cooked very soft, test them by pressing between thumb and index finger and it should be very soft and mushy.

Note: Cooking time may vary, I usually let mine cook for a couple of hours on medium-low heat. If you can stay near the stove while it is cooking you may want to cook it at medium-high, stirring more frequently, in which case the daal will be fully cooked in 45 mins.

• Drain all the water using a strainer (save the water to make Katachi Aamti, see recipe below). Put the daal back in the pot. Add jaggery, sugar, nutmeg, cardamom powder, dry ginger, and saffron to the lentils. Mix well, and cook stirring frequently for 20 mins on medium heat.

• Let the above mixture cool down for a few mins and then blend it to a smooth consistency in a food processor.  Tip - Make sure to blend while it is warm. This is our sweet stuffing and it should have a soft consistency like the picture below.

Step 2 - Knead the outer dough:

• Knead soft dough with whole wheat flour, salt, saffron, and oil. This dough should be softer than the normal roti/paratha dough to get soft and flaky Puran Poli. Let this dough rest for at least half an hour at room temperature.

Step 3 - Rolling and cooking Poli:

• Make a lemon sized balls from the dough and the puran. Prehat a pan on medium-high heat.
• Roll the dough by using little bit of dry wheat flour. Make a 4-5 inch diameter circle.
• Put the puran ball in the middle of the rolled dough
• Make pleats on the side of the dough to enclose the puran.

• Close the pleats together tightly and press down the excess dough to make a flat disc
• Roll the Poli softly using some dry flour. You can roll this thin or keep it a little thicker. I roll mine thin to about 8-10 inches in diameter.

• Gently put the rolled Poli on the heated pan. Cook evenly on both sides to a perfect golden brown color. Add a little ghee to both sides and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Apply a little more ghee on both sides and serve hot.

Serving

These Puran Poli are so flavorful that they can be eaten by themselves or traditionally they are served with hot milk that is flavored with cardamom and saffron.

Here is a picture of the full traditional meal, which includes Puran Poli, saffron, and cardamom flavored milk, crunchy millet papads, crispy onion fritters, potato fritters, steamed rice, and spicy curry made with onions, coconut, and the reserved water from the cooked chana daal. Yummy!

Storing

Rolled and cooked polis can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. They also freeze well, individually lined on parchment paper. To reheat simply place the, on a heated pan, apply ghee and cook on both sides until heated through.

Troubleshooting

Having a perfect consistency of the Puran is a key in making perfect Puran Poli. Here are some tips I learned from my mom on how to fix the Puran in case it is too soft or dry.

• How to fix runny Puran/filling - Place the filling in a nonstick pan and cook on low-medium heat, stirring often for 5 to 10 mins. This will allow excess liquids to evaporate and the filing will become dryer.
• How to fix dry Puran/filling - Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of warm milk to the Puran and mix it in. Add more milk as required until you get it to the desired consistency

Katachi Aamti

Many of you have asked for the recipe for the brown curry, photographed above. It is called Katachi aamti or saar and is made with the reserved water from draining the cooked chana daal. With a few additional ingredients and spices, Katachi amti can be cooked in no time. Spicy Katachi aamti compliments the sweet Puran Poli and tastes delicious with steamed rice. Here is my recipe for Katachi Aamti or Saar:

Ingredients

• 3 cups water reserved from cooked and strained daal 
• 3 tablespoon oil, divided
• 1 medium red onion, rough chopped
• ⅓ cup dry shredded or sliced coconut
• 1-inch ginger
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Goda masala or garam masala
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pot. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes on medium heat or until they turn light brown. Add coconut, ginger, and garlic, and saute for another 2 mins. Allow it to cool.
2. Blend everything with ¼ cup of water to make a smooth paste.
3. Add remaining oil to the pot. Add the masala paste, red chili powder, garam masala, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, and salt. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes or until the oil starts to separate from the edges.
4. Add the daal water. Bring to a gentle boil. Add more water to bring the Aamti to a consistency you like and adjust the salt accordingly. Serve with steamed rice.

Recipe

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