PuranPoli

Happy Dasara/Dussehra/Vijaydashmi to all.

Puranpoli is a one of traditional Maharashtrian delicacies. Coking skills of a girl(especially newly wed)are always tested by how good is her puranpoli. I still remember the get-togethers we did when I was a kid; we all used gather for festivals at my grandma's place;we played,we fought and we ate what a great meals.My aaji/grandma is a very good cook and everyone calls her Anapurna. She is 80 and still want to preapre meals personally whenever we visit. I always wondered will I be able to make puranpolis like her? Gave it a try;came out pretty good but she is the BOSS!!!!

Here is the puranpoli I prepared for naivedyam on Dasara.

Ingredients-

For Puran/Stuffing

• 1 1/4 cups chana dal
• 1 cup jaggery
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• Pinch of turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon oil

For Poli/bread/Cover

• 1/4 cup semolina/rava
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 cup all-pourpose flour/maida
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method-

1. Take semolina/rava and add 1/2 cup water to it; to soak for 30-40 minutes.
2. Take the remaining dry ingredients for poli and add soaked rava along with the water(add water gradually) then add oil to a kneaded dough and once again knead to make soft and loose dough.The dough should be loose and oily to make the dough pliable.Cover the dough and set aside for 1 hour.
3. Take dal and add 3 1/2 cups of water,pinch of turmeric powder and 1 tablespoon oil to it and put it in pressure cooker/rice cooker.It's the quickest way to cook otherwise u can use pot also.
4. Take 5-6 whistles varies with size of cooker. As I don't have puran yantra/machine; I prefer to cook it for more time.Puran yantra is similar to the food mill used for mashed potatoes.
5. Once the dal is cooked drain out the excess water known as 'Kat' from it and save it to make 'Katachi Aamati' a spicy soupy dal.
6. Blend the dal with egg beater or hand blender to get smooth texture.
7. Put the blended dal in pan on stove on medium high and add jaggery,sugar and stir it till it get dissolved completely into dal. Cook this mixture till the spoon can stand straight into it without falling.
8. Then add nutmeg and cardamom powder and mix well. Turn off the stove and stir frequently to avoid burning/sticking at bottom of pan.
9. Make lemon size balls of dough and flatten the dough little with your hand and make a shape of small bowl.Take 2 tablespoons of puran/stuffing and put it into the dough bowl and close the dough.
10. Dust the rolling pin and surface with flour and start rolling out poli/bread spreading the stuffing evenly.
11. Put the tawa/skillet on stove on medium high and roast it on the both sides.
12. Serve hot with sajuk tup/ clarified butter and a bowl of milk.