Holi is widely known as the festival of colours.
Celebrated throughout India it is a time of merriment and of course great food! My daughters love ( पुरण पोळी) Puran Poli...and couldnt wait to eat them right off the pan...sizzling and dripping with ghee.
Here's how you make this mouth-watering treat.
I make the one known as "tel poli" तेल पोळी not the readily available "peeth poli" पीठ
पोळी
Puran Poli Recipe
1 cup "चना दाल " split chick peas.
1 1/4 cup grated jaggery
2 cups all purpose flour "मैदा "
Oil safflower/ canola . Do not use olive oil.
Powdered nutmeg
Powdered green cardamom "वेलची "
Salt to taste
Banana leaves or parchment paper.
1 Onion cut across.
For the filling
Soak the chick peas for a couple of hours ( makes the cooking time shorter)
Add water and cook till daal softens and can be mashed into a soft paste. Simmer till most of the water is reduced.
Add the grated jaggery and stir till uniform. (consistency similar to mashed potatoes). It should be a little moist , but not wet or too dry.
Let cool.
If you have a food mill, run it through that so that you get a nice soft even paste.
Add powdered cardamom and nutmeg.
For the covering:
Make a dough of the flour. Pour oil over it till it is immersed in it. Cover and set aside for at least an hour.
Procedure:
Make small balls of the filling and keep.
On a clean table/platform, spread the banana leaf/parchment paper and brush the surface with oil (liberally). In a small bowl, pour just a little oil ( to coat the bottom)and put the onion( cut side down) in it. (Do not immerse it..this is just the "brush" to spread the oil on your frying pan)
Take a small ball of the dough (make sure you keep the rest immersed under the oil).
With your fingers make a small patty of the dough keeping the middle thicker than the edges. Place the ball of filling in the center and pull up the edges around it to cover the filling completely.
Place this on the banana leaf. (the side where you connected all the edges face down).
With a light touch...with the flat of your fingers slowly start pushing on it till it flattens. Use a well oiled rolling pin and lightly roll it out like a "chapati". Do not rush this step. You want the filling to stay inside. Keep doing this till the flour covering appears almost a transluscent skin over the filling. You should be able to see the filling through it. (Do not be disheartened if you cant get this the first time around).
Heat up your pan. Take the cut onion and dip it in oil. Spread this oil on the hot pan.
Lift up the banana leaf with the "poli" on it. Very carefully invert the leaf over the pan so that the "poli is now on the pan. Peel off the leaf (carefully) from the poli.
The combination of the poli on the pan, with the oil spread by the onion and the sizzling of the banana leaf gives off an aroma that stays with you.
Once you see the covering puff up, you can flip the poli to cook the other side.
Remove from pan and drizzle ghee over it.
Do not stack warm polis over each other...they will stick. Wait till a little cool.
Can stay for 2-3 days in an airtight container. After that, place in fridge. If you want to store it longer you can freeze them. To eat, warm it up, drizzle ghee over it and enjoy!
Enjoy!
Celebrated throughout India it is a time of merriment and of course great food! My daughters love ( पुरण पोळी) Puran Poli...and couldnt wait to eat them right off the pan...sizzling and dripping with ghee.
Here's how you make this mouth-watering treat.
I make the one known as "tel poli" तेल पोळी not the readily available "peeth poli" पीठ
पोळी
Puran Poli Recipe
1 cup "चना दाल " split chick peas.
1 1/4 cup grated jaggery
2 cups all purpose flour "मैदा "
Oil safflower/ canola . Do not use olive oil.
Powdered nutmeg
Powdered green cardamom "वेलची "
Salt to taste
Banana leaves or parchment paper.
1 Onion cut across.
For the filling
Soak the chick peas for a couple of hours ( makes the cooking time shorter)
Add water and cook till daal softens and can be mashed into a soft paste. Simmer till most of the water is reduced.
Add the grated jaggery and stir till uniform. (consistency similar to mashed potatoes). It should be a little moist , but not wet or too dry.
Let cool.
If you have a food mill, run it through that so that you get a nice soft even paste.
Add powdered cardamom and nutmeg.
For the covering:
Make a dough of the flour. Pour oil over it till it is immersed in it. Cover and set aside for at least an hour.
Procedure:
Make small balls of the filling and keep.
On a clean table/platform, spread the banana leaf/parchment paper and brush the surface with oil (liberally). In a small bowl, pour just a little oil ( to coat the bottom)and put the onion( cut side down) in it. (Do not immerse it..this is just the "brush" to spread the oil on your frying pan)
Take a small ball of the dough (make sure you keep the rest immersed under the oil).
With your fingers make a small patty of the dough keeping the middle thicker than the edges. Place the ball of filling in the center and pull up the edges around it to cover the filling completely.
Place this on the banana leaf. (the side where you connected all the edges face down).
With a light touch...with the flat of your fingers slowly start pushing on it till it flattens. Use a well oiled rolling pin and lightly roll it out like a "chapati". Do not rush this step. You want the filling to stay inside. Keep doing this till the flour covering appears almost a transluscent skin over the filling. You should be able to see the filling through it. (Do not be disheartened if you cant get this the first time around).
Heat up your pan. Take the cut onion and dip it in oil. Spread this oil on the hot pan.
Lift up the banana leaf with the "poli" on it. Very carefully invert the leaf over the pan so that the "poli is now on the pan. Peel off the leaf (carefully) from the poli.
The combination of the poli on the pan, with the oil spread by the onion and the sizzling of the banana leaf gives off an aroma that stays with you.
Once you see the covering puff up, you can flip the poli to cook the other side.
Remove from pan and drizzle ghee over it.
Do not stack warm polis over each other...they will stick. Wait till a little cool.
Can stay for 2-3 days in an airtight container. After that, place in fridge. If you want to store it longer you can freeze them. To eat, warm it up, drizzle ghee over it and enjoy!
Enjoy!
