Puran Poli - Sweet Flatbread
Puran Poli is a sweet flat bread with a sweet dal lentil filling. This is a popular bread in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Puran poli is a wonderful breakfast dish, and can also be served as a snack.
Servings 10 Puran Poli
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour (atta)
- ¼ cup all-purpose/plain flour (Maida)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Approximately 1/3 cup water
Filling
- ¾ cup Toor dal (Ahrar dal) (available in Indian grocery stores)
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder (elaichi)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (jaiphal)
Also Needed
- Approximately 3 tablespoons oil
- Approximately ½ cup of dry whole wheat to roll the bread
Instructions
Filling
- Wash and soak the toor dal in two cups of water for at least four hours. Dal will double in volume after soaking. Discard any remaining water.
- Add toor dal and turmeric to two cups of water and cook in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. When dal boils, remove the yellow foam from the top. Reduce the heat to medium and cover the pan.
- Let it cook for 25 minutes, adding more water if needed. Dal should be very soft and mushy.
- Add sugar and cook until the dal looks like paste and starts to hold together. Add cardamom and nutmeg powder and mix well. The dal filling will be very soft and sticky.
Dough
- In a bowl, mix whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and oil; add water slowly to make a very soft dough. The dough should not stick to your fingers. Cover the dough and set it aside. Let it rest for at least ten minutes.
Making Puran Poli
- Divide both the dough and the dal filling into ten equal parts. The parts of the dal filling should be about 2½ times that of the dough balls.
- Roll the dough balls into 2½”-diameter circles. Place one part of the filling in the center of each. Seal by pulling the edges of the rolled dough together to make a ball. Proceed to make all ten balls. Let the filled balls settle for three to four minutes.
- Heat the skillet on medium-high heat. To test, sprinkle a couple of drops of water on the skillet. The water should sizzle right away.
- Press the filled ball lightly on both sides on a surface covered with dry whole wheat flour.
- Lay the balls on the sealed side up and lightly press them into circles about 2” in diameter. Roll the balls gently into 5” circles. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling surface, lightly sprinkle dry whole wheat flour on both sides of the semi-rolled puran poli.
- Place the Puran poli in the skillet. When it starts to change color, flip it over. You will notice some golden-brown spots.
- After a few seconds, spread one teaspoon of oil on the puran poli. Flip them again and lightly press the puffed areas with a spatula. Flip again, and press with the spatula making sure the puran poli are golden-brown on both sides.
- Repeat the same process for the remaining.
- Puran poli is ready to be served and it tastes best when eaten hot.