Maharashtrian sweet flatbread stuffed with jaggery and chana dal — made for Holi and Diwali.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch turmeric
Oil to knead
For filling: 1 cup chana dal boiled, 3/4 cup jaggery, 1/2 tsp cardamom, pinch nutmeg
Ghee for serving
Method
Cook chana dal filling: Wash and pressure cook 1 cup chana dal with 2 cups water for 5 whistles until very soft. Drain excess water completely.
Make puran: Mash the cooked dal while still hot until completely smooth. In a pan, add mashed dal with 1 cup jaggery. Cook on medium heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring constantly until very thick.
Flavour the puran: Add 1 tsp cardamom powder, a pinch of nutmeg and 1 tsp dry coconut. Mix well. The puran is ready when it rolls into a ball without sticking to your hands. Cool completely.
Make dough: Mix 2 cups all-purpose flour with half tsp turmeric and a pinch of salt. Make a well, add 2 tbsp oil and start mixing. Add water gradually to form a soft, pliable dough. Knead for 5 minutes. Rest for 20 minutes.
Divide: Divide dough into 12-15 equal balls. Divide the puran filling into the same number of balls, slightly smaller than the dough balls.
Stuff and seal: Flatten a dough ball in your palm. Place a puran ball in the centre. Bring the dough edges up and over the filling, sealing completely. Pinch firmly to ensure no filling escapes.
Roll gently: Dust lightly with flour. Roll into a round about 6 inches — roll from centre outward with very light pressure so filling does not burst through.
Cook on tawa: Heat a tawa on medium heat. Place poli and cook for 1.5-2 minutes until light brown spots appear.
Apply ghee: Flip, apply generous ghee on the cooked side. Cook for 2 minutes. Flip once more, apply ghee. Press lightly with a cloth.
Serve: Puran poli is best eaten warm with a generous drizzle of warm ghee and a glass of warm milk or aamras.