Maharashtrian Puran Poli Sweet

Puran Poli Sweet (Pooran Poli) is a traditional Indian sweet dish (Maharashtrian) made using whole wheat flour dough stuffed with a sweet lentil filling. Serve it with a dollop of ghee and milk on the side for a delicious breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Here are some more Maharashtrian recipes that you may like – Maharashtrian Zunka, Misal Pav, Bharli Vangi, Masale Bhat, Sabudana Thalipeeth, Pithla, and Shengdana Amti.

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How To Make Puran Poli
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Pro Tips By Neha
• Variations
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
• You Might Also Like
• Recipe Card

About This Recipe

Puran means sweet filling and poli means flatbread. Puran Poli (Pooran Poli) is a popular Maharashtrian stuffed sweet flatbread that has a delicious filling prepared with chana dal (husked split Bengal gram) and jaggery.

This sweet is prepared in many parts of India but is more popular in Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

Puran poli can be made for special occasions and festivals like Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Bail Pola, etc.

The dough to make pooran poli is made using whole wheat flour or a mix of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Some people add turmeric to the dough and some do not. I love to add a little bit of turmeric as it gives a lovely color to the poli.

The filling or the Puran is made using cooked husked and split Bengal gram lentil (chana dal), jaggery, cardamom powder, and nutmeg powder.

Ingredients

For The Dough

The dough of puran poli is made using whole wheat flour, salt, water, and ghee. The addition of ghee makes the poli nice, flaky and soft.

You can replace some whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour to make it flakier.

You can also add a pinch of turmeric powder to the flour if you like to add a little hint of yellow color to the puran poli. I always add it.

For The Stuffing

The sweet and yummy stuffing is made with cooked chana dal, jaggery, and ghee.

Try to use organic jaggery. It might look dark in color but it is free of many harmful chemicals that are used to bleach jaggery to give it a light color.

The filling is flavored with nutmeg powder, and cardamom powder, which enhances the taste of poli even more and also lends it a beautiful aroma. Some people also add ground ginger and ground fennel seeds to the filling.

You can also add dry grated coconut to this mixture, as done in some of the Konkan regions. 

In Maharashtra, the filling is made using chana dal, however, in Gujarat toovar dal is preferred for making it. You can choose whichever dal you like more.

How To Make Puran Poli

Cook The Dal

In A Traditional Pressure Cooker

Start by cooking 1 cup chana dal. Wash the dal with water 2-3 times and soak it in 4-5 cups of water for 30 minutes.

Once the dal is soaked, drain the water and add the soaked chana dal to a pressure cooker.

Add 4 cups of water to the cooker and close the lid. Pressure cook the dal on high heat for one whistle, then reduce the heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes.

Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Once the pressure is released, open the lid of the cooker.

The dal must be well cooked but should still retain its shape. If it’s not cooked well, then cook it for another few minutes.

In An Instant Pot

Wash the dal with water 2-3 times and soak it in 4-5 cups of water for 30 minutes.

Once the dal is soaked, drain the water and add the soaked chana dal to an instant pot.

Add 3 cups of water and close the lid of the instant pot.

Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 15 minutes on high pressure.

Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.

Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid of the instant pot.

Make The Puran

Strain the cooked dal using a fine-mesh strainer and reserve the water for other uses like making katachi amti or for making curries. Try to get rid of as much liquid as possible while straining.

Add the cooked dal, 1 cup grated jaggery, and 1 tablespoon ghee to a nonstick pan and cook on medium heat until jaggery is dissolved and mixed with the dal. 

Add ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder, and ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and mix well. 

Cook the mixture until it starts to leave the sides of the pan and is thickened nicely (12-15 minutes). Stir frequently and keep mashing the dal with the back of the ladle. We want a super smooth puran. If the puran is not smooth, the poli will tear while rolling.

Note – To check if the filling is cooked well, insert a spoon in the middle of it. If it is able to stand straight, then the puran is cooked to the right consistency.

Remove the filling from the heat and let it cool down for 15-20 minutes. Mash the puran with the heels of your hands until very smooth.

Note – A special devise called puran yantra is used in many Maharashtrian houses to make the puran super smooth. Some people also pass it through a mesh strainer or blend it in a food processor. After making it many times, I have realized that if the dal is cooked well, you just have to mash it with the back of the ladle and the puran will turn out smooth.

Refrigerate the ready puran for atleast 3-4 hours. Refrigerating makes it easier to handle.

You can even make the filling a day before so that it is cooled well before stuffing in the dough.

Make The Puran Poli Dough

Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, and 2 teaspoon ghee to a large mixing bowl (or a parat) and mix well using your fingertips.

Add water little by little and knead to make a soft dough. The quantity of water will depend on the quality of flour used. Do not add a lot of water at one go otherwise, the dough will become sticky.

Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and keep it aside for 30 minutes.

Roll The Puran Poli

Divide the dough into 6-8 equal portions and roll each portion to make smooth balls.

Similarly divide the puran into 6-8 equal portions and roll to make balls.

Take one of the portion of the dough and slightly flatten the ball in between your palms.

Dust it with dry flour gently and roll to make a 4-5 inch circle.

Keep a filling ball in the center of the circle and bring the ends together.

Roll the filled dough ball in between your palms and keep rotating while rolling. This step will ensure that the puran reaches the corners of the poli as well.

Now keep the disc on the rolling surface. Dust with dry flour and roll using a rolling pin to make an 8-10 inch circle. While rolling, apply the pressure gently and go from one side to the other. Try to roll the edges a little thinner than the center.

Cook The Poli

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat.

Once the griddle is hot, transfer the puran poli on it. 

Cook until brown spots appear on the bottom side. Flip the poli and cook until brown spots appear on the other side as well.

Flip the poli again and apply 1 teaspoon ghee on each side and press the poli using the back of a ladle and fry until golden brown from both sides.

Make all the poli in the same manner. Apply some more ghee on top and serve it with milk or katachi amti.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pro Tips By Neha

Knead the dough to a soft consistency. It should be like a chapati dough.

You can use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour to make the dough too.

Adding some ghee while kneading the dough makes the poli crispy. You can use oil for vegan.

Drain the cooked dal nicely otherwise, it will take a long time to cook it.

Reserve the water from the cooked dal to make Amti. 

If the filling is too runny, cook it for some more time. If it is too dry, add a few tablespoon of milk and mix well.

The amount of filling should be equal to the amount of dough.

You can make puran poli using toor dal too. Just replace chana dal with toor dal and keep the remaining process the same.

Apply ghee on the poli only when the brown spots appear. It will make it crispy.

Variations

Gujarati Puran Poli – This version has tuvar dal instead of chana dal.

Kerala Boli – This version of puran poli has the same mixture as Maharashtrian puran poli, but the outer layer is prepared with rice flour instead of whole wheat flour.

Kannada Holige – It is prepared just like Maharashtrian puran poli with a stuffing of chana dal and jaggery.

Andhra Bobattu – This version has the filling of chana dal and jaggery, but is flavored with some nuts.

Tamil Poli – It has coconut too along with chana dal and jaggery. This version is also prepared in most of the Konkan areas.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve it for breakfast, snack or dessert post meals. It is served with hot milk flavored with cardamom and saffron.

Puran poli amti is another very traditional combination. It can be served along with katachi amti (a spicy side dish made using the water left after cooking the dal) and khamang kakdi which is a refreshing salad made using cucmbers.

During Gudi Padwa, you may even host a lunch or dinner which serves a complete Maharashtrian meal to the guests along with everyone’s favorite puran poli.

Piping hot poli served along with a dollop of ghee is so drool-worthy that I cannot express my feelings in words.

Storage Suggestions

You can store these for up to a week in the refrigerator. Keep the Puran Poli in an airtight box and refrigerate. Just heat on a griddle and apply some more ghee before serving.

You can freeze these in between sheets of butter or parchment paper. Then keep in zip lock bags and freeze for up to 6 months. To reheat, keep the frozen poli directly on a hot griddle. Apply some more ghee and cook until warm and crisp.

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