Celebrating Holi with the Traditional Puran Poli

March 7 is Holi and this is the time when we really get busy taking out our cookery books and calling our mothers or aunts or any elderly person as this is the time of making the most favourite and popular sweet dish across the Indian subcontinent – the Puran Poli.

As Holi arrives and we buy our new clothes and get things ready for the bonfire to be lit, there is only one thing that sticks out in our mind and that is the preparation for the puran for the Puran Poli. Isn’t it wonderful that it is that time of the year again, when we would see colours all around notwithstanding the fact that we would like it better if the colours were natural and organic? Isn’t is a nice thing to see our mothers making the aromatic puran and what better way to teach our growing daughters and sons our customs and traditions than to get them involved in the making of this one important sweet dish of the festival of Holi – The Puran Poli.

Puran Poli and Holi

This classical dish from the state of Maharashtra has also woven its way into the other states and has made itself an irremovable part of other cuisines. Very popular across the world, it wouldn’t be a wonder if there is an eatery which gives you only puran Poli. This dessert is a very auspicious dish of the Maharashtra and is a pancake that is packed with delicious stuffings within. So set away your tortillas and Frankies aside as Holi is here on March 7 and it is the time for the amazingly delicious Puran Poli. This has been given as an offering in the bonfire so the tradition stuck of making this sweet dish during the festival of Holi.

Constitution of the Puran Poli

The Puran Poli is a dish where the outer covering is known as the Poli or roti and inner filling is the puran. The filling or stuffing is made out of chickpea lentils and there is a dash of turmeric powder added just to give that lovely golden colour. Then the lentils are allowed to cook and they become soft and the mixture of chickpeas and jaggery is prepared. Add a dash of cardamom to it and your puran is ready. Make a dough and fill in these stuffings and your puran Poli is ready to hit the frying pan on the fire.

Varieties of Puran Poli in India

This puran Poli is made in different parts of India in different ways. So sometimes coconut is added while at other times there is a mix of sugar and jaggery in the puran. Sometimes nutmeg is added and in other places cardamom. In Konkan grated coconut is added. The methods of stuffing also varies from place to place. Sometimes people roll it with rice flour, while in other places it is rolled with butter or oil. This puran Poli is a delicious sweetmeat and tastes heavenly whichever method is used. Add to it a dash of mother’s love and it is ready to top the charts in the world cuisine. There are many places which serve a chutney along with the puran Poli. This tangy sauce is very similar to the pulihora of Karnataka and is a tamarind based sauce. In Maharashtra, the katachi amti is very common with the puran Poli and is served with a lot of warmth, acceptance and love.

Goa has the combination of the Konkani and the Karnataka regions. So one can see the punnpoli or Holgi which is normally served with coconut milk and nutmeg and a dash of jaggery added to it.

Karnataka has the holige or the bele obattu as the puran poli is called. It is normally served with milk and ghee. There is a variation of the bele obattu which is the kai obattu which is a crunchier version. This is made with coconut and jaggery. Normally it is served with ghee.

In Vidharbha in Maharashtra, the puran poli is soft and is filled with jaggery. In the western part of the state however one sees white sugar as the filling thus giving crunchy puran poli.

Whatever the method be, and whatever the stuffing the fact that Puran Poli dominates the festival of Holi cannot be ignored.

Recipe for Puran Poli

1. Ingredients
2. 300 gms jaggery or sugar
3. 300 gms chickpeas or chana dal or yellow gram dal
4. 1tsp cardamom powder
5. 150 gm plain flour
6. 1 tbsp ghee
7. Warm water

Boil the dal or the chickpeas with lot of water till it is soft but shouldn’t break. Drain it and let it rest for around 15 minutes. Grate the dal and then mash the jaggery till there are no lumps. Mix this with the dal. Put this mixture in a saucepan and keep cooking it till it becomes a soft lump. Keep stirring it so that it doesn’t burn. Keep this aside.

Then mix butter with flour and add water and make a dough. Take a small ball and place the filling in the centre. Fold it and make a pancake and roast it on the pan and repeat on the other side.

Serve with dal or amti.  Amti can be made from the water that is drained out and add spices like garam masala and black masala alongwith some mashed dal.

Puran Poli is here to stay for Holi is here.