Lentil Stuffed Sweet Roti

A Gujarati Version of the much loved Maharashtrian Puran Poli

My father-in-law loves sweets, traditional Indian sweets. He spent his entire childhood and a huge portion of his working years in Maharashtra so it is no surprise one of his all time favorites is Puran Poli, that wonderful Maharashtrian delicacy. It is basically a sweet lentil stuffed Indian bread. Puran essentially means stuffing and Poli means roti in Marathi.

While the puran or stuffing of the Puran Poli does undergo quite a bit of change (the ratio of channa dal to toor dal is what usually changes), amongst the various regions of Maharashtra and Gujarat , what remains unchanged is how amazing each one tastes.

Also Puran Poli tastes best when eaten drenched in ghee. So, usually, we make it only for his (my father-in-law’s) birthday or really really special occasions. Each year my mother-in-law makes them, this year she wanted me to make them.

Now, I have helped her in the past but have never made them all by myself, so I was a bit apprehensive, to begin with. But in the end I really had no reason to. It is a very simple recipe, easy to follow, with fantabulous results. Just a wee bit of planning and you’ll be floating on a golden colored cardamom-nutmeg-saffron infused cloud. Trust me 🙂

What goes into it

For the Puran / Stuffing

3 cups of toor dal / tuver dal / pigeon peas split and skinned

1 cup of channa dal / begal gram split and skinned

3 cups of granulated sugar

3 whole green cardamom pods

2 tsp of powdered nutmeg

2 tsp of powdered cardamom

a healthy pinch of saffron1/2 tsp of turmeric

2 tbsps of ghee

water to boil the lentils

For the Poli / Roti / Bread

3 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tbsp of ghee to knead the dough + more to spread on the polis / rotis / breads

Water to knead the dough

How to go about it

First the Puran / Stuffing

Wash and soak both the dals / lentils in water overnight or for about 8 to 10 hours. Use a deep bowl and add enough water to submerge the dals by at least 2 inches. They will soften and bulge in size. In the morning or post the soaking rinse the dals well under running water.

Pressure cook with the turmeric and the cardamom pods. Since the dals/lentils are already softened and you do not want them to be watery add just enough water to completely soak the dals. About 3 whistles should do it. If you are not using a pressure cooker, cook covered in a deep bowl till the dals/lentils are done. Do keep checking, you want the dals to cook completely and become soft and mushy but not be watery.

In a wide pan drop a couple generous dollops of ghee. As the ghee warms add your mushy dal/lentil mix. Add the sugar, nutmeg powder, cardamom powder and saffron strands.

Now for some elbow grease.

Mix and cook till the entire thing starts comes together and does not stick to the sides. Now for the wait.

Remove to wide bowl and allow to cool till it comes to room temperature. Do turn it ever so often so a dry outer crust doesn’t form on the Puran / Stuffing.

While the puran / stuffing is cooling, knead the dough for the roti. In a mixing bowl take the flour and rub the ghee in well. Add water gradually to knead a firm roti dough ball. Rub ghee over the ball and let it stand covered, till you are ready to roll out the Puran Polis.

Once the puran / stuffing has cooled to room temperature, pinch and roll into 2 inch diameter balls. Cover and keep aside. Lightly knead the dough, if should have softened a bit. Again pinch and roll into 2 inch diameter balls.

To make the Poli / Roti / Bread

Take a dough ball and roll it into an oval flat disk or roti. It should be about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide. Do not roll it too thick or too thin. Brush with ghee and place a puran / stuffing ball, in the centre.

Fold the roti over, covering the entire ball. Take a round steel bowl, slightly larger than the stuffing ball or a cookie cutter and trim the excess roti.

Very gently press down on the stuffing with the flat of your palm and roll out a roti / flat disk. Dust with flour to avoid it sticking to the surface. Gently place on a warm griddle and roast on both sides. The griddle should be warm but not smoking hot or the rotis will burn; too cool and the stuffing will dry out while the rotis cook.

Small brown specks on the roti are the sign of doneness. Now apply ghee on both sides and cook for 10 seconds on each side. Take off the heat and serve smothered in ghee.

I love my Puran Poli just as is. But most of my extended families love to have theirs with a generous serving of Gujarati kadhi. You choose how you’d like to eat yours.