Puran Pudi

During holi many of my friends prepared puran poli and posted delicious pictures on Facebook. Although puran pudi that my mom makes is my favorite, I try to not make these often as it has sugar and it is so delicious that I cannot just eat one :) But after lot of resistance, I gave up and made few over the weekend. In gujarati we call it Puran Pudi and not Poli. Poli is a Maharashtrian word but it means the same. It is a flatbread stuffed with sweetened lentil pulp. Gujarati Puran Pudi is small and thick and I think it is sweeter too. It is almost like a dessert in a main course. Yes, we Gujaratis have a sweet tooth, and to balance the sweetness Puran Pudi is normally served with Dahi Wada or Batata Wada. The combination of farsan and mishtan is perfect in this type of thali. Puran Pudi and batata wada were my mom's favorite recipes to cook during Raksha Bandhan.

Puran Pudi and Dahi Wada were the first recipes that my husband and I cooked together for my in-laws as they were visiting us soon after we got married. Lot of thoughts went towards preparing the menu and executing it well to impress them as a responsible couple :) While I made fresh hot puran pudi, my husband would pour ghee and serve my in-laws. We worked together as a team and it was an amazing experience. That was the first time I made Puran Pudi by myself and still cannot forget that moment of how nervous I was.

This recipe of puran pudi has a different take on it. I have never had puran pudi with nuts before...but thought of adding them to give it a crunch. Nuts are totally optional and your choice.

Ingredients (makes 4-5 thick puran pudis)
1/2 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
1 cup water
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup jaggery (gud)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios)
1 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup water to make the dough
Dry flour for dusting and rolling puran pudi
More ghee to spread over cooked puran pudi

• Wash and soak toor dal in 1 cup of water. (soaking is optional, you can directly move to next step).
• Remove water. Add 1 cup of water and pressure cook dal for 20 minutes or till you hear 3-4 whistles.
• Let the pressure reduce. Unlock the pressure cooker. Lightly mash dal with a whisk or ladle or hand blender. Add sugar and gud to dal and simmer till it reaches thick dropping consistency. Taste for sweetness. Add more gud if needed. This is because some guds are sweeter than others and it is always better to taste and add more. I like puran pudi nice and sweet. Remember the outer layer does not contain any sweetness. So it is okay if your puran is slightly more sweet than your taste buds.
• Add nutmeg powder and turn off the heat. 
• In a pan heat 1 tbsp. ghee and fry chopped nuts. Add them to prepared puran. Mix well and leave it aside for puran to cool.
• Make the dough: you can use whole wheat flour for this recipe. Or mix whole wheat and all purpose flour, oil, and water to make a soft dough. Knead it for 2-3 minutes.  Cover and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes. 

To make puran pudi:

• Divide the dough and prepared puran into equal number of parts and roll them to form a ball.
• Take one ball of dough. Lightly dip into dry flour and roll to make a 3 inch diameter disc. 
• Place a ball of puran in the center of the disc.
• Bring the sides of dough together and seal them well.
• Gently press to flatten the ball.
• Sprinkle dry flour on the bottom and top of the stuffed dough.
• Gently roll it to form a 6 inch diameter disc.
• Place it on a medium hot griddle and roast on both sides till you get nice even brown spots.
• Remove from the griddle and apply more ghee. Use a spoon to prick puran pudi so that ghee seeps in well.
• Serve with more ghee! :)

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Wash and soak toor dal in 1 cup of water. (soaking is optional, you can directly move to next step).

Remove water. Add 1 cup of water and pressure cook dal for 20 minutes or till you hear 3-4 whistles.

Let the pressure reduce. Unlock the pressure cooker. Lightly mash dal with a whisk or ladle or hand blender. Add sugar and gud to dal and simmer till it reaches thick dropping consistency. Taste for sweetness. Add more gud if needed. This is because some guds are sweeter than others and it is always better to taste and add more. I like puran pudi nice and sweet. Remember the outer layer does not contain any sweetness. So it is okay if your puran is slightly more sweet than your taste buds.

Add nutmeg powder and turn off the heat.

In a pan heat 1 tbsp. ghee and fry chopped nuts. Add them to prepared puran. Mix well and leave it aside for puran to cool.

Make the dough: you can use whole wheat flour for this recipe. Or mix whole wheat and all purpose flour, oil, and water to make a soft dough. Knead it for 2-3 minutes.  Cover and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes. 

Divide the dough and prepared puran into equal number of parts and roll them to form a ball.

Take one ball of dough. Lightly dip into dry flour and roll to make a 3 inch diameter disc. 

Place a ball of puran in the center of the disc.

Bring the sides of dough together and seal them well.

Gently press to flatten the ball.

Sprinkle dry flour on the bottom and top of the stuffed dough.

Gently roll it to form a 6 inch diameter disc.

Place it on a medium hot griddle and roast on both sides till you get nice even brown spots.

Remove from the griddle and apply more ghee. Use a spoon to prick puran pudi so that ghee seeps in well.

Serve puran pudi with more ghee!

Enjoy!!

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