My experiments with puranpoli

Puranpoli is a traditional Maharastrian sweet dish that is served in the main course rather than at the end of the meal. My relationship with the dish started after my marriage. I mean, I liked eating it before marriage also, but the formal relationship of a cook-n-meal started after the marriage.

The first time I went to Kanpur, to my in-laws place for Ganpati festival, my mother-in-law made this amazing puranpoli for the Mahalakshmi jevan (its a meal for the Mahalakshmi pooja). She took the dough with the ease of a routine, stuffed the aptly made puran and put it on the tava (frying pan). After few seconds she turned it upside down with a spatula just to make a swollen ball on the pan. It looked awesome and tasted even better!

My confidence was super-high and enthusiasm knew no limit. I was determined to make those puranpolis when I returned to Mumbai. After all, it was really simple. I knew how to make the dough, the puran (the sweet stuffing inside the chapati made of Bengal gram dal, sugar and/or jaggery) and I knew how to mix the two just like alu parathas! It felt really simple, until I actually did it.

The first time I made puranpolis, the dal was not cooked sufficiently. Bengal gram dal or the chana dal, as it is known, is thick and fat. It takes time to pressure cook. I was not really aware of this fact so the puran stuffing had not become smooth and had lumps. Making a poli (chapati or a round bread) out of it was simply out of question. My dear sweet husband had the dear sweet puran with a spoonful of ghee. Polis were for the next time!

The next time, I soaked the chana dal in lukewarm water for 2-3 hrs before putting it in a pressure cooker. That helped! The dal was cooked properly and a smoother paste was made from it using a hand-mixer. Then I put the dal in the kadhai(vessel) to cook it with jaggery and sugar. I kept it till the time sugar and jaggery dissolved. After all, dal was already cooked. Looking at it, my mother-in-law said you can make thick puran parathas out of it. Not the traditional thin puranpolis. The mixture had to be cooked for some more time so that it thickens and can be easily stuffed in the dough. Oops!

This time I was sure to crack it. The dal and puran was perfect. I remembered my mother-in-law's tip to cook the puran in the vessel till the spatula stands straight in the mixture. Bravo! I did it. I took a small portion of the dough and stuffed a small ball of puran in it. Artistically and carefully closed it. When I rolled it with a belan (used to make Indian bread), the stuffing came out. It was the dough this time.

Then I read Ruchira (a book of recipes in Marathi). In the book, it was written that the wheat flour to be used for dough should be sieved. Then kneaded with water, kept for some time and kneaded again with lots of oil on it. This makes the dough soft so that it spreads across the stuffing with ease without cracking. Well, next time am sure to make it this way.

Since then, I have not had the opportunity to experiment again. But I shall not give up. I shall try and try till I succeed! And finally one day, my experiment with the puranpoli will succeed. I am determined to make the best puranpolis of the world!