Puran Poli – Puranachi Poli – Maharashtrian Recipe

Last Updated on March 18, 2021 by Babita

Puran Poli is also known as Puranachi Poli in Marathi. It is a flatbread stuffed with sweet and aromatic lentil that is one of the most popular traditional Indian desserts.

In many of the Maharashtrian households, puran poli is made during the festival of Holi (festival of color). It is dessert that is prized and loved by Indians everywhere.

I will show you how easy it is to make puran poli. It is not a quick and time saving recipe. However, a lot of people find making puran poli intimidating. This recipe does take time, but if you follow my recipe, you will have a soft, sweet, delicious puran poli every single time. All it needs is some organization and planning.

What is Puran Poli

Puran Poli is a Marathi word for sweetened flatbread. This flatbread is stuffed with lentils that has been sweetened with jaggery (palm sugar) and flavored with cardamom powder.

There are two parts to this recipe. The first one is to prepare the puran, which is the stuffing. This puran (stuffing) is made with chana, daal (split baby chickpea), jaggery and cardamom powder.

The second component to this recipe is the poli. Poli is flat bread or roti or chapati. It is made with whole-wheat flour.

Different Types of Puran Poli and their Names

Puran poli is made all over India. However, each state or region has their own versions of it. Some use all-purpose flour and sugar as main ingredients, while others may use a combination of all-purpose flour and whole-wheat flour. Depending on the ingredients, there will always be a slight difference in taste. However, the technique of making puran poli is always the same.

Puran Poli: is the marathi word for this sweetened flatbread. It is made with whole- wheat flour and the stuffing includes chana daal, jaggery and cardamom.

Vedmi or Puran Puri: is the Gujarati word for it. The flatbread is made of whole-wheat flour, while the stuffing is made with toor daal (split pigeon peas), jaggery and cardamom.

Holige: Mangalorean, Karnataka’s version of puran poli is known as holigae or obbattu. The flatbread is made with all-purpose flour and the stuffing is made with chana daal, sugar and cardamom.

Other names for Puran Poli: include Bobbattu, Baksham, Oliga in Telugu (Andhra Pradesh), Poli or Uppittu in Tamil (Chennai), Payasabolli or bolli in Malayalam (Kerala) and also Poli in Konkani.

Ingredients for Puran

• 1 cup chana daal
• 1 cup jaggery
• 2 cups of water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cardamom powder

Instructions to Make Puran

• Wash and rinse chana daal. Soak it overnight or for 4 to 5 hours.
• Next, add chana daal into a pressure cooker. Add turmeric powder and water. Cook it on high pressure for 5 to 7 minutes or until 2 whistles.
• Remove the cooked chana daal from pressure cooker and strain the excess liquid. Do not discard the liquid. Save it.

• In a frying pan, add the chana daal, jaggery, and cardamom powder. Mix well and stir it over low to medium flame. Keep stirring it until the mixture starts to thicken up. It will take around 10 to 12 mins.
• Once the puran has thickened up, remove it from the flame and set it aside for an hour to cool.

Ingredients for Poli

• 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
• a pinch of salt
• water for kneading the dough

Instructions to Make Poli (Flatbread)

• In a mixing bowl mix whole wheat flour and salt together.
• Add water gradually to make a medium-soft dough. Add oil to the dough and knead it for another minute.
• Cover it with a damp towel or tissue and let the dough rest for 30 mins.

Instructions to Make Puran Poli (See Video in Recipe Card)

• Break off a small piece of dough. Roll it around in your palms to make a round ball.
• Dunk it in some flour and roll it to about 5″ diameter round sheet
• Grab a handful of puran and place it in the center of the sheet.
• Grab the edges of the sheet above and around the puran and enclose it like a dumpling.
• Twist off the excess dough on the top and seal it.

• Next, flatten the stuffed dough carefully. Dunk it into the flour and start rolling it.
• Roll it gently and along the edges first and then move to the center. Roll it until it is about 8″ in diameter
• Heat a skillet or tava. Once it is hot, place the puran poli over it.
• As soon as you see bubbles appearing on one side of the poli flip it over. Apply some ghee over it. Repeat this process until the puran poli is done or acquired a golden brown color to it.

• Remove it off the tava and set it aside to cool.
• Serve it with either plain milk, katachi amti or batata bhaji on the side.