Puran Poli to celebrate Holi!

Happy Holi Friends!! The most colourful and fun-filled festival of the year is here. Holi is probably the least religious festival in India. Although Holi does have religious and mythological significance, today it is all about a day of fun for all. Smearing colours and splashing water on each other. It is so delightful to watch even adults shed all their inhibitions and join in the chaos.

As a kid, holi was my favourite festival and was much awaited. Now its been about 4years since I have played holi. I sooo miss the bonfires on the eve of holi and the day of the festival when all of us kids from the society would meet in the mornings each carrying a heavy bag of water balloons and of course the latest trendiest pichkaris (water guns). I remember being camouflaged with colours and bombarded with balloons within a minute of stepping out of my building. I also remember running inside the building for cover when all the big boys would come with oil paints and those long lasting black and silver colours:). Finally around noon, all of us completely exhausted would feast on various snacks bought from the neighbouring restaurant. After all the fun one thing I dreaded most was washing away all the colours, after all there was school next day.

Dad always bought delicious Puran polis from a store in Dadar, my mouth still waters thinking of them. I really haven't really found a good version in any store out here as yet. This is a recipe I learnt from one of my neighbours in Mumbai and we love it. The polis are soft and has just the right amount of sweetness.

Puran Poli

Ingredients:

100gms all purpose flour

100gms wheat flour

1/4tsp salt

milk for kneading the dough

2-3tbs oil

200gms chana dal

1cup water

225gms jaggery, grated

8 green cardamoms, seeds removed and crushed

Ghee

Method:

Mix together the flours and salt and make a soft dough(not sticky) using enough milk. Add oil 1tbs at a time and knead well till all the oil is incorporated. Transfer to an air-tight container and keep aside for at least an hour.

Wash the dal several times. Add 1cup water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Do not over cook the dal, it should be whole when done. Open the cooker when the pressure has released completely and drain off the excess water. Spread out on paper towels or cloth and let it cool.

Add the jaggery and cardamom powder to the dal and pulse till the mixture is smooth (small bits of dal is fine).

If the mixture is too soft, place in a pan and stir over medium heat till dry. Cool.

Take the dough and knead again for a minute. Make 10 small balls. Divide the puran and make 10balls. The size of the puran balls would be much bigger.

Using a little flour, roll the dough into a small circle. Place puran in the center and and fold the edges to completely enclose the puran. Again coat with flour and roll out the polis as thin as possible without exposing the puran. Repeat with the others. Handle the rolled polis very gently to avoid tearing.

Heat a pan on medium heat and roast each poli till light brown and fluffed up. Smear some ghee on both the sides as you roast. Serve hot.

This picture is my entry to 'CLICK : June 2009 Stacks'.

Sending this to 'Holi Hai' event hosted by Purva and to 'Lentils Mela' hosted by Ashwini.