Puran Poli is a sweetened version of its popular savory counterpart dal paratha. It is a flat bread stuffed with jaggery sweetened split chickpea lentils (Puranam – Tamil / Puran – Marathi) and is a heavenly treat when served with dollops of ghee.

Sadly this recipe calls for the use of maida (all purpose flour). A decade ago when we moved to a healthier diet, the first thing we eliminated from our pantry was all purpose flour and with it died a few of our favorites. However the good news is that it wasn’t gone for long. With a few attempts we resuscitated it back and made it sublime. Let’s get rolling…

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What you will need to make 100% Whole Wheat Puran Poli

Ingredients

Note: 1 cup = 235 ml

For outer dough

1. 3 cups whole wheat flour
2. ½ tsp. turmeric
3. ½ tsp. salt
4. 2 Tbsp. ghee
5. 1 ½ cups + 2 tsp. Water

For inner stuffing

1. 1 cup split chickpea lentil (kadala paruppu – Tamil / chana dal – Hindi)
2. 2 cups water
3. 1½ cup jaggery, crushed or powdered
4. ½ cup coconut
5. 2 Tbsp. ghee
6. 1 tsp. cardamom

For cooking and serving

1. ½ cup ghee

Equipment

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How to prepare Puran Poli with 100% whole wheat – An Overview

If you know how to flatten dough with a rolling pin, you are all set to make polis and parathas. If you don’t, you do not need to shy away from making these. I promise by the time you reach the last poli, you will become an expert!!!

1. Prepare the dough
2. Cook and sweeten lentils
3. Roll, stuff, re-roll and cook

Tips before you begin

The most common problems that occur when making puran poli with 100% whole wheat flour are due to lower gluten levels and the lack of elasticity (which does not happen if you cook with all purpose flours)

Too much or too little outer dough

If you use excess dough for the outer layer, the polis will become thick and chewy. On the other hand, if you use very little dough, then the stuffing will leak out while rolling the polis and the whole thing will fall apart while cooking.

For beginners, just follow this recipe to a T and you can be assured that you won’t run into such fiascos. Alternatively, with a bit of trial and error, you will be able to figure out the right ratio of dough to filling.

Soggy filling

The moisture in the filling has to dry out perfectly – neither too dry that it becomes powdery nor too wet that it sticks to your hands. For this, you can do two things

1) Drain the water completely after cooking the lentils, and

2) When cooking with jaggery, make sure the filling comes off the pan and comes together like a cookie dough – neither too wet nor too dry

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How to make Puran Poli with 100% whole wheat – Instructions with step-by-step images

Prepare the dough

Step 1 – In a medium size bowl, mix together 3 cups whole wheat flour, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. Turmeric, 2 Tbsp. ghee until well incorporated

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Step 2 – Make a well in the center, add 1 ½ cups of water and knead it to a soft dough. Depending on the nature of the wheat flour you may need to add up to 2 Tbsp. water. Make sure to add a spoonful as needed at this point, as we do not want the dough to be too dry or too tacky

Step 3 – Cover and rest the dough for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 6 hours. This resting time is key to keeping the Polis soft for the next couple of days

Cook and sweeten lentils

Step 4 – In an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, wash and cook 1 cup split chickpea lentils with 2 cups water. Set the Instant pot at manual high for 5 minutes with valve in sealing position. If using a regular pressure cooker, cook for about 4 whistles

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You can continue to cook the filling in the Instant pot. However, I have used a flat bottom pan in subsequent steps to show a clearer view

Step 5 – When the pressure releases naturally, drain the excess water from the cooked lentils using a colander

Step 6 – Add drained lentils to the pan/pot and mash using a potato masher or immersion blender

Alternatively, you can blend with jaggery when the lentils have cooled down. Either way, make sure to drain the excess water

Step 7 – Add 1 ½ cup jaggery, ½ cup grated coconut, cook for about 5 minutes until the jaggery melts. Mix it well into the lentil-coconut mixture until the excess moisture starts to dry and the filling comes together to a soft cookie dough consistency

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Step 8 – At this point, add 2 Tbsp. ghee, 1 tsp. cardamom powder, mix well, and turn off the heat

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Step 9 – Allow this mixture to cool for about 15 minutes

Both the outer dough and filling can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Read the FAQs for more details

Roll, stuff, re-roll and cook

Step 10 – Divide the outer dough and filling into 12 equal portions

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Step 11 – Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball to a disc of 5 inch diameter (use a rolling mat to help you with this measurement), and place the filling in the center

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Step 12 – Now bring the edges of the disc to cover the stuffing making tiny pleats with the dough as you go along and cover the entire filling

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Making pleats with your fingers to form a momo-like mold will help in equal distribution of dough when it is re-rolled into a flat bread

Step 13 – Press it down lightly, dust on a little flour and roll it out to an 8 inch diameter flat bread. The pleated side should be on the bottom and the smooth side should face up while rolling

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While rolling out you will notice that the dough starts to stretch and makes the filling visible and in some places the filling even peeks out. This is the perfect way to roll it

Step 14 – Set a flat bottom pan (preferably a cast iron pan) on medium heat. Place the rolled puran poli on the hot pan and cook on both sides until golden brown spots appear on both sides. Brush on a little ghee mid-way through cooking

Step 15 – Repeat the process for the rest of the dough and filling

Step 16 – Enjoy these sublime puran polis with a dollop of home-made ghee 😋

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Pongal and Puran Poli

Indian festivals and food go hand in glove. My memories of every celebration is associated with a unique dish that my mom would prepare. She would make these delicious puran polis on every Bhogi, the first day of the four day festivities of Pongal / Sankranti to mark the beginning of Uttarayanam (Vernal Equinox). Amma would tirelessly stack up these sweet stuffed pancakes for us to gobble up in intervals while we would have a gala time flying kites with friends in the neighborhood. While this festival is celebrated differently across various regions of India, the one thing that is common across communities is a bonfire. In South India, this bonfire is filled with worn out pieces of furniture and other little things from the home as a symbol of showing detachment from materialistic things and to burn out negativities in our minds, thus paving the way for a fresh start.

“Pazhayana Kazhithalum Puthiyana Puguthalum”

meaning “To cast away the old (habits/ways) and welcome the new”

Such fun filled traditional practices that teach generations practical values of life is simply sublime! That said, who wouldn’t love all the dance, music and joyous times with these yummy polis 🙂

Recipes related to Puran Poli

• Whole wheat Chia Chapati
• Sweet Pongal

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FAQs

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