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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Poli - a sweet treat

Poli or Boli as I call it, is something that I have always associated with waking up early, kneading mounds of flour relentlessly, rolling out the dough, the air filling up with the fragrance of ghee, and the thin, soft polis disappearing almost as soon as they appear on the table. Until now, I have only been personally accountable for the disappearance of the polis. I have never wanted to venture into areas that I hitherto thought were reserved for more experienced(read mothers, aunts....) people. Never one to prepare traditional sweets for festivals, I've not really had a reason to try my hand at making this. So, what exactly made me decide to try this out??? I don't really know - maybe a whim, a fancy or a desire to prove to myself that I can do it.
What you need:

For the outer covering:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Gingely Oil - LOTS (I didn't really measure the exact amount)
Salt - a pinch
Yellow food colour or a tiny bit of turmeric powder

Mix all the ingredients together and knead into a smooth, pliable dough adding as much water as needed. The dough should be loose and elastic.. Don't stint on the oil if you want tasty, soft polis. Cover and let it rest for 3-4 hours.

For the filling:
1 cup channa dal
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder

Pressure cook the dal with enough water. Drain all the water and grind it to a smooth paste along with the sugar. Take this mixture in a kadai, add cardamom powder and heat,stirring continuously, until all the moisture is absorbed.

To make poli:
  • Take a banana leaf or a small plastic sheet. Oil it.
  • Take a lemon sized ball of dough. Pat it with your finger tips (apply some oil on your fingers too so that the dough doesn't stick to it) into a circle. Keep a bit of filling inside, close it iand then pat again into a large, thin circle.
  • Heat a tawa. Turn the poli onto the tawa. Spread some ghee over it and cook till the underside has golden brown spots. Turn over and cook for a minute.
  • Serve with a dollop of ghee on top.
  • Notes :
    Instead of patting the polis into a circle, you can roll them out with a rolling pin. If you choose to do that, use less oil. Make a dough that is the consistency of chapati dough and then roll out into circles.

    Poli is traditionally made for Avani Avittam which falls on the same day as Rakshabandhan. So Iam sending this to Priti who is hosting Festive Foods-Rakhi-Thread of Love.
    It also goes to Easycraft's What's Your Favourite Colour Event.

    14 comments:

    Nidhi said...

    Your polis have come out perfect gal!
    It is very similar to the Puran Poli they make in Maharashtra. I m trying your recipe and will try to impress my MIL, who makes perfect Purans.

    Unknown said...

    wow... what a acolour... looks yummy & Awesome... mouth watering... will u pls send this immed...

    Unknown said...

    nice recipe..have tasted poli made this way..but i make it a bit different..will try your way sometime..

    Indian Khana said...

    Poli looks gud ...love e colour...

    sra said...

    "Until now, I have only been personally accountable for the disappearance of the polis." - ROFL!

    notyet100 said...

    WO,.THEY LOOK GOOD..

    Shreya said...

    looks great.. have never tried making it myself.

    bee said...

    looks delicious. have you tried it with whole wheat atta? easier to make and even more delicious.

    Sia said...

    pefect looking Poli Jaya and ur spicy no oil bitter gourd curry is bookmarked :)

    lubnakarim06 said...

    Wow looks yummy. I like that bittergourd without oil. Iam gonna try this out soon.

    jayasree said...

    Hey, ur polis have come out well. I make the chapathi dough consistency and roll them out. In case of uppittu, I follow ur step.

    EC said...

    They look so inviting and mouthwatering...thanks for participating

    Jaya M said...

    Lovely and delicious ..
    Hugs and smiles

    Jaya M said...

    I tried making the polis few months back and they came out nice so( I made like stuffed parathas ) ..Thanks for sharing this traditional recipe Jayashree
    hugs and smiles