POLI

Poli (Boli) is a traditional indian sweet stuffed with coconut, jaggery, channa dal and rolled into a flatbread. It is one of the special dishes prepared during the Tamil festivals Bhogi, and Avani avittam.

It is also known as Puran Poli (North India), Obbattu (Karnataka).

Poli / Bholi

Total Time: 2 hours
Prep Time: 1.5 hour
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 10 to 12 Poli

INGREDIENTS:

Dough

• Maida - 1 cup
• Gingelly oil - 2 tablespoons
• Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
• Salt - a pinch

Filling

• Gram dhal - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 1 cup
• Cardamom - 4
• Scraped coconut - 1 cup

Other ingredients

• Banana leaf or plastic sheet - 1
• Ghee - 4 to 5 tablespoons

METHOD:

1. Mix maida, gingelly oil, salt and turmeric powder sprinkling little water.
2. Dry roast gram dal till golden brown and soak in water for an hour. 
3. Grind it along with scraped coconut. 
4. Now add the jaggery and cardamom and grind again. (Do not add the jaggery in the beginning).
5. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, saute the above ground mixture and stir till it is thick like a ball.
6. Allow it to cool. 
7. Take a banana leaf or plastic sheet. Take out a small ball of the maida dough, spread it with your hand.
8. Place a small ball of the dhal jaggery mixture on it
9. Wrap the jaggery mixture with dough and again spread it with your hand.
10. Heat a tawa, smear it with ghee and place the poli on it. Drizzle ghee to the sides. 
11. Flip it to the other side and again drizzle ghee to the sides. (Remove from tawa when brown dots appear.)
12. Serve hot with some more ghee spread on the top.

VARIATION: 

1. Mix maida, salt, turmeric powder and water. Do not use gingelly oil for the dough. This dough will be like chappathi dough. 
2. Roll out chappathis, place the filling and cover. 
3. Roll again using a roller. 
4. Other procedures are the same.