Holgi or Puran poli is a sweet and stuffed flatbread. This Indian delicacy is made for festive occasions.  

For Holi we make Holigi/puran poli. As a kid the rituals that were followed for Holi are some we have discarded.  My kids do not know them but I will like to share a few that stand out very vividly.

The Holi I remember are from Nagpur, Maharashtra. When we shifted there I was in my Std. II and we stayed in Sitaburdi in a rented place.  There in the small square there was huge bonfire lit and there were offering made to the bonfire. There was the Puran poli, coconut and the usual flowers etc. the coconut was pulled out expertly by the boys who were manning the bonfire and they broke it open. The coconut was cut up and offered as a Prasad to all. The bonfire died out but the embers were there even the next day. The ladies staying in the chawal used the embers to heat water for bath the next day.

We shifted to the colony the next year and the fun we had was totally different here to there was a bonfire there were offerings but the embers were put out. The next day we played colour and we also played with varnish. The idea was the colour should not go we had to show the colours in school the next day! How I used to hate it when Amma told me to use kerosene to scrub down it was better I did it than allow her to do it. J

Now there is no bonfire and I hardly make Holgi/Puran poli. But this year I made them with the idea that I to pass some basic traditions to them.

This is my Blogging Marathon entry for the month-long Marathon under the theme" Traditional".

My Holgi/ Puran poli got made in two days. On the first day, it was the hurna /puran that got made and after cooling, I put it in the fridge. The next day we made holgi/puran poli.

Ingredients:

For the Hurna/ Puran:

• ½ kg chana daal
• ½ kg jaggery
• 10 elichi/cardamom
• ½ jaiphal/nutmeg grated

For the Holgi/ puran Poli:

• 3 cups (approx) Whole wheat flour + for dusting
• ½ cup Rava, fine and not roasted
• Salt
• ½ cup Oil+ 4 tblspn

Special Equipment:

Puran yantra or your blender with the dry blade

Method:

To make the Hurna/ Puran:

• First wash and soak the chana dal for about ½ an hour. This is not an essential step but recommended as this cuts down the cooking time.
• After say ½ an hour then cook the daal in a pressure cooker. I used the Futura and my dal was ready in 5 minutes at least the I could smell the dal. Bai who was around told me that  chana dal cannot cook in 5 minutes  and that was enough for me to put it back on the flame for 5 more minutes. Actually the first 5 minutes were enough.
• Now take a deep sieve sit it on a bowl and turn out all the dal.   Collect all the water. Mine sat on the counter for most of the afternoon and the dal was nice and dry. Reserve the water and we will make a delicious rasam with it.
• Transfer the dal back to the cooker. Add the jaggery and cook on low flame. Stir the dal and jaggery to mix them well.  Your job becomes simple as the jaggery melts and whole thing becomes very watery. Check for sweetness. Add more jaggery if you need. Remember you are going to cover it with the roti so a little sweeter puran is what you need.
• Set up the puran yantra (in case you are using it) with the small holed disc and attach the crusher. Set it on an appropriate bowl.
•  Continue cooking as the mixture thickens you will need to stir it on a regular basis. Add the elichi/cardamom powder and the nutmeg powder.  You cooking of the puran is done when as you stir the mixture coats the edge of the cooker and dry up a bit. Don’t get me wrong it’s moist but dry like a halwa consistency.
•  Now when the hurna /puran is hot it needs to be ground to as it is easier then. So grind away till all the mixture is ground. Do not fret if you do not have a puran yantra my sister does it in her mixer with the dry blade. You can try it too. Only tip here is that after you finish mix the whole thing in a separate bowl well. This will prevent your holgi /puran poli towards the end from cracking up. There is some left on the top of the crusher collect it and keep it separate. You can use this too.
• Cool and set aside.

To make the Holgi/Puran Poli

• Mix the dough with the rava, add the salt. Add 2-3 tblspn of oil mix well. Using enough water bind the dough, it should be soft. Smear with a tblspn oil and keep aside covered at least for ½ hour.
• After the ½ an hour knead the dough. Bang it on the plate for 5-6 times each time you bang the dough knead it.
• Heat a nice thick tawa.
• Make a small ball about the size of a lemon; spread it on your oiled palm. Take a similar sized ball of the hurna/Puran and cover the ball with the dough this is to be rolled out.  Now you can also make 2 small flat puri and press a similar sized ball on one then cover it with the other puri. Though this is less messy the only problem is that the hurna/puran does not move to the edge of the roti and this is not what is acceptable.
• Now on a floured board roll out the ball to a nice circle. Use minimum flour but be careful the dough should not stick to the rolling pin or the board.
• Once done apply a little oil to the upper surface transfer to the tawa . Flame low.
• There are small bubbles that come up on the holgi turn it. Raise the flame and using a spoon add some oil to the tawa around the holgi.  When there are brown spots on the lower side also and if you have rolled it out well the holgi will swell like a balloon.
• Gently remove the holgi/ puran poli to a plate. Cool it before transferring the holgi/puran poli to a bowl in which you have some tissues layered out.
• Repeat with all remaining dough.
• Serve it with lots of homemade ghee. In Karnataka we eat it with milk and ghee and I love it just so.

Notes:

Actually the same hurna / puran can be used to make kadbu just add raisins, and cashew nuts to the hurna/puran.

My MIL used to make the outer covering with Maida and she made beautifully thin ones but with the rising amount of Maida we are consuming I preferred to make them out of whole wheat flour.

To make holgi/ puran poli the outer dough mixture has to be of the same consistency as the inner hurna/ puran so when you are mixing the dough remember this.  This works for any stuffed paratha too. In case your stuffing and the dough are not of the same consistency you cannot make decent paratha where the stuffing stays inside the paratha.

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