Puranpoli for Holi ,the festival of colors!

#Instantpot puranpoli recipe, an heirloom sweet made for the holi festival. Easy Indian vegetarian recipe.

Easy recipe for the sweet puran stuffing using Instant Pot and microwave! Check out the step by step photos and video!

 

 

#Instantpot puranpoli recipe, an heirloom sweet made for the holi festival. Easy Indian vegetarian recipe.

Puranpoli for Holi using Instant Pot and microwave for easy puran stuffing.

Holi, the festival of colors ushers in the spring with all it’s rejuvenating splendor! I had written about Holi celebrations both in India and here in the US, in my post Butterscotch Sheera last year. I made the Indian fusion Sheera last year for Holi and reminisced about the traditional puranpoli made for Holi.

Puranpoli was so synonymous with this festival that we had a rhyme in Marathi that went “Holi, Holi, purnachi poli”.  It is a flatbread stuffed with sweet split pea stuffing scented with cardamom and nutmeg. Puran is the sweet filling and poli is flatbread.

The delicate, sweet, luscious puranpolis are served with ghee and /or milk. They are a special treat on Holi and other auspicious occasions. The dinner plates set amidst rangoli designs, makes the celebrations extra festive! Rangolis are floor or table designs drawn to decorate an entrance to a home, a special area in a home like the family shrine and around plates on special occasions.

Puranpoli can be pretty labor intensive so I decided to try making the puran using Instantpot and the microwave. I am happy to report that this method was much, much easier and faster.

So here is what I did-

I cooked the chana dal (yellow split peas) with water in the Instantpot using the bean setting.

#Instantpot puranpoli recipe, an heirloom sweet made for the holi festival. Easy Indian vegetarian recipe.
Cooked the chana dal (split yellow peas) in the Instant Pot to get perfectly cooked dal.

After the pressure was released, I found the dal to be perfectly cooked! I drained the dal reserving the liquid for a specialty curry made with it. I put the dal through a sieve. You could use a ricer or a food mill. In fact food mills are called puran yantra in Marathi as they are primarily used for making puran!

#Instantpot puranpoli recipe, an heirloom sweet made for the holi festival. Easy Indian vegetarian recipe.
Top left to right- cooked dal put through a sieve, the soft mushy dal in the pot below. Bottom row left to right- the jaggery and  the microwave cooked puran on tested for the right puran consistency.

Next I added finely chopped jaggery to it and microwaved the puran. The test for the perfect puran consistency is to check if a serving ladle can be firmly held erect in it.

I used whole wheat flour for the dough for the outer covering. This dough should be looser than the regular chapatti dough and soft and pliable. I made the dough in my Kitchenaid stand mixer the night before, which made it so easy and the dough was splendidly supple.

After stuffing and rolling the puranpolis, I roasted them on a griddle with some ghee. That is when the aroma of the freshly made puranpolis fills the home and everyone starts gathering in the kitchen! Check out the step by step photos below and this video-

 

#Instantpot puranpoli recipe, an heirloom sweet made for the holi festival. Easy Indian vegetarian recipe.
Top row, left to right the puran filling made into a ball for ease of stuffing and the wheat dough. Below left to right, the puranpoli being roasted on the griddle.

Puranpoli

  • Servings: 21
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

Ingredients-

For the covering-

  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, sieved
  • Salt to taste
  • ¾ cup + 2 table spoons warm water
  • 4 tablespoons oil, divided
  • All-purpose flour/ maida for rolling
  • Ghee to drizzle

 For the puran filling-

  • 2 cups chana dal (yellow split peas)
  • 5 cups water
  • 2 heaped cups jaggery cut fine or powdered
  • A pinch of salt
  • 2 teaspoons green cardamom powder
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg powder

To serve-

  • Milk and ghee

To make the Puranpolis-

  1. Combine the wheat flour and salt. Add the water and knead the dough by hand or in a stand mixer. In the Kitchen aid stand mixer, I knead it on low setting for 11 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and knead again for 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to a bowl. Add the ball of dough and turn it to coat with oil. Cover and let it rest for 4 to 5 hours or preferably overnight.
  2. For the filling, wash and drain the chana dal. In the Instantpot, add the chana dal and 5 cups of water. Keep the pressure valve in on position and press the ‘beans’ button. The chana dal cooks in 14 minutes. When the pressure releases on the Instantpot, remove the container and drain the chana dal.
  3. Put the cooked chana dal through a sieve /purnachi jali, ricer or food mill/puran yantra.
  4. In a microwavable container, combine the mashed chana dal with the jaggery and cook covered in the microwave for 5 minutes.
  5. Stir, remove lid and microwave uncovered for 5 minutes, stir well.
  6. Repeat step 4 two more times. Total time in microwave 20 minutes. The consistency test for the puran is to check if a serving spoon will stand erect in it (see photo)
  7. Add the salt, cardamom and nutmeg powders and stir well. Set aside to cool.
  8. When cool, mix the cooked filling very well. I put it through a food processor. Make into 20~ 21 balls the size of a big lemon- about 1 ½ inches in diameter.
  9. Knead the wheat flour dough and make 20~21 balls about ¾ inches in diameter.
  10. Flatten a ball of dough using your fingertips making the edges thinner. Place a ball of puran filling in the center and cover it all around with the dough.
  11. On a lightly floured surface, roll the puranpolis lightly until they are about 9 inches in diameter.
  12. Roast on a preheated griddle on medium heat. Flip and roast on the other side drizzling about ½ teaspoon ghee.
  13. Repeat with the other filling and dough.
  14. Serve puran polis warm with extra ghee and milk.

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#Instantpot puranpoli recipe, an heirloom sweet made for the holi festival. Easy Indian vegetarian recipe.
Puranpoli served with milk . Come join us at the rangoli decorated table!

 

Enjoy!

Wishing you all a joyous Holi and a spring full of beautiful colors!

Love,

❤

Sandhya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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42 thoughts on “Puranpoli for Holi ,the festival of colors!”

Add yours

  2. Love the detailed step by step recipe, Sandhya! I have never attempted to make Puran poli. Always relied on my mom and aunts to do the hard work 😜Loved that you used instant pot for this! Happy Holi!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks so much! This recipe is really a time saver and very easy using the instant pot and the microwave. And the taste was not compromised at all!

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. My pleasure Sandhya. My mom made maalpuas on every holi and even on other occasions. I used to feast on that. I still love it and am trying to figure out its healthier version and will share with you very soon.

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    1. Thanks Priya. Yes many people use half apf and half whole wheat flour. But I like using all whole wheat flour. It is healthier and also the texture of the poli is better.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Looks delicious interesting using the microwave! Great instructions as I wouldn’t know exactly how to make them ! Thanks Sandhya

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much Emily! The microwave makes it so much easier and cuts down the cooking time too. I am so glad you liked the step by step instructions.

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. It is a very popular sweet in Maharashtra and made for holi and other auspicious occasions. Hope you get to try it.
      What is the most popular sweet in Jaipur?

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      Reply

      1. I hope I get to 🙂
        There are many popular sweets in Jaipur. Mishri mawa, Ghewar and Fini are the most popular ones, Sandhya. Ever heard about any of these?

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes Teri, I love it! My family laughs at me because I act like I cannot cook without it 🙂 I am trying all sorts of recipes in it.

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  15. Pingback: Traditional and Indian Fusion Sweets for Holi – Indian and Indian Fusion Cooking in America

    1. Thanks so much for sharing Rita! I love Parsi cuisine. One of my parents’ close friends were the Dalal’s and I enjoyed Khattu aunty’s dhanshak and shrimp patia too.
      The Gujrati community also makes their puranpolis with tuvar dal. Such interesting details, right?

      Liked by 1 person

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