Puran Poli with Moong bean

Festival recipes, Indian bread, Indian Sweets, Naivedyam Recipes

"Puran Poli with Moong bean" table of contents

  1. Puran Poli with Moong bean
  2. Savoury puran poli (Moong paratha) recipe

The year 2020 has made us all stronger physically, emotionally & spiritually and also made us richer by unique experiences. We have learnt many invaluable life lessons that would guide us sail through even the difficult phase of our life. Now I feel it is appropriate to follow our traditional way of celebrating New Year with sumptuous repast of various flavours like sweet, bitter, pungent etc. This tradition encourages us to accept and adapt to every season, every flavour and every change in our life gracefully.

ny-112 Puran Poli with Moong bean

Here I have posted the recipes for sweet puran poli and savoury poli in this New Year. Puran Poli is a traditional Maharashtrian flatbread stuffed with sweet lentil fillings. I prepared the sweet filling using moong bean and added sesame seeds for the nutty flavor, coconut for the delicious texture, green cardamom for the sweet aroma & dried ginger for the mildly pungent flavor into the filling. I have also enhanced the savoury filling with a dash of finely chopped green chilli, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds and copious amount of fresh coriander leaves.

PP-2-960x695 Puran Poli with Moong bean
Sweet puran poli & savoury puran poli

Poli Vs Boli:

Maharashtrian Poli is bit different from the boli popular in southern peninsula. Boli has thin flaky skin stuffed with slightly dry filling, whereas poli has soft skin and moist filling inside. We use maida (APF) for dough but whole wheat flour is used for making poli dough, and both boli & poli usually have fillings made of Bengal gram (chickpeas). Since Bengal gram & besan flour cause flatulence I find the easily digestible protein-rich moong bean as the best alternate for Bengal gram.

sweetpoli-960x856 Puran Poli with Moong bean
Puran Poli with moong bean

Puran Poli Recipe

Yields: 10 puran poli

Dough for poli:

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour1 cup (200 ml)
Ghee1 tbsp (15 ml)
Salt (optional)a pinch
Turmeric powder1 tsp
Water required to knead the dough1/2 cup (100 ml)
  • Add whole wheat flour, salt & turmeric powder into a mixing bowl and mix them.
  • Now melt ghee in a small pan, pour into the flour & mix well with fingertips.
  • Gradually add water into the flour and knead into a soft dough for about 5-7 minutes.
  • Grease the dough with little ghee & then keep it covered.
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Poli dough

Sweet moong bean filling:

Ingredients:

Moong bean (whole green gram/pachai payaru)1 cup
Jaggery powder1 cup
Desiccated coconut1/2 cup
Black sesame seeds1 tbsp
Green Cardamom2
Dried ginger1″
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How to cook whole green gram:

  • Wash & soak 2 cups of whole greengram for 3 hours in hot water.
  • Pressure cook them by adding water in the ratio of 1:2 (simmer for 7 minutes after reaching high pressure).
  • Divide the cooked legumes into two portions and keep them separately for preparing the sweet & savoury fillings.
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Cooking whole green gram

How to make filling for puran poli:

  • Toast sesame seeds on the stove top until they begin to pop up.
  • Blitz toasted sesame, cardamom, dried ginger & cooked moong for few seconds.
  • Transfer to a plate and add desiccated coconut.
  • Mix well & leave aside.
  • Heat a heavy-bottom cooking pan with jaggery powder & water (1-2 tbsp) in medium flame.
  • When the syrup begins to bubble up add the moong mixture and stir until combined.
  • Remove the pan from heat.
  • Now the filling for puran poli is ready.
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Filling for puran poli

How to prepare puran poli:

  • Divide the dough into 10 amla-sized balls and the filling into 10 lemon-sized balls.
  • Roll out thin poli (approx. 16-18 cm diameter) as shown in the gif below.
  • Heat a griddle in medium flame.
  • Cook both the sides of poli and then drizzle ghee on both the sides.
  • Transfer it to a serving casserole.
  • Similarly prepare puran poli using the remaining dough & filling.
  • Serve hot puran poli as dessert with any meal.
puranpoli-960x640 Puran Poli with Moong bean
Making puran poli

Poli making tips:

Consistency of dough & filling: We can make perfect puran poli only when the dough & filling are at the right consistency. We can add ghee (or coconut oil) while kneading the dough for poli (for paratha I like to add olive oil) to make the dough super soft & pliable. It is also required to make the filling soft & smooth but not hard or squishy. If the filling turns hard we can sprinkle some hot water, or we can add some wheat flour if it is squishy. Ideally the dough & the filling have to be of almost same consistency.

pp-5-960x640 Puran Poli with Moong bean
Filling (pooranam) is as smooth as dough

Size of the dough & filling: I prefer to use the filling almost double the size of dough while making poli mainly to enjoy the sweet flavor. But for paratha we can use both the dough & filling of equal size or more.

pp-1-960x640 Puran Poli with Moong bean
Sweet filling is double the size of dough for poli

Thickness of poli: It is unpalatable when we end up in making thick hard poli. Nevertheless it is tricky to make soft thin poli by stuffing a lemon-sized filling into an amla-sized dough. We need to roll the rolling pin without applying too much of pressure on the dough and at the same time we need to roll it out as large as possible. So we may have to dust the dough frequently to prevent it getting stuck to the surface.

pp-3-960x739-1 Puran Poli with Moong bean
Amla-sized dough rolled in to 8″ poli

The diameter of my puran poli is about 18 cm (8″), but it is very much possible to make larger puran poli. You can check out this video of an old woman making exceptionally huge puran poli just by using her palms.

"Puran Poli with Moong bean" table of contents

  1. Puran Poli with Moong bean
  2. Savoury puran poli (Moong paratha) recipe

73 comments on “Puran Poli with Moong bean”Add yours →

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  10. Wonderful share and a very delicious recipe indeed. This is a favorite at our home as well. I have had this with chana dal am sure moong bean will be equally delicious .Love your pictures and detailed explanation as always . Happy New year to you Megala!

  11. Using moong bean for puran poli is interesting. I have always used thoordal. These puran poli look very delicious. Happy 2021!!

    1. I tried with moong bean as it has more health benefits compared to Bengal gram or red gram, and I am glad you also liked it.
      Thanks so much.

  14. I love what you said at the first paragraph! Indeed, we have had the most unique experiences during the past year…
    This is exactly my favorite “pancake-like” dish! Can’t wait to follow your recipe and make some for my family.
    Wow. double-sized of the dough is such a wisdom! Thank you, Megala!

      1. You are very welcome, Megala!
        Same here. Thank you for your kindness and constant support. Blogging is an amazing world. It connects our souls.
        Happy New Year!

  17. This looks great! I had puran poli for the first time when I was in Maharashtra with my son in 2018 and loved them. When I got back to Toronto I found a place that served them as well and I was so glad to have found it. Of course now with the pandemic it has been closed.

    Maybe someday I will try making them – for now I still struggle making even a simple chapati that comes out right. Practice makes perfect, though!

    1. Yes, we do find it difficult to make poli in the beginning. But I have seen some perfectly cooked Indian dishes in your blog, and I hope you could master this recipe also very soon. 🙂
      Thanks so much for stopping by.

  18. I love puran poli 🙂 Here we make a slightly different version and it is called holige. One is with chana dal jaggery filling and the other coconut jaggery filling. But I have never made them at home 🙂 Usually in weddings and other functions, holige is favoured. Thank you for the recipe:)

    1. Earlier I used to feel that it is one of the difficut recipes that I could ever try my hand, but still I tried this only after blogging in here. Now I feel like it is not so difficult as I thought. 🙂
      Hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration with your family. Thanks so much for reading & commenting.

  19. Hi Megala, I have been having problems after changing hosts, again. I never learn. So it seems I was not following you! Wp trolls at work. Puran poli is one of my fav dishes. I am so glad to be back on your blog. Hope the first day of the year started on a good note. Love and hugs. DDG aka Arundhati.🥰

  22. Wishing you & your family a very Happy New Year…It is really great idea to make savoury Puran poli.Thanks for the wonderful recipe and tips for making perfect Puran Poli.

    1. It is my pleasure. 🙂 You are too kind. I still remember the beautiful parathas you have made, I wish I could become such a dexterous paratha maker like you.

      1. Awwww…I remember you being the first few supporters right from the beginning on my blog Megala. Means a lot to me😊❤ We all learn something or other from each other a lot here…will continue doing so !

    2. Happy New Year to you dear Megala. Puran poli is one of my best snacks and your presentation is astounding. Delicious and yummy 😋😋😋😋😋. Thanks for your wonderful share

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