Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Puran Poli
Puran Poli (Shallow-fried Bread with Sweet Filling)

Puran Poli

Shallow-fried Bread with Sweet Filling
VegetarianOrigin MaharashtraPrep 45 minutes, plus soaking and cooling timeCook 50 minutesMakes 10

A sweet, griddle-cooked Indian flatbread stuffed with a fragrant, spiced lentil purée. The crisp exterior gives way to a soft, rich filling infused with cardamom and nutmeg.

Filling spices

2.6 gAdded to the dal paste and sugar (step 3)
01
Ground green cardamom · Elaichi Powder
2 g1 teaspoon
spice
02
Ground nutmeg · Jaiphal Powder
0.6 g¼ teaspoon
spice
Keep ground: they stir directly into the sweet lentil paste.

Everything else

01
Chana dalrinsed and drained
250 g
legume
02
Icing sugar · Pisi Chini
200 g
sweetener
03
Whole wheat flour · Atta
200 g
flour
04
Vegetable oil · Tel
54 g4 tablespoons
oil/fat
05
Plain flour · Maidafor dusting
16 g2 tablespoons
flour
06
Melted ghee · Ghee
54 g4 tablespoons
oil/fat

Method

  1. Submerge 250 g chana dal in cold water and leave to soak overnight.
  2. Drain the dal thoroughly. Bring 500 ml of water to a boil in a heavy saucepan, add the soaked dal, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes until the water is completely absorbed. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then process in a blender until completely smooth.
  3. Place a heavy pan over medium heat and add the blended dal, 200 g sugar, and the filling spices. Stir constantly for 5 to 10 minutes until the released liquid has evaporated and the paste thickens, then spread onto a shallow dish to cool.
  4. Combine 200 g wholemeal flour with roughly half of the 54 g vegetable oil and enough water to create a soft, elastic dough. Turn out onto a surface prepared with some of the 2 tablespoon flour for dusting and knead for 5 minutes.
  5. Divide both the rested dough and the cooled lentil paste into 10 equal portions. Brush a ball of dough with a little of the remaining vegetable oil and roll it out into a 10 cm (4 inch) disc on the dusted surface. Place a ball of filling in the centre, draw the edges up to enclose it fully, pinch to seal, and gently roll out again to a 15 cm (6.5 inch) round.
  6. Warm a heavy skillet or tawa over medium heat. Cook the rolled flatbread dry for 2 minutes on each side, then brush each side with some of the 4 tablespoon ghee and fry for another minute per side until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Don't have something?

Chana dal
  • Yellow split peas

    Use 100% of the weight. Soak for at least 1 hour; takes about 10 minutes longer to cook through and has a marginally earthier flavour.

  • Pigeon peas

    Use 100% of the weight. Reduces cooking time by about 10 minutes and breaks down softer, giving a smoother consistency rather than distinct grains.

  • Black gram

    For tempering or tadka only: use 70% of the weight. Browns faster in hot oil, providing a nutty, crunchy bite.

Icing sugar
  • Caster sugar

    Use the same weight and grind to a fine powder in a dry blender. Add 3% cornflour by weight if you need it to stay powdery.

  • Granulated sugar

    Use the same weight and grind in small batches until fine. It is coarser and may feel gritty in uncooked icings.

  • Sugar candy

    Use the same weight and grind to a powder. It is harder to grind and gives a slightly crunchier result.

Ground green cardamom
  • Green cardamom seed

    Grind freshly extracted inner black seeds finely; use equal weight (1:1). Greatly superior aroma with potent eucalyptus and citrus notes.

  • Green cardamom pod

    Lightly crack whole pods and simmer them in the gravy; use 150% of the weight of ground cardamom. Fish out the pods before serving.

  • Ground nutmeg

    Use 50% of the weight. Delivers warm, sweet aroma, but lacks cardamom's cooling, citrusy top notes.

Ground nutmeg
  • Nutmeg

    Grate whole nutmeg finely on a microplane; use 80% to 100% of the weight. Freshly grated nutmeg has significantly more aromatic oils and a more vibrant aroma.

  • Ground mace

    Use 100% to 120% of the weight. Mace is nutmeg's outer husk, providing almost identical warmth but with a lighter, slightly more delicate, floral edge.

  • Ground cinnamon (cassia)

    Use 75% of the weight. Adds comparable warmth and sweetness, though it lacks the musky, nutty undertone of nutmeg.

Whole wheat flour
  • Wholemeal flour

    Use the same weight; it is very close, but add water slowly as it can be coarser and absorb more.

  • Plain flour

    Use the same weight but reduce water by about 10%; the dough is softer and the flavour less nutty.

  • Flour

    Use the same weight as a plain-flour swap; reduce water slightly and expect a lighter, less wheaty result.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Plain flour
  • Whole wheat flour

    Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.

  • Cornflour

    For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Melted ghee
  • Melted butter

    Use the same weight; milk solids may brown faster. Add a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter.

  • Vegetable oil

    Use 90% of the weight; loses the nutty ghee flavour. Best for cooking, not for finishing.

  • Coconut oil

    Use 90% of the weight; adds a coconut aroma. Use only where that suits the dish.

Similar dishes

Bervin Roti
Plain Stuffed Bread
Bervin Roti is savoury and mildly peppery, whereas this dish is sweet and spiced with nutmeg and cardamom.
  • Same: Both are griddled flatbreads stuffed with a cooked chana dal filling.
  • Different: Bervin Roti uses ghee instead of vegetable oil and seasons the lentils with salt and black pepper rather than cardamom and nutmeg.
Missi Roti
Lentil Bread
Missi Roti is savoury, warm, and spicy from ginger and chillies, whereas this dish is sweet and fragrant with cardamom and nutmeg.
  • Same: Missi Roti is also an Indian flatbread prepared using chana dal.
  • Different: Missi Roti mixes boiled chana dal, moong dal, onion, ginger, fresh coriander, green chillies, turmeric, and chilli powder directly into the dough rather than using a sweet lentil filling shallow-fried in vegetable oil.
Bervin Poori
Poori Stuffed with Urad Dal
Bervin Poori tastes savoury, spicy and aromatic from ginger, coriander, aniseed and chilli, while this dish tastes sweet and fragrant from cardamom and nutmeg.
  • Same: Bervin Poori shares a whole wheat flour flatbread wrapper and a dal filling with this dish, and both use ghee.
  • Different: Bervin Poori is deep-fried in 625 g ghee with a savoury urad dal filling seasoned with ginger, crushed coriander seeds, aniseed and chilli powder; this dish is griddle-cooked with a sweet chana dal filling set with icing sugar and flavoured with cardamom and nutmeg, and neither lists a souring agent.
Bervin Poori
Poori Filled with Black Lentils
Bervin Poori is savoury and spicy, unlike the sweet profile of this dish.
  • Same: Like this dish, Bervin Poori consists of flatbread stuffed with a spiced lentil filling and cooked using vegetable oil.
  • Different: Bervin Poori is deep-fried and filled with urad dal seasoned with ginger, chilli powder, coriander seeds, and Valsadi Masala, whereas this dish is griddle-cooked using chana dal flavored with cardamom and nutmeg.