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Indian

Puran poli

Vegetarian

पुरणपोळी · puranpoli

Festive sweet flatbread from Maharashtra: a very soft, oily dough wrapped round a cardamom-scented chana dal and jaggery filling, rolled thin and cooked on the tawa with ghee.

Puran poli is an Indian bread, ready in about 3 hours 55 minutes and made with chana dal (split bengal gram) and jaggery / palm sugar. It serves 10 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
40 min
Cook
1 h 15 min
Rest
2 h
Total
3 h 55 min
Serves
10
Level
Advanced
Calories
308

Ingredients

10 polis

Puran (filling)

Dough

For rolling

To cook and serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Dough first: mix the flour, turmeric (opens in a new tab) and salt with the water into a sticky dough, then knead in the oil a tablespoon at a time for 8–10 minutes until very soft, smooth and stretchy. Leave it covered, coated in oil, for at least 2 hours (the long rest is what lets it stretch thin around the filling).

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Cook the drained dal in the water until soft but whole — 3–4 whistles in a pressure cooker (opens in a new tab) or 35–45 minutes in a saucepan (opens in a new tab). Drain thoroughly in a sieve, keeping the cooking water for amti.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Return the dal to the pan with the jaggery and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 15–20 minutes until the jaggery melts and the mixture thickens enough for a spoon to stand upright in the centre. Stir in the cardamom and nutmeg (opens in a new tab).

    Food safety: The thick mixture spits — use a long spoon and keep stirring.

  4. Step 4

    While still warm, pass the filling through a puran yantra, mash through a coarse sieve or blitz in a food processor (opens in a new tab) until smooth. Cool completely and divide into 10 balls of about 40 g.

    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Take a dough portion about half the size of the filling ball (about 22 g), flatten it in an oiled palm, set the filling in the centre and draw the dough up to enclose it. Pinch off any excess at the top.

    • 15 min

  6. Step 6

    Dust well with rice flour (opens in a new tab) and roll gently from the centre outwards into a 20 cm round about 2 mm thick, turning often. The filling should show faintly through.

  7. Step 7

    Cook on a medium-hot tawa for 1 minute until golden spots appear, flip, cook 1 minute, then brush both sides with ghee (opens in a new tab) and cook until spotted golden. Serve warm with more ghee.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Maharashtra, India · Well documentedClosely related versions are made in Karnataka (holige/obbattu), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (bobbatlu) and Gujarat (vedmi).More food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dessert · Breads & flatbreads · Desserts
Cooking method
Boiled, Pan-fried
Taste
sweet, aromatic / warmly spiced, buttery, nutty
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-sodium
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Chana dal (split bengal gram) · Jaggery / palm sugar · Ground cardamom · Nutmeg · All-purpose flour · Turmeric
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling · Pressure cooking · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom ghee
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

308 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 100 g · recipe makes 10

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 7%
  • Carbohydrate 58%
  • Fat 35%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy308 kcal308 kcal
Protein5.8 g5.8 g
Carbohydrate45 g45 g
Net carbohydrate42 g42 g
Sugars21.6 g21.6 g
Added sugars19.4 g19.4 g
Fibre2.9 g2.9 g
Fat12.2 g12.2 g
Saturated fat3.9 g3.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol14 mg14 mg
Sodium71 mg71 mg
Salt equivalent0.2 g0.2 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
189 mg
Calcium
39 mg
Iron
1.7 mg
Magnesium
23 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
46 µg
Vitamin C
1 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
155 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Chana dal (split bengal gram): Whole raw chickpeas / bengal gram (FDC 173756) used as a stand-in for split, skinned desi chickpeas; the composition is very close.
  • Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The puran is ready when a small ball rolled between your fingers holds its shape without sticking.
  • Cook the filling a day ahead and refrigerate; cold filling is easier to stuff.

Common mistakes

  • A wet, under-cooked puran tears the dough and leaks onto the tawa.
  • A firm, under-rested dough won't stretch thin over the filling.

Serve with

  • Serve with plenty of ghee or warm milk, with katachi amti made from the reserved dal water.

Storage

  • Cooked polis keep 2 days at room temperature or 1 week in the fridge; the filling keeps 5 days refrigerated.

Reheating

  • Warm on a tawa with a little ghee.

Variations

  • Holige / obbattu (Karnataka): Often made with toor or chana dal and a thinner maida dough, sometimes with coconut in the filling.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

Dough

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 1 h 55 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 2 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Start to finish: about 3 h 55 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour150 g100%
WaterWater110 g73.3%
Neutral vegetable oilFat54 g36.3%
SaltSalt2 g1%
TurmericOther0 g0.1%
Total flour
150 g
Hydration
73.3%
With milk, eggs…
73.3%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Soft, slightly sticky dough (65–75%) — open crumb; most rustic loaves.
  • Salt 1% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
  • Fat 36.3% — a rich, tender dough.

If something goes wrong

  • Gummy or wet crumb

    Likely causes

    • Under-baked
    • Sliced while hot
    • Hydration too high for the flour

    What to do

    • Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
    • Cool completely on a rack before slicing
    • Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
  • Collapsed or sunken middle

    Likely causes

    • Oven door opened too early
    • Too much leavening or sugar
    • Under-baked centre
    • Over-proofed yeast dough

    What to do

    • Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
    • Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
    • Test the centre before removing
    • Proof less
  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Cracked or domed top

    Likely causes

    • Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
    • Too much leavening
    • Overmixed batter

    What to do

    • Lower the oven 10–15 °C
    • Use the exact leavening amount
    • Fold just until combined
  • Big holes or tunnels

    Likely causes

    • Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
    • Air trapped while shaping bread
    • Uneven proof

    What to do

    • Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
    • Degas gently and shape tightly
    • Proof covered in an even, warm place
  • Dry or crumbly

    Likely causes

    • Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
    • Over-baked
    • Too little fat or sugar

    What to do

    • Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
    • Check 5 minutes early
    • Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

Reviews & corrections

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