From medieval texts to festive plates, tracing the story of puran poli

According to her, puran poli has been around for several centuries, with mentions in medieval Marathi texts like the Maharashtrian manuscript of Chakradatta (11th century), which references puranpaka, a sweet made of jaggery and lentils.

Called puran poli in Maharashtra, it is also known as bedmi in Gujarat, bobbatlu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions, obbattu or holige in Karnataka, and poli in and around Tamil Nadu.

A festival favourite, in Maharashtra, it is a must-have during Holi, Gudi Padwa and Ganesh Chaturthi. South India makes obbattu primarily during Ugadi (New Year) and other major festivals. Considered satvik (pure), it is also offered as naivedya to deities. In traditional households, making puran poli is part of festive ritual prep.

Shraddha Kapoor’s Instagram story shows her enjoying Puran Poli (Source: Instagram/@shraddhakapoor)

Puran poli is made between spring and summer since jaggery and chana dal are considered to be cooling and nourishing.

The outer cover is made of flour or maida, while the stuffing includes cooked chana dal (Bengal gram), which is sweetened with jaggery and flavoured with cardamom and nutmeg powder.

Making the puran:

Start by cooking the chana daal until it turns soft, and then mash or grind the lentils until smooth. Puran yantra, a traditional manual food mill, is used to mash the lentils to a super smooth texture, which is essential in this recipe. But you can also do the same with a strainer or a grinder. Next, add jaggery to the mashed lentils and mix well until the consistency turns thick—season with spices like cardamom and nutmeg.

For the poli:

Take flour, add water, a couple of spoons of oil, and a pinch of turmeric, and knead into a soft, pliant dough. Take small batches of the dough and flatten them into round discs.

Now, take a small portion of the puran and stuff it inside the poli in a way the exterior covering completely covers it. Just like you make puri, flatten it on a rolling pin and make a thin circle out of it. Transfer it to a tawa and cook it until the surface bubbles. Once done, smear a dollop of ghee and serve hot.

Cooked in ghee, it is traditionally eaten with katachi amti—a tempering made by strained lentil stock—and usually served with warmed milk or ghee.After a hearty afternoon meal, a warm stack of puran poli, served with kesar-badam milk, can lull you into sleep. A festival favourite, puran poli is one of India’s ancient desserts from the western coast. In this installment of Bites of History, celebrity chef Ananya Banerjee tells us all about this stuffed sweet delicacy.